"Into the Dalek"

The Daleks are brought into play for their earliest appearance in a new Doctor’s tenure since Patrick Troughton. The setting is a commandeered hospital ship holding human soldiers desperately fighting off against the Daleks. The exact situation is unspecified – these could be the human/Dalek wars from the 20th Century series, or a new war with the growing post-Time War Dalek empire. However, the setting is by no means vital, and neither are the story’s influences, which it wears on its sleeve – 2001: A Space Odyssey, Fantastic Voyage (and, obviously, The Invisible Enemy) and "Dalek" itself, for the story uses its well-worn tropes to probe more deeply into the relationship between the Doctor and his oldest nemeses than ever before.

Ben Wheatley assembles a very impressive cast, with Michael Smiley giving the Colonel a dour, yet sympathetic grit and the always watchable Ben Crompton gives the small role of Ross his all. Most memorably of all is Journey Blue. Zawe Aston is a megastar in the making; she has brought unexpected depths to the comedy roles I have seen her in, and she makes Journey a truly vivid character and I’m sure that I’m not the only one who was disappointed that the Doctor did not acquiesce to her plea to join the TARDIS crew. The production is a triumph, with the awesome space battle at the start, the jaw dropping miniaturisation sequences and the design triumph of the giant Dalek interior. Wheatley’s missteps in directing the fight sequence in "Deep Breath" were clearly a glitch, as he orchestrates some of the finest scenes of Dalek slaughter ever seen on the programme.

Despite this, as with Rob Shearman’s story nine years ago, it is the scenes with the Doctor and a lone, captive Dalek that are the heart of the tale. A damaged Dalek is par for the course for the Doctor, but it is the idea of a Dalek that is so damaged that it has become good that intrigues the Doctor. As I said many moons ago, when it comes to the Daleks, it is not a game for the Doctor and now we find out a bit more about that eternal relationship– the Doctor finally found out who he was when he first met the Daleks and ‘Doctor’ became more than a name. The very concept of a good Dalek is an attack on his identity and he denies that possibility until the very end. In "Dalek", the titular monster said that the Doctor would make a good Dalek, and in this story we see the Doctor as more ruthless and detached than we have seen him since he was last Scottish – his pragmatic use of Ross’s death to save the others and his tasteless joke about it later are not things we would have had from his two predecessors. Capaldi’s performance is a triumph and the fact that this darker, more detached persona is still the Doctor is shown in the scene where the Doctor asks Journey to ask him to take her to the Aristotle nicely - despite the harder exterior, the Doctor still wants to make people better. Phil Ford and Steven Moffat’s script deliberately does not use love or any other emotion as the trigger for the Dalek’s epiphany, but detachment, bringing the Dalek closer to the Doctor. When this Dalek repeats the accusation that Van Statten’s captive made, the implication is different and the look on the Doctor's face speaks volumes.

The fundamental question is whether the Doctor is a good man, something that Clara is unsure of any more. The new relationship between Clara and the Doctor crackles. There is the joke that Clara is his carer, caring so he doesn’t have to, but this is closer to the truth than ever before, with the scene of the Doctor being slapped by his companion being played seriously for the first time. Jenna Coleman makes Clara more appealing as the series goes on and I look forward to seeing how this relationship develops, together with the one with Danny, in which role Samuel Anderson makes an immediate impact.

"Into the Dalek" is, all in all, something of a triumph, transcending its plot to become an adventure that stands up to many multiple viewings. As in "Bad Wolf", there is a lot of transmatting just at the point of death, with Journey meeting the Doctor and Gretchen being the second person we see meeting Missy. Things are getting intriguing...

NEXT: "Robot of Sherwood"

PS- David Tennant: the Animated Years

As you all know, no doubt, David Tennant also starred in two animated stories, so here, for the sake of completeness is my take on them...

