"The Magician's Apprentice"/"The Witch's Familiar"

If there has ever been a greater hook for the fans than the pre-titles sequence to "The Magician's Apprentice" I have yet to see it. As written, however, it serves to anchor the purpose of the story, for, before the main course, we are given a sweeping entrée through the known universe as we are used to from a Moffat two parterbefore two random amuse-bouches of Doctor Who story types - the UNIT story that reintroduces Missy and the wacky pseudo-historical that marks the Doctor's re-entry into the story. We are taken further 'into the Dalek' than we have ever been before - free will apparently means nothing inside a Dalek and the reason for the constant repetition of their most notorious chant is that it is the only vocalisation permitted towards any non Dalek - a good way to reload. We are expressly told what happens to senescent Daleks; immortal they may be, but not ageless (it is good, incidentally, that the more cloacal aspects of the Skarosian slime are addressed and the word 'sewer' used, as the intimations would have been there anyway).

However, this is the tale of the Doctor and Davros and the creator and the created. We are taken to earlier in Skaro's history than we have ever been before and to the apparent end of Davros's life. A goodly portion of "The Witch's Familiar" is taken up with a remarkable conversation between Davros and the Doctor. Davros's seeming deathbed repentance is one of the most shocking moments in the programme's history and only someone blindly subservient to the programme's past would deny that Julian Bleach exceeds Michael Wisher's high mark in his performance in the role. He is helped by the best make-up job for the character yet - recognisably the same, but utterly convincing as simply the face of an old man, so the opening of his Kaled eyes (helped by the framing of the shots) doesn't seem jarring. In addition, we finally find out just how much of Davros's Kaled body is left, as the Doctor literally unseats his arch enemy! Hettie Macdonald puts in stellar work and marshals an outstanding job from the production team, such as the retro, but utterly convincing Skaro and the trips to UNIT and mediaeval Essex, which are treated with as much care as if they had been the centre of the story.

It is testament to the skills of Moffat, Bleach and Michelle Gomez that the first story to feature both Davros and the Master doesn't have one swamping the other. Missy is brought back (the method of her survival, lovingly detailed in the pre-credits sequence in "The Witch's Familiar". Gomez's psychopathic flightiness makes Missy genuinely unpredictable and genuinely frightening, notwithstanding the fact that for the vast majority of their screen time together, the Doctor and Missy are allies. Indeed, Clara is pretty much Missy's companion in the story and Missy is quick to make Clara very much the fall guy in their double act. This makes her apparent betrayal of Clara both totally expected and incredibly powerful. Jenna Coleman effortlessly makes Clara noticeably more mature, as she should be, following the loss of Danny. Capaldi is on fire throughout, whether belting out 'Mickey' on his Yamaha SGV800 (with an invisible wah-wah pedal!) pleading for Clara's life or regenerating the Struldbrugs of Skaro.

The dénouement, brings all these strands together. Embodying a Dalek Empire that has literally been reborn, Davros is triumphant - yet he has forgotten that all his children have been renewed; including the abandoned elder ones. The sewers are, indeed, revolting. Most crucially the Doctor saves the young Davros, answering the question 'Who Made Davros?' with the only acceptable answer 'Skaro'. People who have kindness shown to them when they were younger sometimes still become monsters.

The ninth series opener is a storming piece of work that seems contemporary, retro and timeless at the same time thanks to sterling work on all aspects of creation and production. The Doctor and Clara are again free to wander time and space together. We are, however, left with the promise of a horror awaiting our heroes in the future...

NEXT: "Under the Lake"/"Before the Flood"

"The Stolen Earth"/ "Journey's End"

Rose. Martha. Captain Jack and Torchwood. Sarah Jane and Luke. The Daleks. Harriet Jones. This was what we were promised in the teaser for "The Stolen Earth" and it was an increasingly poorly kept secret that Davros was returning. In addition to this, we have the return of Mickey and Jackie and not one, but two Doctors- the phrase ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ springs to mind, but this will be the last regular Doctor Who story until 2010 and so it must have that end-of term feeling of going out with a bang. The Daleks return in a truly spectacular manner- the Earth is moved across space to a location amongst 26 other planets. They do their usual thing of mercilessly subduing any opposition, but this merely incidental. Their ultimate plan is their most ambitious and masterful one since, erm, The Dalek Master Plan. These Daleks were born when Dalek Caan managed to do the impossible and travel back to the Time War. Despite the fact that his sanity was destroyed he managed to bring back Davros himself. Unwittingly taking a leaf from Sutekh’s papyrus, this new Dalek Empire intends to destroy all matter except themselves, leaving them the only life forms in every Universe and every dimension and reality, by using the gravitational fields on the 27 planets to amplify the effects of the ‘reality bomb’. This is a threat that dwarfs even the collapse of the Universe in Logopolis.

