"Victory of the Daleks"

Of all the stories broadcast under the Doctor Who banner this century, none have provoked such contradictory feelings within me as "Victory of the Daleks"- two feelings in particular. The first and most important one is that, more than any other, this is a story that should really have been a two parter. Mark Gatiss is too good a writer to produce a truly bad script and the story is brimming with great ideas and some great lines. The basic plot is very similar to The Power of the Daleks, but Gatiss manages to make this story work on its own terms. However, there is just so much crammed into 40 minutes that there is a danger of some of the plot not sticking. The most obvious example is the ‘Space Spitfire’- we are asked to believe that Professor Bracewell’s ‘musings’ could be turned into workable hardware in less than an hour. If you can keep up, this is an exciting ride, but it would have been more satisfying if the story had more time to breathe.

Another casualty of the pace is characterisation, but there are really only two characters, apart from the regulars. Despite the rush, Bracewell succeeds admirably as a character. This is due, in no small part, to the performance of Bill Paterson, an actor I’ve always admired. However, Gatiss manages to take a clichéd sci-fi situation- a man discovering he’s a robot- and manages to make it work- the simplicity of the scene where the Daleks simply state ‘No, we created you’ is very effective. We are given a situation that could be blandly generic- the Doctor and Amy talking to Bracewell to deactivate the Oblivion Continuum within him- but the fact that they use embarrassment as one of the human feelings that needs to be provoked is very refreshing. Then, we have the historical figure du jour- Winston Churchill. In truth, Ian McNeice doesn’t look that much like Churchill, but his studied performance is hugely effective, easily compensating for the fact that the pace of the script has to make him do a U-turn in his attitude to the ‘Ironsides’ without comment. The regulars are awesome- we Doctor’s attempts to goad the Daleks into revealing themselves by battering one with a giant spanner. We also see him hold them off with a Jammie Dodger- Matt Smith has total mastery of the role. Amy continues to be inventive, intuitive and just plain fantastic.

Andrew Gunn keeps up with the pace of the script with a very polished production. The ‘Space Spitfires’ might have been brought into being a bit too soon, but the sight of the most iconic aeroplane in British aviation history, dogfighting with a Dalek saucer is breathtakingly wonderful. The period detail is as wonderful as it was in Moffat’s own trip into the Blitz five years ago and the design is excellent- with one exception. I am afraid that I must join with the vocal minority who do not approve of the new Daleks. I am not against a revamp for the Daleks in principle- the original revamp for "Dalek" was absolutely perfect- keeping very close to the Raymond Cusick originals, yet adding little touches here and there. The Dalek Supreme in "The Stolen Earth"/ "Journey's End" was also a great piece of design. These new Daleks seem a bit too plastic, a bit too vacuum formed and the multi-coloured ‘paradigms’ do not help the look. The worst thing, however, is their backs- they look like Daleks who have gone to seed on port, cigars and Stilton. This is a great pity as the ‘Ironside’ Daleks look great. The scene where the Ironsides bring a new generation into being and willingly accept their own destruction by their offspring would have been a very powerful scene, were it not for the fact that what we see are some very cool Daleks being exterminated by a bunch of bootylicious wannabes. Some fans have been scathing about the design, calling it as bad as Colin Baker’s costume. This is clearly an overreaction, but the effect it has on the story and, indeed, on the Daleks as a whole, is great. Indeed, this is the only time this century that a piece of design work has ever been unsuccessful and I sincerely hope that Steven Moffat reconsiders.

There is much to enjoy in "Victory of the Daleks", but it has problems it cannot solve, despite the considerable talents of all involved. Spread out over two episodes, it could have been genuinely great good enough to counter the negative impact of a failed attempt to revamp one of the most iconic pieces of design of the modern era.

NEXT: "The Time of Angels"/"Flesh and Stone"

"The Beast Below"

The Earth has been ravaged by solar flares (presumably the same as those in The Ark in Space) and mankind has fled the planet in ships, such as the Starship UK. When the Doctor and Amy land there, it is a seemingly happy, somewhat nostalgic ship but there is a dark side. The plotline of the Doctor finding the dark truth behind society is not new, yet it offers so much scope for variation that its return is welcome in the shape of this very enjoyable story. Steven Moffat again takes a simple, creepy idea and makes it a threatening presence throughout the story. The Smilers are reminiscent of fortune telling machines in fairgrounds, their painted expressions stirring disquieting feelings in many. They sit as judges (in both the legalistic and Simon Cowell sense) and their Janus-like heads have two faces, but three expressions. These are the figures that terrify children- as the Doctor says, it is a police state, where the menace is everywhere, known to all, but discussed by none- everyone knows about the This is what the Doctor and Amy set themselves up against, but it is not the enemy. The Beast is, in fact a Star Whale that has been enslaved to propel the Starship UK. However, police state or not, the population is entitled to know about the enslavement of the Star Whale and the opportunity to protest; but they are also given the opportunity to forget they ever learnt the truth, for if just 1% of the electorate protest, the Whale will be freed, dooming all- so, of course, everyone chooses to forget. This is a simple, but very effective observation on politics- as the Doctor says, after 5 years, the electorate forget what they’ve learnt. It is also an astute observation on human nature- all healthy adults must have empathy, but if there is too much, the soul is mired in guilt. Moffat’s script is full of the expected humour and conceptual ingenuity, but this is a story driven by empathy, by subtle understanding of behaviour. This is how the Doctor discovers there is a problem and how Amy solves it. More on that later.

Andrew Gunn marshals a very confident production, with Starship UK being brought to life very impressively. Scenes are shot and edited with great care- a nice touch is the effective way that we discover Amy’s decision in the voting booth. Visual and verbal influences from Star Wars and Discworld work very well in the story and the effects, although not perfect, instil the correct feelings of wonder. The guest performances are first rate, from experienced performers such as Terence Hardiman (forever the Demon Headmaster for a generation of children) to excellent child actors, especially Hannah Sharp as Mandy. The main guest star is Sophie Okonedo who makes Liz 10 a blast to watch. I love the way that Liz 10’s accent has become more cockney-fied over the years- had the Doctor come a century later, she would probably have a Jafaican accent (or ‘Multicultural London English’ as phoneticists boringly call it). Okonedo is, obviously, an awesome actress and she clearly enjoys the part.

However, it is the regulars who come off best, both in the way the parts are written and played. The Doctor clearly likes Amy, but he is more guarded with his companion than his previous incarnation. Even when Amy broaches the subject of other Time Lords, his manner does not reveal any emotion. One personality trait that was obvious in "The Eleventh Hour" was his impatience and this ties in with another- he doesn’t like information being hidden from him, which results in him threatening to send Amy home. However, when the Doctor is faced with an impossible dilemma, it is Amy who solves it by thinking of something the Doctor didn’t even consider, saving him from commiting an act of murder. Evidently, the Doctor needs someone to stop him more than ever.

Matt Smith continues to impress. There were shades of Colin Baker in "The Eleventh Hour" and there is some Troughtonesque hand-rubbing here, but Matt is clearly taking the Time Lord into new territory- his rage at the dilemma, at the horrors that his favourite species sometimes commits is both archetypaly Doctorish and unique to Matt. Karen Gillan is just as fantastic- Amy clearly has a very subtle and sensitive mind and I love the way that her first scene with Mandy is played like a Doctor/companion scene.

There are some rough edges- the nature of the Smilers and the Winders are not explored as fully as I would have liked, for example. However, this is a story with much to offer both adults and children and is great fun- what more could you want?

NEXT: "Victory of the Daleks"