Victory of the Daleks

Already Nuwho is into Its five-year run and It seems that I am sad to say that one thing that Steven Moffat hasn't seem to have learned from RTD and the numerous misplaced errors he made is this: You can often have too much of a good thing. And none has arguably been more the case than the now tiresome overuse of one of the show's most iconic and lauded creations. "Victory of the Daleks" penned by the talented and versatile actor, comedian, and writer Mark Gatiss, a long-time devoted fan of the series who delivered the sublimely eerie "The Unquiet Dead" and the less satisfying yet entertaining "The Idiots Lantern" back in 2006. VOTD attempts to achieve something contradictory to what we've seen with the mythological menace a la 2005's "Dalek". To Gatiss's credit, the overriding plot to VOTD and the motivation behind what the monstrosities conspire to achieve Isn't too bad and isn't without some imaginative merit. But with a running time of just over forty minutes to cram as much narrative detail we're left with a clankingly constructed story that veers into the profoundly ludicrous to forward proceedings. The presence of the Time Lord protagonist as seen in the closing moments of the previous week's "The Beast Below" is strongly requested by a certain Winston Churchhill(A suitably portly Ian McNeice)in blitz-torn Britain. Relying on the contrived notion that the pair have already been acquainted in the past, Churchill wants the Doctor to witness the new weapon the British forces are utilizing in their fight against the Nazis. A weapon that bares an uncanny resemblance to one of the ancient time travelers' eldest and malignant foes. If you can get past the awkward and bizarre notion of the Dalek's supposed subservience there is, of course, a somewhat feasible rationale to it given how the story develops. But even then it leads the core audience to ask more questions which are basically left unanswered and no doubt might have been had it not been for the episodes now customarily imposed running time.

And once the true nature of the Dalek stratagem is unveiled the story takes further twists without any undue care or consideration to logic or sound reason. An error made all the more frequently by former executive producer and writer Russell T. Davies. Which given that not only Mark Gatiss wrote the script but the new executive producer and renowned writer Steven Moffat was allowed to grant it his stamp of approval. If you can swallow some of the inane tawdry revelations of a key character and the true nature of who that person is and their involvement with the Daleks, you won't be able to stomach where Gatiss exploits said character to further the story's sublime but clumsily handled narrative i.e. WWII spitfires dogfighting in outer space?! Visually given the cutbacks made to the show's budget Moffat is able to incorporate some eye-popping visuals into some of the episode's ludicrous scenarios. And as for some of the insipid cheesiness that was a cornerstone of Moffat's predecessor, it is ever the more evident and reduced me to moments where I felt I had to balk. And the addition of new Uber-Daleks seems to have been designed by the very same man or woman who invented the Teletubbies.

As for the general performances, they're basically of the decent quality you might expect from a BBC production. Matt Smith is proving to be pretty dependable although it might be noted that his emotional acting when he is forced to convey fury or frustration needs to be fine-tuned and less showy. Karen Gillan who is forced a little more into the foreground is still never the less excellent but what of the guest cast? Ian McNiece, one of Britain's oldest if not necessarily famous names gives an inoffensive if merely adequate performance as Churchill. He seems to attempt to imitate the iconic, historical figure and his unmistakable vocal tones but feels too forced and not completely convincing while Bill Pattison fares better in a thankless job as a walking-talking plot device. Although he does really give it his all and delivers a thoroughly emotional performance which is never less laughable within its context.

The result is that VOTD is a disappointing if not utterly awful run-around which all in all had the potential to be so much more than it was but is instead a bit of a tawdry bore with the odd moment of the brilliantly sublime to elevate it above being a complete disaster. But admirers of Steven Moffat need to take some note here. He may be a gifted writer but he has yet to totally prove that he has the chops to be a magnificent executive producer. But the preview signals the return of the ominous Weeping Angels and the feisty, Prof. River Song in the "Time of the Angels" which heralds the first part of a two-part story. I can only hope things once again elevated to a higher trajectory of standard.

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.

I just watched this episode and was quite surprised, but in a decent way.

I fully understand why most don't like the episode as it has a bit of whimsy and such, but I really quite enjoyed it. The casting was on point, the score was decent and the first act was reflective of the deception and planning you would expect from the Daleks.

I would not initially have written this review however I think that the loads of low reviews should be balanced with a positive one, to be more reflective.

Overall this episode was pretty good, not as good or thought provoking as the previous but still entertaining. It definitely has its flaws, especially as it's story is more fairytale than sci-fi, but still enjoyable. I would recommend just watching for yourself before passing judgement.

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.

Winston's new weapon will shorten the war, though he's wise enough to know that he can't be too sure, so he's called an old friend to ask his advice, who has said he'll be there in less than a trice (he's a month late).

When the Doctor appears with Amelia Pond, he's welcomed by a weapon made of Dalekanium bond, but the Ironsides are friendly, courteous and polite, avoiding the Time Lord's aggression and spite.

Like a leopard however they can't change their dots, they're conniving to realise a cunning Dalek plot, in the blink of one eye they've teleported away, Victory for the Daleks, not the Doctor's day today.