The return of practically every recurring character that appeared in the programme since its revival could have resulted in a self-indulgent mess, but Davies knows what he is doing and he understands the characters he has invented and the audience's reaction to them. The webcam session where they all meet is cannily constructed with Rose being an outsider, which probably gave the Martha worshippers a warm feeling inside. It is obvious from Rose's first materialisation that all these characters have changed. Rose spends a lot of time carrying a gun the size of a porpoise. Martha, clad in black, literally holds the key to the destruction of the Earth. As Davros says, the Doctor takes ordinary people and fashions them into weapons. Davies still manages to lighten scenes with some very funny lines- Wilfred's reason for not having a webcam had me in stitches and, of course, even the Daleks know who Harriet Jones is. I also love the fact that the mysterious Shadow Proclamation that has been hinted at since "Rose" is merely a police force, seemingly made up of Judoon and what look like space-age albino versions of the Bennet family from Pride and Prejudice. The cliffhanger is the most thrilling yet and its resolution, although it seems cheap at first, makes sense in terms of the programme's continuity and results in serious plot developments.

Graeme Harper gives this story the epic treatment it deserves with scenes looking incredibly cinematic. He is helped by the most spectacular special effects the programme has had up to this point, from the Dalek attack on the Valiant, to the flotilla of Dalek saucers to the awesome Crucible. Harper makes sure that all the performers are up to scratch. Any quibbles about Piper's performance in "Turn Left" are instantly quashed- Rose Tyler is definitely back with a wonderful performance by Piper. We also see the welcome return of Jackie and Mickey and, I must again heap praise upon Noel Clarke for another moving, yet very dignified performance. However, the best performance is definitely Julian Bleach as Davros. Bleach is definitely Michael Wisher's equal in realising the role, being both cold and calculating and a shrieking madman. The make-up is a fitting update for the character and anyone who wished to know what Davros had under his tunic get the unpleasant shock that they deserve.

This is very much the end of an era, so we are fittingly, given a series of endings that bring to mind Return of the King. We are taken back to Bad Wolf bay again and Rose is left in the parallel universe with the other Doctor. This manages to work because of the deep understanding of the characters that Russell T Davies has. Rose has a selfish streak, but it is proved here that she is not, ultimately, a truly selfish person. However, any emotion that Rose's second departure might have had is eclipsed by the rueful fate of Donna Noble. Of the companions who have travelled with the Doctor, Donna started off with the least and developed the most- a thirtysomething temp from Chiswick becomes half- Time Lord and saves all of creation. However, her human body cannot cope with the intelligence of a Time Lord so, to save her life, the Doctor removes from her memory all of her experiences with him. Once again, she is the eternal temp, eagerly awaiting a new Pringle flavour. Catherine Tate was never less than spectacular as Donna in a performance that should have silenced all her critics, but didn’t, as her critics could not see past their own prejudices. In my opinion, she was the best companion since the return of the programme, a character that was always interesting to watch and I will miss her.

We end on the Doctor being alone (thankfully not jarred by a teaser for the Christmas Special) after a real thrill-fest that had me gripped throughout. And yes, that includes towing the Earth home!

NEXT: "The Next Doctor"

Remembrance of the Daleks

For the first time in what seemed like ages, everyone was talking about last night’s Doctor Who in school, not just the few of us who still watched religiously (although this was, sadly, not reflected by the viewing habits of the British public in general). By the time the story had finished broadcasting, one thing was certain: Doctor Who had suddenly and miraculously got its act back together. On the face of it, the story was similar to some of the worst of mid-80s Doctor Who in that it had many fan-pleasing references to the series’ past, but the first thing that one notices about Ben Aaronovitch’s excellent script is that, despite references to Omega, Rassilon, Spiridon and the like, the story is not dependent on references to the past- it stands up on its own and can be enjoyed by a complete newcomer and the fact that a previous history is referred to actually adds verisimilitude and texture, rather than alienating the casual viewer- they’re there if you want to look, but are not essential to the story. Previous attempts at referring to the series’ past continuity tended to needlessly complicated the plots, but the plot here is easy to follow- two rival Dalek factions have arrived on Earth to gain control of a powerful Time Lord device left behind by the Doctor. Beyond this storyline, however, there is a good deal more to enjoy in the script. The characterisation is excellent- Group Captain Gilmore comes off as being far more than the flat authority figures that the Doctor usually deals with. Professor Rachel Jensen and her assistant Allison work together wonderfully and even Ratcliffe and his Association work well, even though it seems at times that the parallels between the Daleks and neo-fascists can come across as heavy handed.

