Daleks in Manhattan

I watched Doctor Who again from beginning cause I want to do a Doctor Who video. Watched this episode again today and just found out Andrew Garfield was in this episode! What a surprise!

The Doctor and Martha land in New York, 1930, only to discover people are vanishing, and an old foe is lurking high in one of the towers, The Cult of Skaro.

The Plot is extremely thin, but the Director and the cast do their best to make the most of it.

Even the appearance of the Dalek in the lift is mehhh, they've lost some impact, even if they do look perfect right in the setting somehow. Dalek Sec is still the best designed Dalek of nu who, the black effect works well, so much better then the later red supreme Dalek.

We've heard the Doctor talk about the loss of his home planet due to the Time War, it's nice to hear it from the Dalek's side.

It has to be said this is one of the most gorgeous looking episodes of Doctor Who there has ever been, it boasts some insanely good production values, even the sewers look good.

Some great actors on show, but it suffers from being 'The Dalek Story,' The Daleks have been drastically over-used, with this 2 parter and Victory being the 2 biggest mishaps.

Miranda Raison's ditzy blonde show girl Tallulah is one of the high points, she's so much fun, even if her accent is appallingly bad. High point of the episode is Tallulah's on stage act, 'Heaven and Hell' it's just brilliant, as is her meeting Laszlo after he's been changed.

Dalek Sec's experiment with Diagoras is brilliantly done, and a very disturbing scene, very scary for the younger ones. The Human Dalek is well designed.

Overall it's OK, it's just missing something, and I'm afraid i'm not eloquent enough to put into words exactly what, it's just unsatisfying. 6/10

1930's Manhatten is great and stunning to look at. I think whilst this is a solid episode not all of it gells together. Like the Human Dalek element is a good idea but it's very underdeveloped that it doesn't fit with the episode. And the Pig slaves while a decent idea, it doesn't make much sense. Because, Daleks would kill anyone in there path. I do quite like the ideas though, and the setting is great. An idea that does work is the homeless people of New York, there's a slight joke about the tallest building being build and others in Manhatten feeling desperate and starving for Food and anything. This concept works well, and I feel they were integrated into the story nicely. As the struggles of Poverty is important and was in those times, and perhaps more so. But It'll be a problem for many generations either way. The Kult of Skaro are also back. And they do seem as scary as they were the last time. They try and make a different breed of Dalek, in the human way. And then the ending is very intense and well pieced together to make an exciting, if slightly flawed first part.

I've always preferred the two-part stories of the noughties "Doctor Who" series. There's more time to breath life into the script, more character development and a less hurried feel to the proceedings. Dare I say it? There is more of a mature "classic" feel to these episodes. "Daleks in Manhattan" is strong on a number of fronts. It avoids the silliness that occasionally creeps into the new stories from time to time, it has a genuinely dark and sinister edge to the tale, a convincing '30s atmosphere and some great performances. On top of this, Helen Raynor's script is excellent.

The Daleks are always a superb villain and they fit the '30s New York setting unexpectedly well. The moment a Dalek glides from an Art Deco lift in The Empire State Building, flanked by pig-men slaves, is unforgettable.

While the episode is mainly a scene setter for the second part, this is a fine viewing experience. New life is being breathed into Dalek mythology and the Cult of Skaro is proving to be an inspired creation. I'm pleased that the Daleks now seem to be a permanent feature of each season. There is clearly a lot of new ground to cover with these metallic dictators and they're not outstaying their welcome.

The cliffhanger is excellent but lacks surprise thanks to the week's "Radio Times" cover!

I genuinely can't wait to see the resolution to this tale.

9 out of 10.

There's a common myth that DOCTOR WHO is " The show with the Daleks in it " . Yes the show did feature Daleks from 1963-1989 but Daleks aren't the be all and end all of the programme . In fact when you think about it the most highly regarded seasons among fans , five ( 1968 ) seven ( 1970 ) , thirteen (1975-76 ) and fourteen ( 1976-77 ) haven't featured any Dalek stories at all . The reverse is also true with stories such as The Chase , Death To The Daleks and Destiny Of The Daleks held in very low regard by the fans . It's somewhat annoying when producers bring back the Daleks for the sake of it and this certainly applies to this story .

It's not just the return of the Daleks that's so underdeveloped -it's the entire script which has a lack of thought . In fact there's something painfully inconsistent with every scene . For example Soloman ( This week's token black character )talks about his time in The Great War and the need for sticking together but seeing as the American army was segregated until 1947 would such a character be aware of a need to be sticking together ? It'd be more logical and credible if he was bitter and anti assimilation . In an early scene he takes back a loaf of bread that'd been stolen and breaks it in half and gives half of it to the rightful owner and the thief . Is that moral ? I guess because his name is Soloman there's a biblical reference there somewhere but again there's a lack of credibility , same as it's pushed down the viewers throat of how hungry and poverty stricken the people are in Central Park then when they'r offered a chance of work most of these unemployed , hungry and poverty stricken people turn it down

You also have to ask yourself why is it the Daleks have decided to locate to New York in 1930 ? Despite the poverty caused by the Wall Steet crash America was still a capitalist democracy with a free press and where people were allowed to ask questions . Wouldn't the Daleks have been better off in Hitler's Germany or Stalin's Soviet Union ? Indeed with the dubious success of Stalin's five year plans it would be far more logical to have set the story there and have the character of Diagoras as a high ranking commissar who doesn't tolerate dissent , but I guess Daleks In The Gulag doesn't have the same ring to it

Director James Strong does his very best with the weak material , but there's a fly in the ointment and that is the " Noo Yoirk accents " . They are absolutely terrible and a great distraction . Likewise much of the dialogue such as " Laszlo was da smartest guy oi ever dated " . Strong does however make sewers look like sewers which is not often the case in the history of the show ( Attack Of The Cybermen being an example ) and he does pace the impact aesthetic of the cliffhanger very well . It's just a pity that the Radio Times gave away the episode ending with a front page photo