Destiny of the Daleks

I must admit first off that it has been a considerable time since I sat down and watched this all the way through, so this review is based purely on memory. What I drew from this story the first time I saw it (about 5 years ago), and continue to find it dripping with (last time I saw it, 8 months ago), are allegorical references to the Cold War: two warrior races locked in a war lasting thousands of years (I believe, memory is sketchy) without a shot being fired.

The fact that Daleks are referred to as robots and logical may strike many as wrong, but think of the allegory for a moment. Both the Daleks (USSR, no offense to any russians, just the way it came across to me) and Movellans (US) entered the war on ideological/emotional/whatever grounds and then became stuck in the logic of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction: one side attacks, the other retaliates, both are wiped out). Waiting around for the moment of maximum advantage, a moment that will never come, is very reminiscent of 1979-80. By then the Cold War had dragged on decades without the actual war being fought, as both sides were in an arms race waiting for the moment where they could attack, and not be destroyed in the process. When Davros referred to the Movellans as "another race of robots," he seems almost mystified that both sides could become trapped in the logic of MAD, robotic slaves to wartime logic.

As for Davros himself, I feel that the portrayal of him is excellent, given the fact he has been sitting around on his own for eons. The last time we saw him he had run into the Doctor who provided, for once, some stimulating conversation, then his Daleks betrayed him and he was trapped for however long and the Doctor finds him. He may not be dripping with evil, but he seems glad of the company, while still remaining evil. Later on, in Resurrection-Remembrance, he has been out of his hole in the ground a while, but here in Destiny he has been freshly awoken. 

Destiny may not be as dark as Genesis, but it is worth keeping in mind that, though a war is (not) being fought in the skies above, on the ground the Daleks and Movellans are stuck in the Logic of MAD, and as such do not want to kick-start the war (until Davros starts manipulating things). The idea that, at any moment, an action by either side could start one of the greatest wars in history creates a great deal of tension, which is sadly the downside of this story. That tension, the logic of MAD, Davros' weak showing, all of these are only apparent if you use your imagination to make them so; the script does not do a good job of supporting these ideas, other than a casual reference here and there. 

Overall, I feel this was a well done story that is only let down by the lack of explanation. Fortunately, this does not detract: you can make up your own explanations for missing expositions, you can't explain away obvious faults (as in some other stories). As the next story after the superb Genesis, I feel this story has been hugely underrated over the years as its faults are minimal, and the allegorical reference to the Cold War (though it could have been better) was well done, coming as it did after the Nazi references in Genesis.