Better late that never, some illustrated thoughts on Evolution of the Daleks

[kaliha]

Well after last week's non-cliffhanger (thanks Radio Times) I didn't hold out much hope for this week's being particularly exciting. Sadly, I was proved right. Damn it.


ha ha tentacle-face!

Even the Doctor realises just how ridiculous this has gone. Also I bet secretly he's a bit jealous if Sec's pinstriped suit.

Is it some sort of secret code?

Is this the new series 'licking'? He's doing it ever such a lot. He was doing it last week in Hooverville, he's doing it here talking to Sec. He even did it in the last episode of The Infinite Quest.

It's a sign I tells you!

Martha is inducted as a companion

whether the Doctor wants her or not with a bit of life-or-death corridor running. You know you've made it into that illustrious line of Assistants when you have to run for your life down a bit of corridor over and over again.

*does the Sir Digby Chicken Caesar music from that Mitchell and Webb Show*

Oh don't give me that look. I bet loads of you were doing it as well. Sadly my pop-culture mocking ruining what was probably supposed to be a quite high tension scene. The Daleks are on the hunt for some three-litre bottles of White Lightning and a fight with a Traffic Warden: "I'll take yer all on!"

For hands that do dishes…

I feel that I have to disagree with Mr Strong here – I don't think the hands look that good. The Michael Jackson-stlye white gloves would have looked a lot betterer.

Bollocks, it's a ladder. They've escaped us again!

You can see the frustration in their little inaminate eyestalks. Poor Daleks, always being foiled.

One of my favourite things about the new-skool Daleks is the fact they all have their own little personalities. Which is not bad going for a race where individuality is exterminated. I loved their little plotting in the sewers, particularly the way the one on the right was looking around suspiciously.

Meanwhile in Hooverville

Well, it's stopped raining at least. The people batten down the hatches waiting for the fight that is inevitably going to come.

Ah ha! You'll never expect the flying Daleks!

Close-up bobbing Daleks were making me feel actually seasick. *feels a bit queasy at the thought*

That's what I'd love to do

I'd love to be an extra on Doctor Who getting blowened up by a Dalek. Imagine the kudos you'd get off your friends. (Well it's better than saying that a bubble-wrap monster killed you.)

Solomon tries to reason with the murderous pepperpots

Semeingly though the genre of musical theatre. That's the hand spread of someone reaching the crescendo of their solo. The Doctor would know that – being a fan of musical theatre :)

Unfortunately it doesn't end well

Some aliens will never learn

The Doctor is (quite rightly) pissed off

And tells them off: "You're not too big that I can't put you over my knee and spank you!"

Facing off against the Daleks is one of the few times the Doctor is allowed to get shouty and angry without being soundly mocked by fandom.

Nice Knowing You

He's so formal. He probably doesn't want to hug her because she's been in those clothes for days now. But wait! It's all a ploy.

I wish the psychic paper had said something

that would have been great – something along the lines of "I'm probably going to get myself killed, fancy toddling over to the Empire State Building in about half an hour and save me?" or "I fancy some chips, pick us up some on the way."

The Daleks don't help themselves much?

Everything needs normal hands to work them, like the switches and pulling the wrappings off the human-Dalek hybrids. They're really not thought things through here, no wonder they needed the Pigmen. It's a serious design flaw.

Our plotting Daleks are being all suspicious

but are happy to bide their time for now. Even though they're standing in front of their greatest enemy and the person who has wiped out the rest of their race (although he hasn't really, I'm sure they'll all survive in the Void only to come wandering in through the Rift and lay waste to Cardiff in some future episode of Torchwoo!). Why aren't they killing him?
Dalek Thay: *looks suspicious*
The Doctor: *doesn't notice*
Dalek Thay: EX TERM IN ATE! *kills him*
Sec: Idiot! What did you do that for?
Dalek Thay: Oops, ray gun slipped. Sorry. *cackles quietly to himself*

Menawhile it'd the wimmin to the rescue!

Tallulah admires the Mill's impressive bit of jiggery pokery for this week.

The Doctor's just a big kid at heart

And plays with a chemistry set instead of saving the world. I'm still not quite following his impressive jump in logic that is allowing him to help the Daleks – you know the aliens who DESTROYED his people. Just because Dalek Sec is now showing human traits doesn't mean his zombie!army will be too. And why is the Doctor not really that disgusted by the way the Daleks have removed everything that makes the humans human from their army.

IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!!! *cries*

Martha and Tallulah play spot-the-difference

Girls, you're supposed to be saving the world remember? Tally really needs some more sensible clothing too.

They waste even more time

talking about boys. Bloody wimmin.

I love those big old fashioned glass syringes

They were the best bit about doing chemistry at school. That and Bunsen burners. *admires the Doctor in his glasses*

*misses some plot happening and the Doctor and Laszlo escaping in the lift*

Bloody David Tennant.

The Doctor is glad to see Martha

I think the feeling is mutual. Bless. Martha's also done the spot-the-difference and tells the Doctor where the Dalekanium or whatever it's called is.

Converse are very important to the plot


The Doctor actually uses the Sonic Screwdriver to unscrew something!!!

Blimey, never thought I'd see that!

Our last, best hope

I reckon I could take them all on in a fight.

This bit is actually very tense

Who'd have thought it?

Martha uses her brains and builds a massive lightning conductor

And I bet she's quoting Back to the Future in her head while she does it too.

