Evolution of the Daleks

It is a very generic episode that concludes generic story about Daleks. But what irritates me is not the script or actors, the science is just wrong. It would ok if they just made up some gibberish, but they used gamma radiation yet showing lightning.... Those tiny errors spoil the exitement.

The conclusion of this two-part episode was actually a little better than I was anticipating given the underwhelming first half.

With Dalek Sec (Eric Loren) now in his combined human/dalek form, his plan for spicing their genomes together is at fruition. However, he begins to see a value to diluting the Dalek genes a little, which the rest of the Cult of Skaro rebel against. The Doctor (David Tennant), then desperately tries to foil the plan, before an army of pure daleks in human for can arise.

Of course, some of the aspects I didn't like from the first half remain, the patchy accents and the effect of Dalek Sec still is a bit underwhelming. The story problems though are sorted out here, into the semi tragic tale of Dalek Sec, who imagines a better future for the Daleks, only for one of his zealoted underlings to screw him over. Much like the Dalek moments that I enjoyed in the Doomsday episodes, the visuals of the gossipy daleks checking to see they were alone before sniping at their boss was both relatable and amusing.

I did think it got a little sloppy scientifically towards the end, when it went to great lengths to explain about solar flares and gamma radiation, which transitions into a lightning bolt and electricity - presumably when someone figured out that the original idea wasn't very visual.

Though I'm still a bit underwhelmed by the whole storyline of this two part episode this second half was a slight improvement.

The Daleks have proved to be a bit of a nostalgic winner for the new Who but i'm thinking they may be on the verge of stretching it too far now after this ending. As with the other recent episodes featuring the Daleks, the Mill has for the most part done the series proud with excellent CG work. The big let down here was the very questionable prosthetic work on the Dalek/human hybrid which could have been so much more had it been a combination of prosthetics and CG – Davy Jones style. The Doctor Who Confidential series always see the production crew chattering about budget constraints so I guess that's the answer to that one. Perhaps had RTD not indulged his passion/obsession with pretty boys and got a Desperate Housewives stud muffin in for a five week filming schedule some extra cash may have been available for post production. I'm sure one more Brit actor giving it their best 'New Yoykar' accent would have made little difference to the overall effect. I love the Doctor Who franchise but fear that they will soon get very stale. If you could travel to any point and time in the universe – why would you always end up on earth – usually in Cardiff? If the budget is there to turn Wales into NYC – can't it turn it into another planet instead?

This is the second part of the 'Daleks in Manhattan' storyline, that didn't exactly get off to a great start.

This sadly isn't much better, and it's only a good performance as ever from David Tennant that holds it all together, but even then it's only just.

Like the first part it does have some good ideas, but I don't think they all come together. The Kult of Skaro are more threatening in this second part, and pose a real threat to the homeless people. The Pig slaves are also far more threatening and pose a threat on the Civillians. This works as this is what the Daleks are like more often then not. And in the small surroundings it makes for a bigger impact. And David Tennant puts on a brilliant display after Solomon was brutally killed by the Dalek. The Doctors anger and rage is there for all to see, and his despair at what the Dalek did is shown well. So overall, I'd say this episode made slightly more sense, and therefore is slightly better then the other part.