| Show | Doctor Who / Series V / Episode 3 |
| First Broadcast | 2010/05/02 - 19:30 (Link: ABC Details) |
| Related Links | Doctor Who WikiWikipedia |
| Previous Episode | The Beast Below |
| Next Episode | The Time of Angels |
The daleks are back, but what on Earth are they up to? Perhaps more significantly, why can't Amy remember who they are? A mysterious and occasionally hilarious episode that sees the daleks regenerate yet again into something more dangerous.
It's hardly surprising the daleks are back. Even though they appeared to be wiped out they always seem to find a way to carry on. This time though there's just three of them and they're in trouble. They have to resort to a ruse to lure the Doctor to Earth. They have a "progenator device" - a fallback designed to help resurrect their race should they be wiped out - but it refuses to recognise them as pure daleks. This suggests they're daleks produced from Davros.
We're back in wartime England. Winston Churhill has called the Doctor back to help. The Doctor arrives late (again) and in the meantime Churchill has accepted the help of Professor Edwin Bracewell (the android) who has created the Ironsides (daleks) who he believes can help win the war. The Doctor simply can't take it in. There's a dalek offering him tea. It's borderline hilarious to see the daleks being so subservient. Eventually they get what they want - the Doctor confirming their identity. They revert to type, relay this testimony to their ship and the progenator device activates.
The Doctor leaves Amy behind and heads off to the dalek ship. He figures out what they're up to. But the daleks cause a stalemate by lighting up London. Amy inspires Churchill and with Bracewell's help they launch spitfires into space to destroy the dalek ship. It reminded me of Luke Skywalker up against the Death Star from Star Wars (especially with Bracewell losing his hand, or is that meant to remind us of the Doctor?). Eventually the signal is destroyed and London is saved.
But the progenator device has completed its work. Five new paradigm daleks appear. They look more impressive and are presumably more dangerous for it. Intriguingly they each have their own colour (blue, red, yellow, orange and white) and their own title (Scientist, Strategist, Drone, Eternal and Supreme). The white dalek is supreme, the match of title to colour for the rest is unclear. It would appear big things are planned for these new daleks.
In the end they escape by using the Doctor's compassion against him. Bracewell is a bomb capable of destroying the Earth. The Doctor chooses to save the Earth rather than destroy the daleks.
As the episode ends the Doctor is concerned why Amy couldn't remember the daleks and the now familiar crack as the TARDIS fades from view (as a series motif it's not exactly subtle). I suspect the cracks have something to do with why Amy couldn't remember the daleks, rather than the daleks causing the effect themselves. As usual, we will have to wait and see what it's all about.
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