Victory of the Daleks

I can't.

This was honestly one of the more contrived episodes since the series' reprisal five years ago.

Moffat has brought back the Daleks, the villains that have been run into the ground over and over again!

The previous week's episode had the same type of fear with the smiling faces in the carnival booths that one would typical expect of Moffat's writing; however, the only "victory" in this week's episode is surprisingly with Amy and The Doctor as these two actors start sliding into their respective roles.

Not the actors' fault here, just a thin plot.

Don't get me wrong, i'm a huge Dr Who fan, have been for more than 30 years but I have to admit to having problems with the current Dr and his stories. It's not Matt Smith as such, he is a fine Dr and in another time and place he would be brilliant. The trouble is that he is exactly the same as David Tennant, same look, same hair, same mannerisms, same kind of companion, same stories......same everything.

When Tennant left they had the chance to take the show in a totally new direction, they have done exactly the opposite and made the show exactly the same as it was before. The Dr is the same, the companion is the same, the stories are exactly the same. The stories feel totally rushed with the Dr speaking so fast at times you can barley understand what he is saying. I know it will never happen but i'm a fan of the 4-6 part stories that made up the old Dr Who, in that format you had time to develop the story, the characters, today's stories are so rushed, and you can't build a classic story when rushed. Victory of the Daleks is no different, given time it could have been great story, but because everything needs to be crammed into 40 minutes it isn't, and never will be.

Victory of the Daleks is a solid story for furthering the Doctor's ongoing battle with the Daleks. I do think this episode is way more hated than it should be. It's definitely not terrible, but also not outstanding. I think it falls through in it's climax but is excellent in the emotional scenes with Bracewell. Both Karen Gillan and Bill Paterson really are amazing in their scenes together and this episode does a great job at further showing Amy's human contribution to the show. After having a very "human" doctor with David Tennant, Matt Smith is more alien-y and, in my opinion, needs a stronger human, rational mind in the TARDIS. Amy (so far) is perfect for this and is almost pulling the Doctor along. Anyways, it's pretty good but is brought down by the actual plot. Could be better, could be worse! 7.3/10.

I've waited nearly 11 years to say this because no-one I know would know what I was talking about but the New Paradigm Daleks look like they were designed by BMW. Really. Seriously. Look at the VW beetles or minis built since the 1990s and tell me they're not New Paradigm Daleks on wheels.

Just to make this a review, Ian McNeice and Bill Paterson both put in superb performances (even though McNeice carries more weight and has more hair than Churchill, he's believable and brings out Churchill's mischievous side). The story starts with a good premise - Daleks apparently being utilised in Britain's WW2 war effort. That's something ripe for development in all kinds of directions. Unfortunately, the story becomes just an excuse to introduce the BMW Daleks before descending into the ridiculous with 'Spitfires in Space'. (I guess the BBC decided against that particular spin-off. It's not as good an idea as 'Piiiigs in Spaaace' (Sarcasm)). Mark Gatiss is intelligent, so he must know the relationship between props, wings, and, erm...air. He probably wrote that intending it to be tongue-in-cheek. Unfortunately it just comes across as silly.

Despite the negatives, if you haven't seen it, give it a go. It is Dr Who after all.

Overall, I've really enjoyed season 5 Doctor Who. I really like the new Doctor, Amy pond and Rory, and haven't had any major problems with any of the episodes up to and including The Hungry Earth, except this one. This episode I hate.

First the good: I liked Ian McNeice as Winston Churchill, great choice I thought. And the Daleks looked pretty good in Khaki green, a suitable colour for Daleks.

I know that Doctor Who is fantastical, but please let's have a story and events that make sense on some level. Was having Spitfires in space really worth just how ridiculous and unbelievable the whole idea was? But it was the new Daleks that really got me down, they look terrible! Daleks aren't supposed to look like they're made of plastic (even if they are). There was no need to change their size or basic design, the original shape is iconic, and has stood the test of time for almost fifty years.

So making them bigger was supposed to make them look more menacing? Well, that might work if they weren't painted in florescent colours. Would Darth Vader have been as menacing as he was if his armour was bright orange? Daleks need to be in dark, or metallic colours, or both. Mark Gatiss and Steve Moffat, you have taken liberties with an icon. Keep your horrible new design if you must, but at least paint them metallic grey, or black, or something. Watch Genesis of the Daleks, and then try to tell me these new day glow Daleks are scarier or cooler looking.