"Asylum of the Daleks"

...and we’re back, with the return of the Doctor’s arch enemies for their first starring role in over two years. Since the return of the show, the Daleks have featured in some of the best stories (“Dalek”, "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday") and the absolute worst ("Daleks in Manhattan"/ "Evolution of the Daleks"). This is, however, the first time that Moffat has written a Dalek story and, it must be said at the start, his run of excellent series openers remains unbroken.

The plot is simple- The titular Asylum is a planet, containing the insane survivors of the most brutal Dalek conflicts and has been absolutely secure- but a breach has occurred and these horrors could escape. Only the Doctor has what it takes to enter the Asylum and deactivate the force field, so that the Asylum may be destroyed. So far, so generic. However, other threads have been weaved in. The source of the breach is heralded by a voice of an incredibly bright young woman who can marshal Dalek technology like no-one has ever done before, but has a problem mastering the art of soufflé making. Also, as hinted at in the Pond Life shorts, the marriage of Rory and Amy has fallen apart, but it seems that the nightmare of the Asylum, with Amy in danger of succumbing to the Dalek nanogenes in the atmosphere, might be what will bring them together again. It is wonderful how Moffat can show how a relationship where two people are so completely in love can fall apart, but there is, of course, hope, as humanity is a hard thing to lose. Moffat's trademark sparkling dialogue never loses its soul. 'What can you do?' states Amy, regarding her split from Rory. 'What can I do?' says the Doctor. Oswin Oswald is fantastically appealing and ideal companion material, but it, emerges, she really is too good to be true and it emerges that eggs/exterminate joke is darker than initially thought. There is also the brilliant concept of the Dalek zombies which, I hope, will be brought back at some point. The script is so full of ideas and feelings and so tightly constructed that explanations are not needed, even when significant changes in the Whoniverse are intimated- the Daleks are back as a major force in the cosmos, but the Asylum is an artefact of the old, pre Time War, Dalek Empire that is regarded with a mixture of horror and admiration.

Nick Hurran returns to the director’s chair and his eye for a great shot is very welcome. It must be said that "Asylum of the Daleks" is a faster paced, more action packed episode that either of his other episodes, and Hurran seems to be a bit outside his comfort zone- he doesn’t quite pull off the Zombie Dalek attack for example. However, in slower, subtler moments, Hurran is masterful. The selling point for the episode was the fact that it had Daleks from every point in the programme’s history. This is true, but it would have been great to have had the Special Weapons Dalek fire at least one shot! Happily, the RDT era Daleks are the focus, with the bulky new Paradigm Daleks pushed to the background- hopefully it will stay that way and is a sign that Moffat has realised his mistake. As usual, Hurran manages to get the best from a very talented cast. Anamaria Marinca, a wonderfully soulful actress whom I have long been a fan of, is excellent as Darla, the lead Dalek ‘puppet’. The regulars are on fine form, especially one who is not a regular yet. Jenna-Louise Colman is utterly charming as Oswin and I look forward to seeing her join the Doctor on his travels- whatever character she plays. The regulars have to play their parts very carefully, as Amy and Rory's personal crises have to balance perfectly with the perils of the Asylum and Arthur and Karen are totally convincing in this regard. The Doctor has to take a more reactive role that he has ever had to this century, but Moffat knows who the star of the show is and just how good his leading man is. What we get is a very delicate, yet seemingly effortless synergy between the regulars and the writer that is pulled off perfectly.

There have been some comments about Moffat reusing themes. This is nothing new, to be honest- from The Arabian Nights to Dickens, themes have recurred, but to tell different stories. Yes, Oswin is a bit like CAL, the nanogenes cause humans to sprout horrendous alien appendages,¤ etc. The story is different and the effect is different and Moffat is in no way on auto-pilot, but is keen to make things uncertain, to pull us out of our comfort zone- most notably in the fact that the Daleks forget the Doctor, removing one of the oldest relationships in the programme. If the Doctor is the Daleks’ Devil, he has pulled his greatest trick...and I for one am delighted!

NEXT: "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"