Sorry, what's the point of Dalekanium (or whatever it's called)?

Surely the Daleks would get more DNA from, you know, themselves. Taking DNA from their bodywork surely isn't going to work? I'm no genetics expert or owt but even I can see that the science is a bit flawed here.

Ooh, that's gotta hurt

Thank goodness for them Converse, eh?

Can anyone smell bacon?

Oh come on, someone was going to say it. Might as well hurl the abuse at me.

Lying around on the job

I thought for a moment Martha was going to save his life again, well, I suppose she did, by mocking the patient surely isn't part of any First Aid course?

We like our hydrids in chains

And how did they manage to get Sec chained up, having sent all their pig boys off to the top floor BBQ?

David Tennant annoys the continuity bods

He does it on purpose you know.

All the world's a stage

I think it's some sort of avant-garde performance.

Do you run on the back of the chairs in your won house?

The Doctor makes himself look imposing by standing on the chairs. Luckily there aren't any ushers about. I wouldn't want to be the next person sitting in those chairs. He HAS been running about in the sewers after all.

10p a ride

The Daleks offer Sec for pony rides. There's a lot of wrong here.

He exterminates well though

Like the fact you can see his human skeleton. Really the Dalek bit is like a tentacle hat. Poor Sec, victimised for being a but different. There's some irony to be found there.

I WANT A TOMMY GUN!

Just look at how cool they are. Dalek Tommy Guns – brilliant. I love you and your team Ed Thomas.

The Doctor is no longer the last of the Time Lords

Boe was right and is probably feeling a but smug in the Afterlife. I told you so, the big face thinks.

But not for long

Bloody Daleks and their genocides. A whole new race, only alive for a matter of hours. The Doctor gets emo. And then he gets angry. He's the last of his kind again and probably feels that Boe's been a bit mean if this is truly the reason that he's not alone.

face off!

I reckon the Doctor could shout the Dalek into submission. Both the last of their kind. Really it would take no time at all for Dalek Caan to off the Doctor. So why doesn't he? The Doctor is unarmed and is a perfectly open target.

Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannn!
(Oh give over, I bet loads of you did it, there's nothing like a fandom crossover)

There's always one who survives – just in case they can get another lease from Terry Nation's estate (whih is likely, look at all the money they must be getting from the Dalek toys. I alone, own four of the buggers)

More crap science

Can someone explain, preferably with diagrams, how a Sonic Screwdriver can light a Bunsen burner? It’s just not possible. Pah.

The Pig and the Showgirl

Live happily ever after. I wonder if there will little pig babies.

Noticed how bestiality-friendly new!Who is? Mary Whitehouse is probably spinning at high speed in her grave what with Laszlo and Talullah this week and Valerie and Brannigan in Gridlock - what is this teaching our children? *Refuses to make a welsh comment here- loads of people have already done so*

Laszlo and Talullah have reminded me of an article I've read this week about Andrew Lloyd- Webber (no, not *that*) He wants to do a sequel to Phantom of the Opera but set it in New York. Helen Raynor could probably sue. ;0

Martha manages to upset the Doctor - again

Poor lass, she just can't win.

Someone should really point out

That the Doctor isn't just thinking of Rose there, most likely he's thinking of everyone he's loved in his nine hundred and a bit years from Susan's granny downwards, Rose is just one of many.

In conclusion
I didn't really like it. Don't get me wrong, I really wanted to 'cos Daleks are ace. But the Doctor continually beating the race who wiped out his planet and many others is starting to wear a bit win. If it really is that easy to do, why didn't Gallifrey win the last, great Time War, hmmm?

Plus the Daleks are starting to become a bit pantomime villain (and we've got the Master for that) – although the spats and the pinstripes were cool.

And why do one of them always live to fight another day? Gah. I hope we don't see the Daleks now for a few year. Using them so often really does lessen their impact. Yes they’re cool, but if they're continually beaten (as is the case) they lose what makes them such a great villain and that makes me sad.

I liked it a lot more than Love & Monsters though.

6.5/10

Comments

[doylefan22.livejournal.com]

I don't feel so alone in my kind of being 'meh' about the episode now. It was okay just not 'wow'. Amazing setting though.

And it did have the pigs in the lift being impatient which was a great visual gag.

[11nine73.livejournal.com]

*does the Sir Digby Chicken Caesar music from that Mitchell and Webb Show*

OMG yes! *chokes*

Also? When Sec was on the stage, I half expected him to break out in a rendition of "I'm Going Home">

Daleks in corsets. Interesting imagery *boggles*

[staceyuk.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree with your conclusion.

[lanaya1980.livejournal.com]

Much as it pains me to say it, that episode was absolute poo. Woe. :(

Good review though. :)

[taperoo2k.livejournal.com]

Rob (dalek episode writer) should have been given this dalek two parter. He would have done a better job.
I think RTD and co made a mistake in giving Helen Raynor such a big job for her first Doctor Who episodes.

[pheonix-iz-me.livejournal.com]

Martha uses her brains and builds a massive lightning conductor

And I bet she's quoting Back to the Future in her head while she does it too.

"1.21 jiggawatts!! The only thing capable of generating that much power is a bolt of lightning"
"A what?"
"A bolt of lightning! The trouble is you never know when or where one's gonna hit."
"We do now."

:D

*Needs a BTTF icon*

Phe