The realisation of the story is equally expert, from the great pre-titles sequence to the excellent location filming and the almost flawless production design. Andrew Morgan doesn’t put a foot wrong and it is not surprising that there are many images that lodge in the mind, such as the Predator style heads up display, the new Dalek guns, the Special Weapons Dalek, the eerie child etc. Morgan knows how to manage moods from frenetic action scenes and moments of introspection, making the story flow very well. The Daleks themselves look better than they have ever done and the special effects are very good. It is pleasantly surprising how few allowances the present day viewer has to make for the story.

The story is also blessed with an outstanding supporting cast, with Simon Williams’s outstanding Gilmore, Pamela Salem’s Rachel and Dursley McLinden’s Mike Smith. George Sewell deserves special praise for managing to convey the wretchedly pathetic nature of people like Ratcliffe, while still making him despicable. It is clear that in Sophie Aldred and Sylvester McCoy, we have a new, instantly brilliant set of leads. Ace is unlike any other companion, beating up Daleks with a molecularly charged baseball bat, jumping through windows, yet feeling genuinely hurt and betrayed by Mike’s actions. This is the start of the Doctor as manipulator and him using that part of his nature in, basically, clearing up after himself. However, McCoy still has that wonderful scene with Joseph Marcell in the café, where he almost acts like someone who has genuinely come home after a long trip –‘It’ll be twins!’

Remembrance of the Daleks was the first story in the 25th Anniversary season and, from the start, it plays with the memories of generations of viewers- there is a shot of Coal Hill School at the beginning and we see Rachel walking past- I’m sure many older viewers instantly thought it was Barbara. The Daleks are portrayed as genuinely terrifying machines of menace, just as older viewers remembered them and they dominate the story in a way they hadn’t really done since The Evil of the Daleks. Davros appears, but only in the last episode and what we think was Davros is something else. And there is the moment that everyone was talking about- the Dalek following the Doctor up the stairs.

Remembrance of the Daleks is the best Dalek story since the Troughton Era and there is a strong case for it being the best Dalek story of the 20th Century. It is a wonderful story that can be appreciated by casual viewer and hardcore fan alike.

NEXT: The Happiness Patrol

Revelation of the Daleks

Eric Saward's last Dalek story boasted one of the worst scripts he ever wrote and, Revelation of the Daleks shares one of the main problems with its predecessor (and, indeed many other Saward scripts)- the Doctor is not the prime mover of the plot. However, if you ignore the fact that the Doctor (and, indeed, the Daleks) play lesser roles in the plot, it becomes evident that this is easily Saward's best script. Despite containing a few redundant sub-plots, it maintains a coherent narrative and has great dialogue and characterisation. Saward wrote this story after a very enjoyable holiday and his joy in writing it clearly shows. One oft-cited inspiration for this story is Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One, which pokes fun at the morbid tackiness of American funeral homes as only the brilliant, if odious, Waugh could. To this, Saward adds Soylent Green style cannibalism and intimations of necrophilia. Needless to say, this would never have made today!

The excellent script by Saward is more than matched by the very welcome return of Graeme Harper as director. Again, his understanding of using the camera to tell the story is obvious in every scene, creating unease and tension by composition or angle. He is backed up by excellent production values across the board- look at the nauseatingly realistic make-up on the mutant, the flawless matte work and excellent set and costume design, with the garish colour schemes that characterised the Colin Baker era actually being used to the story's advantage. A very underrated triumph of Harper's is to take several varying moods- black comedy, a portrayal of an alcoholic, some of the strongest violence of the season, Alexei Sayle- and make them fit together and work.

Harper is also a master of marshalling actors, and with a cast this impressive, the characters are a joy to watch. Saward seems to be doing his own take on Holmesian double-acts and they are realised very successfully- Eleanor Bron and Hugh Walters seem to anticipate Wilhelmina and Marc from Ugly Betty by 20 years (not that I watch it…ahem) and Trevor Cooper and Colin Spaull are excellent as Takis and Lilt. There is William Gaunt's dignified, yet knowing portrayal of Orcini which effortlessly shows both the man's morality and ruthlessness. Then there is the relationship between Tasambeker and Jobel. Clive Swift is excellent, but he could do this role in his sleep. Jenny Thomasin's performance is actually very skilled, making Tasambeker both sympathetic and unlikeable- a very tall order. A special mention must be given to Terry Molloy's best performance as Davros, making him seem, for the first time, as cunning and as dangerous as he was in Genesis of the Daleks.