The Infinite Quest

Of all the 20th Century Doctor Who stories to take inspiration from, I would have thought that The Keys of Marinus would be rather low on the list. Yet here we are, with the Doctor journeying to various locations in the search for a cluster of McGuffins. The plot is somewhat shallow, but the locations, at least show a bit more imagination than those in Terry Nation’s scattershot story. Characters change motivation with alarming speed and the dialogue, although it aspires to the wittiness of the best Doctor Who scripts, seems forced. The fact that this was broadcast as a part of the Totally Doctor Who childrens programme shows in such things as the literal space-pirates, which somewhat annoy me.

The Infinite Quest was originally broadcast as 13 parts, each part lasting about 3½ minutes. This gives the omnibus edition a rather choppy feel, which doesn’t help the flow of the narrative. This isn’t helped by the direction- Gary Russell seems to devote all his attention to the big set pieces, but has little idea of how to construct a story visually. There are some awesome visuals on display- the insect like drilling robots, the Mantasphid hive. Unfortunately, the character animation is very static, with the characters having only two or three expressions each. This is a pity, as David Tennant and Freema Agyeman put their all into their roles. Despite the presence of actors such as Anthony Head, Stephen Grief and Liza Tarbuck, the supporting characters are too thinly written and indifferently directed to make much of an impact. This is especially true of the main villain, Balthazar, who, in the hands of Anthony Head, should have been far more memorable.

The Infinite Quest is passable, undemanding entertainment, but contains little of real substance.

Dreamland

The obvious thing to be said about Dreamland is that the animation is- basic. There are myriads of amateurs who could make an animated film of greater quality on their computer with a bit of freeware, so it is disappointing that this is what a monolithic corporation like the BBC is happy with in 2009. Happily, the other aspects of the story are much better. Phil Ford provides a very entertaining script with an engaging plot and some nice dialogue. I am surprised that Roswell has never been dealt with by Doctor Who and Ford manages to mix the atmosphere of The X-Files and 50s B-movies, together with UFO conspiracies (there is a nice new take on the Men in Black) to make a uniquely Doctor Who mixture.

Although the animation is basic, the backgrounds are very well rendered and Gary Russell does a far better job as director than he did with The Infinite Quest. The episodes are 6 minutes in length, with a 12 minute opener, which gives it a more natural flow than its predecessor. Again, there is a starry cast. David Warner is, naturally, fantastic as Lord Azlok and we have good turns from Stuart Milligan, Nicholas Rowe and Lisa Bowerman. In the minor but important role of Night Eagle, we have Clarke Peters (Lester Freamon on The Wire) which was the most exciting bit of casting for me since Derek Jacobi. If there is one flaw in the script, it is that the companion roles- Cassie and Jimmy- are less well defined than usual. However, with only 45 minutes to play with, there probably wasn’t time and the engaging performances by Tim Howar and Georgia Moffett help in rectifying this. David Tennant is great, as he invariably is.

Dreamland is tremendous fun- so much so that you forget the dated character animation and just sit back and enjoy the story.

"The Waters of Mars"

"The Waters of Mars" sees a return to the ‘base-under-siege’ formula for Doctor Who which, as I said many moons ago, is a very constricting type of story that led to Patrick Troughton’s first full season being rather samey. However, it is soon abundantly clear that Russell T Davies and Phil Ford are intent on doing something interesting with this type of story. We are told that the events that occur on the Martian Bowie Base on 21 November 2059 are as iconic and vital to human history as, say, the destruction of Pompeii. The Doctor knows the names, ages and occupations of everyone on the base, just as well as we know Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin- and he also knows what will happen to them at the end of that day- which is why his catchphrase for this episode is ‘I should really go!’ However, as he said when he was close to the end of another incarnation, ‘Curiosity has always been my downfall’.

