written by Robert Shearman; produced by Phil Collinson; directed by Joe Ahearne
That said, it gets off to a fairly inauspicious start, with some rather functional and rushed �where are we, when are we� exposition from the leads, although the signal drawing the TARDIS off course allows Christopher Eccleston to put in a good preoccupied performance that rises above the minor banality of the scene. Eccleston is brooding and sinister here � I get the sense that this is the episode he always wanted to make, and it�s easily his best performance. While I like the inclusion of a Cyberman�s head, the effect is lost as it�s so overstated; I feel that original series fans might have been more excited by noticing it in the background, and new fans might just be wondering what all the fuss is about.
Fortunately, once the titles have rolled the episode goes stellar very quickly. Corey Johnson is excellent as the intentionally-annoying van Statten, although Bruno Langley can�t quite cope with the demands of proper acting work (ooh, this kitten�s got claws). That said, he�s nowhere near as annoying as he is in The Long Game since here its Adam�s technical skills and resourcefulness that are emphasised, rather than him just being a snotty little twerp. The set up for the big reveal is rather obvious with its Dalek-eye-vision�but it works very well and if it ain�t broke, don�t fix it.
The musical instrument scene is brilliantly executed as by doing so little it tells us a great deal about both the Doctor and van Statten � I always find that overstatement (�I love travelling wiv you, Doctor, in case you didn�t hear me last time I said that�) dampens characters by giving them an overly concentrated personality that lacks realistic nuance; this is perfect because by telling the audience so little we are forced to think for ourselves about what throwing the instrument away says about van Statten�s character. This ambiguity is far more realistic, and interesting, than just having characters emote noisily about everything they see.
Rose is likeable here, as Billie Piper can certainly act and her sarcasm is strictly in context, in that she�s having to hold her own against the bullying van Statten; unusually for a new series episode she and the Doctor are separated for much of the time meaning that without the usual character dynamic the episode just gets on with telling its story, and very good it is too.
Naming the Dalek the �Metaltron� is a nice touch, and exactly the kind of thing the terminally unimaginative van Statten would have called it. However, here�s where things really get going; it�s a very self-conscious Fan Moment, having the Dalek in darkness for no real reason other than to have the lights come on dramatically; Simmons�s line of �the Metaltron is sleeping� seems like a bit of a contrived excuse for this. Despite my cynicism though, the scene is absolutely outstanding, largely because of how Joe Ahearne presents the big unveiling. It�s moments like this though that show how so much of the episode is governed by the popular consciousness; the Dalek isn�t given such a dramatic entrance because the narrative warrants it, but because it�s a Dalek. This, and the way the story systematically debunks the more laughable elements of the Daleks such as their sucker arms, makes the episode one of the more self-referential in the show�s history. The reason it works so well here though is that it�s the whole point of the episode: it�s about the Dalek, and about analysing what the Dalek really is.
The big confrontation between Eccleston and the Dalek is staggering, with brilliantly forceful dialogue and Eccleston playing the scene as if he really had committed genocide; in short, this scene is for me one of the great highlights of the new series. What makes it all the more impressive is that the Dalek is a character again, as The Evil Of The Daleks was really the last time the Daleks were presented as rounded beings with proper motivations rather than shrieking machines who were either in thrall to Davros or who were just evil for the sake of it � here there is a real sense that under the armour the Dalek is a living thing. The Dalek�s line of �the coward survives� is another interesting twist, showing that the Dalek can understand and recognise emotions it is unable to actually experience (yet�). It�s followed though by more quick-fire exposition � one thing I�ve noticed about the new series is that important explanations are rattled out breathlessly one line after another, in a gap between scenes rather than in a scene itself.
The scene where the Doctor is scanned is unsettling and daring, as we�ve almost never seen the Doctor so powerless, particularly because of a human; bear in mind that he doesn�t escape, but is released. Again, Eccleston�s acting and Ahearne�s classy direction are what make the scene, and there�s a real sense of impending doom even from one badly-damaged Dalek.
