29.05: Evolution of the Daleks

[Lenny]

EXTREMINATING verb. - the act of a Dalek participating in an extreme sport

[HoopyFrood]

Ha, woops! See, told you I get carried away. *Edit, edit*

[Kostmayer]

All I could think of when I saw the Doctor clinging onto the tower was Doc Brown in Back to the Future, when he connects the cable to the clock tower just as it gets struck by lightning.

[Foxbat]

Two things that really annoyed me about this episode:

1)the death of Solomon- more or less a straight lift from the death of the priest in the 1953 War Of The Worlds.

2) The Daleks being humanised. As they consider themselves to be perfection, evolution is against everything they believe in. It just didn't make sense to me.

I sometimes wonder if storylines like these are as much about showing off what the BBC can do with special effects now as they are about entertainment.

I agree with previous comments, the Daleks need to be out of the picture for quite a while now.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

2) The Daleks being humanised. As they consider themselves to be perfection, evolution is against everything they believe in. It just didn't make sense to me.

Well, it's isn't the first time that Daleks have been humanised, and humans have been Dalekified. In The Evil of the Daleks humans were infused with the "Dalek Factor", and Daleks infused with the "Human Factor".

Daleks also seem to have an inherent problem with authority. They always seem to turn against their leaders - Davros, Supreme Dalek, Emperor Dalek, Dalek Sec. I would say that their inability to "OBEY!" is probably their greatest weakness.

So, nothing very original in the epsiode at all!

[pyan]

Definitely not up to the standards we are coming to expect from this series, but not quite down to the bottom of the barrel.
I agree completely about the Dalek overuse - there must be hundreds of old enemies that could be brought back, so why not give the Destroyer, Sutekh, or the Krynoids a chance?

The main thing I didn't like in the episode was the huge jumps in the location of the Doctor and his companions in the last half hour or so - from the Empire State building to Hoovertown,to the theatre, back to the top of the ESB (and you're telling me that the elevators still work after such a massive lightning strike? all with split second timing!

Oh, and Daleks shouldn't fly. They're meant to glide along in a sinister manner, not behave like demented WWII fighter planes. I'll just about allow them a gentle upward hover, for stairs(!) but all this zooming around....they're just not designed to do it, and look silly rather than evil.

Perhaps it will pick up again next week - I do hope so.

[Dr.Jackson]

I might be going against the grain here, but I wouldn't call this episode boring, dull, or too predictable. I was pleasantly surprised by some of it, but a bit narked about other things.

As I said about the hybrid Sec in the 'Daleks in Manhattan' thread, his ultimate downfall was brought about by his newly aquired emotion. We all guessed he was going to die, but I never thought it would be in a selfless act - throwing himself in the path of a Dalek laser to save The Doctor.

I did think that the conspiratorial look around was daft. Who did he think would be listening?
They may be Cult of Skaro, a little bit more imaginative than your standard issue Dalek, but when did they turn Cult of Stupid? Sec went soft before he merged with Diagoras, the whole load of them failed to notice so many things, or intelligently plan up until near the end when Sec was overthrown - and even then they screwed up! I'm sure that Sec could have pulled on his chains and snapped the plungers off Jasc and Thay!
The Daleks are meant to be menacing, this episode took the shine right off that. It may as well have been deep-fried calamari in those pepper pot shells for all of the intellect and menace they showed!

The Doctor clinging to the mast of the Empire State Building as what is apparently the largest lightning strike in history hits it - and yet somehow he survives - without regenerating. I know he's meant to be tougher than us mere humans, but you have to draw the line somewhere!

Considering the standard of this series, this is hopefully just a little bump in the road, and not the start of a slide. I do hope next week is better, because it does look rather good.

[WarlikeMenelaos]

So...with Dalek Caan still alive, who thinks the next Dalek episode should be called 'The Wrath of Caan'?

[PTeppic]

Originally Posted by WarlikeMenelaos

So...with Dalek Caan still alive, who thinks the next Dalek episode should be called 'The Wrath of Caan'?

In which case, will it be a good episode so long as it's an even number in the season?

[Alienweirdo]

Originally Posted by PTeppic

In which case, will it be a good episode so long as it's an even number in the season?

lol

What would be interesting, is if Caan turns out to be the Dalek in the Episode 'Dalek' from the Eccelston Series. In which case, Tennant's Doctor may have a hand in the outcome of that original episode if he ends up at that point, a bit like the Star trek DS9 episode where the DS9 crew ended up on the Enterprise and those little furry ball things (their names escape me).

Then again, that may not happen. in which case BBC, leave the Daleks and Cybermen alone for a while. Please.

[SpaceShip]

... then again, if there is only one Dalek left, surely the word "exterminate" will never have to be used again (in fact the word "exterminate" will be exterminated) as he will just do it - otherwise he'll be giving his enemy a chance to escape (at best) or be accused or talking to himself (at worst).

[Kostmayer]

You have to do the "Exteeminate" bit. Its mandatory

Besides, would you have the guts to tell a Dalek he was talking to himself?

[The Ace]

I didn't think much of this one, but when the dalek looked 'round to see if anyone was listening, I nearly fell off my chair.

[pyan]

Originally Posted by Alienweirdo

lol

What would be interesting, is if Caan turns out to be the Dalek in the Episode 'Dalek' from the Eccelston Series.

That would be very neat and tidy, wouldn't it? Which is why it probably won't happen


Can I also point out, by the way, that we never did find out the ultimate fate of Davros

[PTeppic]

Have now seen the episode - and I didn't think it was that bad. A bit slow in places, but they all have been. A bit lame, more than most this season. Some of the criticisms/queries raised here perhaps have answers:

dropping the sonic screwdriver - its VERY cold at the top of the ESB (as mentioned in the first half)
Sec jumping in the way of the laser - not entirely: I thought he was more standing up to argue the case
looking round for eavesdroppers - why not? as Daleks they've never really done insurrection before so they had to be sure Sec wasn't there
lighting strike on the Doctor - weird one since it was half lightning and half gamma radiation (the latter of which he'd be able to withstand, perhaps)
...ah whatever, it's only the tele!