The Flood (which seems to be the accepted term for the foe in the story) is, in the style of many memorable Doctor Who adversaries, simply conceived, yet instantly effective and the script uses its threat with an impeccable sense of dynamics, but there is more to the story than a memorable monster. The combination of Phil Ford and Russell T Davies has resulted in a script rich in detail. Even though only Adelaide is given any depth in the script, the characters all seem real people- even Andy, who has all of one scene before he gets Flooded. Conversations between characters give us an impression about what the Earth on 2059- references to a Branson inheritance brings up images of everything from Virgin Inteplanetary to a futuristic Jarndyce v Jarndyce! We also have the first explicit mention of the Ice Warriors, which is welcome and not just gratuitously pleasing the fanboys. Adelaide herself is a compelling figure. Although she is a typically dour base commander, from the start, she is humanised- the message from her daughter instantly shows the warmth in the character. We find out the motivation for her pioneer spirit in a beautiful flashback to her childhood encounter with a Dalek in 2008. The dialogue is suitable evocative- when asked by the Doctor if it was worth it she replies ‘…to stand on a world with no smoke, where the only straight line is the sunlight…Yes. It's worth it.’ Lindsay Duncan is phenomenal in the role (as she has been in practically everything else I have seen her in) giving Adelaide real grit and intelligence, but with a palpable sense of selflessness. All of the Bowie Base members are brilliantly performed- Alan Ruscoe and Chook Sibtain are excellent as the Flood infected crewmen, but I’m sure it is Sharon Duncan Brewster's Maggie who will figure in the nightmares of children, with her horrific ghoulish stare. Graeme Harper continues to prove that a story cannot be bad with him at the controls, making the story seem like the offspring of Silent Running and John Carpenter’s The Thing (together with a nice homage to 28 Days Later). The scenes of the Flood attack are brilliantly shot and choreographed. Scenes which are clichéd become immensely powerful when written by Davies and Ford and directed by Harper. For example, when Steffi faces death, she turns on a message from her children. The message is low in the sound mix and in German (with a Welsh accent, unfortunately!) so the effectiveness of the scene is down to Harper and actress Cosima Shaw, both of whom are fantastic. The special effects are awesome and look fantastic on HD. The realisation of the Flood is phenomenal- leaking water is bloodless, yet gives the faintest impression of haemorrhaging, which is exactly the right way to present a terrifying monster for a family audience. There are a few minor scientific errors, but so what? Who cares that Mars is actually more orange than red? Fires may be impossible in the Martian atmosphere, but burning debris looks great!

However, a very major factor in the story is the Doctor himself. Despite his proclamations, he never goes and it is that which damns him. At the start he is the fun figure we last saw in "Planet of the Dead" and, indeed, declares his intention as ‘fun!’ when asked. However, he is faced with a situation which he cannot alter, as he did in The Aztecs, The Massacre and "The Fires of Pompeii". He once said that the reason he travels is to see history happening in front of him. Here, the grimness of that hits him like a furnace blast. He hears the Bowie crew on his spacesuit radio come up with strategies to survive, only for them all to be dashed. He hears them go down, one by one, hears history being made. And something snaps. In a very short space of time, Adelaide, Yuri and Mia step out of the TARDIS on 21 November 2059- on Earth. The Time Lords are dead- the Doctor is the Lord of Time. Some have wondered why he brought Adelaide, Yuri and Mia to their own time, rather than hiding them in the past or future, but it is impossible that this did not occur to Davies and Ford. The obvious answer is that the Doctor did it because he could- the Time Lord victorious. For the first time we are genuinely scared of the Doctor himself. His justification is frighteningly reminiscent of the Master’s in "Last of the Time Lords"- but only a bit. The Master builds the Paradox Machine to conquer. The Doctor declares himself the Time Lord victorious to save people. However, his chilling talk of ‘little people’ horrifies Adelaide and us and it is Adelaide who saves the future- by her suicide. Horrified, the Doctor turns round- to see Ood Sigma. He has gone too far and knows that the Cloister Bell tolls for him. He is going to die.

I have mentioned several influences for this story, but there is one important one I will now mention: Fury From the Deep. There are many who remember this story as being genuinely terrifying. Listening to it objectively, the terror is there, but buried amongst some interminable longueurs. "The Waters of Mars" is Fury From the Deep as it exists in our imaginations, combined with some incredibly powerful writing, a truly wondrous hour of television.

NEXT: The End of Time