Dalek

Living half a world away from England can be difficult sometimes, especially for a Doctor Who fan during the first run of the new series. I’d been spoiled to death. I knew practically everything about this episode well in advance. Since its premiere in the UK eight weeks ago, Dalek had been hailed by many as the best episode of Doctor Who in a long, long time. Some were even calling it the best ever. Apart from these things, I was looking forward to this episode for another reason – in a week’s time, I’ll be leaving the country for a couple of months, thereby missing the rest of the show’s run completely. This was to be the last episode of new Who I would see in a long time. I was so glad – I am so glad – I got to see this one.

Joe Ahearne, I’ve just heard, masterminded the BBC documentary Space Odyssey, which was just shown on Australian television. I loved it. And when I discovered Dalek was directed by the same man, I knew I was in for something special. I was proven right only a few moments into the episode, when a classic-style Cyberman’s head was revealed. But it wasn’t just thrown into the background, Hitchhiker’s movie style – nor was it dwelt upon for ages like a fanboy’s wet dream. I guess it was somewhere in between. But it worked brilliantly. Henry Van Statten is a great character – evil, funny, clever, well-acted and well-cast – and his first scene strikes all the right notes.

When I first heard the Dalek scream, I winced. I suddenly felt as if I was trapped inside the Dalek’s armour, unable to get out, and being tortured to death. This feeling remained with me throughout the rest of the episode, and I put it down to three things – Joe Ahearne’s direction, Robert Shearman’s writing and Nicholas Briggs’ acting. When the Doctor faces off with it, the Dalek goes from gloating to immense pain within moments. And then we’re in for Nicholas Briggs’ greatest triumph so far – the Dalek’s first meeting with Rose. This is a meeting that could’ve happened in the first Dalek story, all those years ago, but instead it was decided the kids would prefer them to be mindless killing machines. That’s all well and good, but what if you were trapped inside there? The Dalek was in pain. Genuine pain. It was dying. That said, I was sitting up in my seat when Rose touched it, and it regenerated into its former, killing-machine self.

So the Dalek’s on a rampage. The best directed Dalek rampage in the history of this show. (Sorry, Mr Harper.) And I thought Euros Lyn was good! Joe Ahearne was perfect for this job. I’m glad he was kept on for the majority of the season, but at the same time disappointed that he won’t be back next time. Oh well. Dear me, this is brilliant stuff… the way the Dalek wipes out the entire squadron… without even touching the ground! The suspense is terrifying! I loved the reveal when it turned out Rose had been trapped behind the bulkhead. And when we heard the Dalek cry “Exterminate!” and fire, for a moment – despite what I already knew – I was sure Rose had been killed.

But this is a new kind of Dalek – a Dalek the Time Lords hinted at many years ago. Remember when Tom found the little Kaled mutant in the pit? Beautiful scene. And now, when this Dalek blows a hole in the roof just to feel the sunlight, we have the follow-up to that beautiful scene. Suddenly the Doctor turns up. At this point I realised the full extent of what the Doctor had gone through with this Time War. You might exile yourself from your home, but when you find out your home’s gone… destroyed by monsters… what is your gut instinct? Forget right and wrong – the one thing you want to do is find these monsters and destroy them. Thankfully this tends to wear off pretty swiftly. And it does with the Doctor, who watches helplessly as the Dalek begs Rose for one last order. We can now see this poor creature, reaching out to the light, and the one thing we want for it is… what? Do we want it to die? To become ruthless again? To be free? Wow. Existentialism in Doctor Who. This is new, isn’t it?

Yes, I cried. Again, I have Messrs. Ahearne, Shearman and Briggs to thank for this. (You gits.) And Billie Piper? Well done, kid, you pulled it off. I felt your fear too, because I was trapped inside that horrible casing, begging to be set free. I never thought I’d be writing such things about an episode of Doctor Who… but then again, this is indeed the Best.
Episode.
Ever.