The psychological manipulation of Rose is another successful addition to the characterisation of the Dalek; sorry if this review seems like a platform for a rant about characterisation, but after being increasingly disillusioned by the overstated and one-note character scenes in series two it�s nice to see it done right here, as both the plot and the characterisation stem from the same source meaning that to advance one is to advance the other � this is by far the most efficient and effective way of working within the forty-five minute format, and is really the way it should be done. Also impressive is Nicholas Briggs, who is called on to have a far wider range than any of his predecessors.
The Dalek�s ability to calculate �a thousand billion combinations in one second� seems silly and overblown, dipping the show (mercifully temporarily) into kids� show territory, although downloading the Internet isn�t much better (I wonder what it makes of this review). After this the American soldiers finally get to strut their stuff, and I really can�t make up my mind about them. On the one hand I cringe when Bywater orders Di Maggio to �take the civilians and get them out alive � that is your job, got that?� but on the other hand it strikes me a deliberate, showing the difference between simulacra and reality as a bunch of buzzword-spouting clich�s get mown down by the Dalek � in what is possibly Doctor Who�s best ever action sequence. Nobody but Ahearne could have made it so gripping, and the new extermination effect is absolutely superb; the negative-picture was always my favourite effect of the original series as it�s so simple and yet looks so great; here, the excellently done skeleton effect combines with the old negative one to great success.
�Rose is still down there, I won�t let that happen, have you got that?� is unusually flat delivery from Eccleston, sounding like he�s just reading the script. The Dalek�s ability to climb the stairs is another example of plot points stemming from the popular consciousness, especially since so little is made of it elsewhere, but it�s nowhere near as smug as Remembrance Of The Daleks. Di Maggio isn�t a great character, but her off-screen extermination is chilling.
The Doctor�s �ultimate in racial cleansing� speech is a reminder of why the Daleks are such brilliant monsters, still effective sixty years after the downfall of Nazism. Less impressive is the way the Dalek is suddenly able to electrocute people with its weapon; like being able to absorb DNA, it smacks of the Dalek arbitrarily being given new powers for whatever the situation requires. It�s followed by another dynamic confrontation with the Doctor over the communicator; the heated exchange seems to be Shearman�s greatest strength and it�s fantastic to listen to even if it adds little to the story.
Sealing the bulkheads give a twist to a chase scene, as rather than just running from the monster there�s a proper destination that must be reached in time, which effectively doubles the tension. There is a very poignant moment before Rose�s apparent extermination, another example of the intertwining of narrative threads � this should really be a basic requirement of good storytelling, which is why Dalek gets a full rating and Rise Of The Cybermen doesn�t.
The Doctor�s �bring the stars down to Earth� seems oddly faux-poetic, as if it was included so that it could be used in quotation compilations; this is entirely overshadowed by the Dalek�s transformation, a natural result of the deconstruction of what the Daleks are. The Dalek calls Rose the woman the Doctor loves � this risky line seems appropriate here as it�s in no way a Moffat-esque attempt to create controversy for its own sake, but has its significance in the context of the Dalek as a psychological manipulator.
The final showdown is where all the elements of the story come together, hitting their natural end simultaneously; apart from a few plot points the episode is brilliantly constructed and paced. The interior of the Dalek is a good piece of design, and Nicholas Briggs�s voice work is superb; some have criticised the overuse of sentiment but it�s not actually that bad, with only the Dalek�s final �exterminate� (the equivalent of a salute) threatening to tip it over into cheese. The self-destruction is an interesting effect, even if it would perhaps be more believable for the Dalek to just blow itself up where it sits.
Van Statten is brought to justice � this seems a bit hurried, but it's not really the point of the episode. The story is about the Dalek, and as monsters they have almost never been better. It�s only a pity Adam has to tag along�but that�s The Long Game�s problem.
If I�m honest then Dalek does have its flaws, but on the whole these are superficial and are made up for by its earnestness and maturity; with intelligent, well-presented characters, a daring and effective core idea and some brilliant action scenes, this episode is one of the new series�s best. If they were all this good, then it would be truly worthy of the praise it gets from the media.
Overall: *****
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