The Doctor is not only a minor player in the story, but seems to have become a bit less likeable on paper. However, thanks to Colin Baker's complete understanding of the role and Harper's direction, this portrayal works excellently. Peri is again the object of lust, but this is a minor point and Nicola Bryant puts in a very effective performance.

Revelation of the Daleks has very little to do with Daleks or the Doctor and, it could be argued, that this raises the question of whether it works as a Doctor Who story at all- however, it is a great piece of television drama by any standard, easily the best Colin Baker story.

NEXT: The Trial of a Time Lord

Resurrection of the Daleks

Despite its success, the Peter Davison era needed a little something extra to fully validate it in viewers' eyes- an appearance by the show's most iconic adversaries. It had been five years since the last, somewhat disappointing Dalek story, which is probably why writer Eric Saward sees fit to cram as many plot points into it as possible. We have the Daleks losing a war to the Movellans, which prompts them to resurrect Davros. We have the Daleks also planning an attack on Gallifrey. We have Dalek agents, who are duplicates. We have Davros plotting secretly to gain control of the Daleks. This does read like it could be a Byzantine plot of power struggles and intrigue. Instead, what we are given is a series of set pieces that are so clumsily joined together it makes one wonder at Saward's appointment as script editor on a basic level- for example, the Doctor never meets Styles, a major character and only shares one scene with Lytton, in which they don't actually converse. The dialogue is generic and uninspired and the characterisation is so bad, that if this were a radio script, the listener would totally lose track of who was who. Most seriously, Saward gives the Doctor virtually no role in the resolution of the plot- he is carried along by events almost as much as the supporting characters.

What makes this story watchable is the realisation. Matthew Robinson creates many memorable scenes- the wonderfully shot opening sequence on the Shad Thames, the memorable first appearance of the Daleks (lovingly ripped off from Darth Vader's entrance in Star Wars), the horrific scenes of the faces of the space station crew dissolving. Even the special effects, which are not much better technically than with other stories of the era, seem better due to the direction. This, combined with effective production design make this story very nice to look at.

The guest performances contain a few standouts, most notably Maurice Colburne as Lytton, who is utterly compelling from the first moment he appears. Rula Lenska also does good work as Styles and Rodney Bewes manages to rescue his badly written, poorly thought out character. However, some of the other actors are not as successful. Jim Findley is not exactly bad as Mercer, but he is clearly out of his depth and Sneh Gupta, whilst being very good looking, lacks the chops to fully realise her character. Matthew Robinson marshals these variable talents to the best possible level, although he makes Chloe Ashcroft scream in a very feral way, for some reason and Del Henney's death scene is ridiculous. Terry Molloy makes a far better Davros than David Gooderson, although the subtlety of Michael Wisher's portrayal has largely been lost.

This is the final story for Janet Fielding. Tegan was often poorly characterised, but Fielding always managed to make Tegan interesting to watch and made her, in my opinion, one of the great companions. Her leaving scene is the only unqualified success of the story, beautifully written, acted and shot. Mark Strickson again makes Turlough shine, but it is Davison who takes the laurels again. As said before, the Doctor is treated worse in the script than any previous story, but Davison manages to make us believe that it is the character we know and love.

They say you can't polish a turd, but Resurrection of the Daleks proves that you can, at least, varnish one. It works as entertainment if you watch it once, but the more you watch it, the more the sheer incompetence of the script becomes evident.

NEXT: Planet of Fire

Destiny of the Daleks

Terry Nation’s final contribution to Doctor Who has a very simple premise. The Daleks are locked in a stalemate with another race, the Movellans and are looking for a way to break it- as are their enemies. To do this, they are looking for Davros, who has been in suspended animation since the events of Genesis of the Daleks. This is a good enough premise, which alone makes it more worthwhile than Planet of the Daleks. However, the problem is there is very little more to the script than its ‘high concept’ summary and it is mercilessly padded with repetition, captures and repetition. The only line of dialogue I can remember is ‘Oh look! Rocks!’ and the characterisation is practically non-existent. Douglas Adams puts in some jokes to liven the script, but they hardly raise a chuckle and sometimes work against the story- it is unwise to mock the apparent limitations of the Daleks in the script, for example. The guest performances are adequate, with the most memorable roles being the Movellans. Although they are a poorly thought out arch enemy for the Daleks (all one needs to do to immobilise one is to remove its power pack) the performers are striking to look at. Peter Straker as the Movellan commander might not be the most gifted actor, but he has incredible screen presence. It is odd that Tony Osoba is given such a minor role, however, and Suzanne Danielle has little to do except look nice (which she does extremely well, admittedly).

To compensate for this, Ken Grieve’s direction is very stylish, with Steadicam shots, long takes and interesting angles. The sets are atmospherically lit and the locations used are very evocative. The cliffhanger with Romana in a chamber with the nova device is made far better thanks to the expert camera work. The Movellens do look a bit ‘disco’, but the look is certainly memorable. In fact the only let down on the production side are the Daleks themselves, who look very shabby.

Then, of course there is Davros. David Gooderson is not exactly bad as Davros, but his performance is nothing like as good as Michael Wisher’s (as has been said by practically everyone reviewing this story). However, the fault is not entirely Gooderson’s- his voice has barely been treated with a ring modulator and he obviously has not been instructed in how to move a Dalek body- his trundling is very obvious and is quite distracting. Tom Baker is pretty much on autopilot throughout, but Lalla Ward does good work in her debut as Romana, despite the terrible regeneration scene at the beginning.

Is it worth watching? Not really, but it’s not a complete waste of time.

NEXT: City of Death

Genesis of the Daleks

Genesis of the Daleks has been an ‘all-time-classic’ since it was first broadcast and, like some other all-time-classics it has been re-evaluated and found wanting since then. I will, therefore, try to be as fair as I can to a story that I have, to be honest, seen more than once before.

It is impossible to talk about the merits of the story without talking of the merits of Terry Nation as a writer. He was great with the basic ideas but less successful at other things- such as plotting and dialogue. Consider the ‘one-line pitch’ for the story:

The Doctor is sent back in time to the moment of the Daleks’ creation on Skaro, which has a society very reminiscent of the Nazis and meets their creator, Davros, a crippled genius who, disturbingly, uses a wheelchair shaped like the lower half of a Dalek.

There are so many possibilities, so many ways that this storyline could be executed. Nation effectively makes the similarity between the Nazis and the Daleks more explicit than ever before- we are told that the Kaled race ‘must be kept pure’ and that the Daleks are, in fact the ultimate expression of eugenics. Unfortunately, Nation again makes the story one of captures, escapes, recaptures and a few cliffhangers with terrible conclusions. We have many poorly thought out details such as a 100 year long war of attrition between two cities that have secret passages to each other that both sides know about. Most critically, we are left unsure of what it is, exactly, the Doctor accomplished. Apart from Davros, characterisation is virtually non-existent and Nation’s dialogue ranges from the functional to the bloody awful (‘She is a Norm! She must be killed!’) Nation resorts to some really egregious padding to bulk the story to a six episode length especially towards the end, where the Doctor loses the Time Ring and then has to destroy the tape recording of Dalek defeats.

All this seems to irretrievably damn the story. However, the story has the advantage of practically every other aspect of its realisation being nothing less than first rate. The guest performances are never less than excellent- for example, Ronson and Gharman are, essentially the same character on paper, but the performances by James Garbutt and Dennis Chinnery more than compensate for this. Peter Miles is utterly compelling as Davros’s right hand man (or should that be left hand man?) Nyder. Then there is the stunning direction. David Maloney is one of the best directors ever to work in Doctor Who and his mastery of mise-en-scène is a joy to watch here- note the proto-steadicam shots that introduce Nyder. Then, of course, there is the excellent opening sequence with gas-masked soldiers gunning each other down in slow motion. The lighting by Duncan Brown is astonishingly effective, creating shadows and reflections on Dalek casings and having Davros in shadow, with only his cybernetic eye glowing.

The design is first rate, taking inspiration from the two world wars. The front line is reminiscent on the Western Front, but has a small underground rail network, similar to that at the Maginot line. The Kaleds, of course are Nazis in manner and dress, with Nyder even sporting an all-black analogue of the Iron Cross. However, if the story has one absolutely indisputable triumph, it is Davros himself. As an image, that of a half man, half Dalek, he is potent enough. However, most crucially, Michael Wisher portrays him as a man, not a monster, which is what makes the character so chilling in this story. The regulars are not as well served by the script as they should be, but Sladen, Marter and Baker put in some typically sterling work. The Doctor is seen as always being mindful of the physical and moral consequences of actions, something simply, yet brilliantly brought to light when the Doctor talks of the morality of the creation of a deadly disease with Davros. This sequence, together with the famous one where the Doctor questions his right to destroy the Daleks at their birth are excellently performed and written, although they are blatantly the work of Robert Holmes.

With Genesis of the Daleks, the whole is less than the sum of its parts, because the parts have been sloppily gummed together. But the story is so well-made that it is definitely worth watching- although perhaps not all in one sitting.

NEXT: Revenge of the Cybermen