tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post380115479274488235..comments2024-03-27T08:49:38.786-03:00Comments on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery: Doctor Who #716: DalekSiskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-75662588574636280982013-11-08T08:57:42.193-04:002013-11-08T08:57:42.193-04:00Liam: I'm going to pull at that thread the nex...Liam: I'm going to pull at that thread the next time we see the Daleks, and it's not going to be pretty.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-8597784580020128122013-11-08T05:05:03.832-04:002013-11-08T05:05:03.832-04:00This episode really higlights the rules of time tr...This episode really higlights the rules of time travel in the Dr Who universe. Or at least, the lack of them. Filmed in 2005 but set in 2012, no-one knows what a Dalek is. And yet 2012 is after the (unmade) "Doomsday" and "The Stolen Earth", so shouldn't EVERYONE know what a Dalek is? Or have those things not happened yet despite being in the future of the past? Or do the cracks wipe them out?<br /><br />Probably best not to think about it. Unless the Doctor's appearence here is what causes all that stuff to happen. But then that assumes that in the version where he DIDN't turn up in Salt Lake City, things turned out fine.<br /><br />ANother quick thing... this episode does the "set in the very near future" thing, which is often more risky than just shoving everything a century ahead. So we have everyone walking around with bluetooth headsets as if they are the bees knees, and yet no-one, not even techological guru Adam, owns an iPad/other brand of tablet.LiamKavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01996095233681105682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-90069012788081309682013-11-08T02:29:05.812-04:002013-11-08T02:29:05.812-04:00I'm not a huge fan of Doctor Who (I basically ...I'm not a huge fan of Doctor Who (I basically don't really watch it like at all), but this episode stood out to me as really great television. I'd heard of Daleks before and was really sold on the threat they posed.<br /><br />Also, I liked van Statten as a one-off villain.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15438253684711321317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-16006172326777884372013-11-07T21:50:33.174-04:002013-11-07T21:50:33.174-04:00That's a good reference. The Doctor is deeply ...That's a good reference. The Doctor is deeply scarred by the Time War and hardly himself until he is reborn anew as the tenth Doctor (and even then).Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-81581639382310870792013-11-07T14:23:44.159-04:002013-11-07T14:23:44.159-04:00The ending made this one for me. The exchanges the...The ending made this one for me. The exchanges the Doctor and the Dalek have made me realize this isn't the same Doctor I grew up with, he has PTSD!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06208969934278199592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-92063711832968051832013-11-07T12:44:48.685-04:002013-11-07T12:44:48.685-04:00We were always told how bad the Daleks were but so...We were always told how bad the Daleks were but some how their menace didn't live up to the shoddy effects and not being able to go up the stairs.<br /><br />"Dalek" changed all of that. It made the Daleks live up to their hype and then some. For the first time in decades of watching Doctor Who the Daleks were scary to me.<br /><br />Timothy S. Brannanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02923526503305233715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-36387985498972611702013-11-07T11:56:19.273-04:002013-11-07T11:56:19.273-04:00I'd like to add my voice to the praises for th...I'd like to add my voice to the praises for this episode. Like many, this was the first new Who episode that gave me chills and really and truly made me feel like Who was back! And the great part is it's still a fantastic episode. <br /><br />Again, easy to downplay in hindsight but the reintroduction of the Daleks - like the show - was not a sure thing. And I think bringing them back by first showcasing only one Dalek was a stroke of genius and really gets across just how dangerous they are. And sets up the rest of the season nicely. <br /><br />And don't forget that awesome rotating mid-section! Another eye-opening moment. Pedro Cabezuelonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-44286589676008307832013-11-07T10:14:07.746-04:002013-11-07T10:14:07.746-04:00Hey, here's a thought: The Doctor and the Dale...Hey, here's a thought: The Doctor and the Daleks have ended up in a bizarre developmental arms race. Both are relatively ineffectual the first time they meet, but each meeting escalates in threat, they both have to adapt. The Doctor has to grow more dangerous to defeat them, and each time they're defeated they come back stronger.<br /><br />It would be an alternate explanation for McCoy being something more than a Time Lord, not so much because he's something more ancient, but because he's evolved to become something dark and powerful as the stakes have risen, culminating in the Time War.Madeleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-36632508935445273362013-11-07T09:46:35.164-04:002013-11-07T09:46:35.164-04:00Madeley: For me Dalek was the first ray of hope, b...Madeley: For me Dalek was the first ray of hope, but Father's Day cemented it.<br /><br />Anon: The lame Daleks were fine in their City, with no one to exterminate. But each time they were defeated, they would need to adapt to better, more experienced and more powerful Doctors, until the dude they had to get through was the President of the Time Lords who blew up Skaro!Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-15458507290146217542013-11-07T08:40:34.653-04:002013-11-07T08:40:34.653-04:00You know, good point -- it somehow never dawned on...You know, good point -- it somehow never dawned on me how much mileage this episode covered. All I walked away with was "oh, Daleks can assimilate networks, that's new", and "I see they're teasing some hints what happened to the Time Lords and Daleks". But in retrospect, very good points on how they made the Daleks respectable, and that's a pretty good trick.<br /><br />I have too long a memory here; I remember the first appearance of the Daleks, when it was Hartnell, Susan, and the two schoolteachers. The show was tasked with coming up with a serious and terrifying threat that could nonetheless be outrun by an old man, outwitted by a teenage girl, and overpowered by wispy schoolteachers. And the Daleks were truly inspired that way. But this one Time War survivor against the original TARDIS crew ... ? The show never would have made it to mid-1964.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-70691636528324508682013-11-07T06:32:53.816-04:002013-11-07T06:32:53.816-04:00I remember a weird sort of relief watching this ep...I remember a weird sort of relief watching this episode first time around. Up until this point, I'd enjoyed New Who, loved Ecclestone, but was a little bit worried because despite everything it had going for it, the series hadn't clicked yet. Loads of potential, but it was starting to feel like a typical sub-par British 90s Saturday evening show.<br /><br />Dalek was the first episode that was brilliant, for all the reasons you've listed. From here the RTD era really took off for me, and I loved every 9th Doctor episode from here on.<br /><br />It's really odd to look back at series one now. I think there's a fair argument to make that Doctor Who is currently the biggest SF show in world, and I don't believe anyone could have predicted that back in 2005. The most I remember hoping for at the time was that news of Ecclestone's departure wasn't going to kill off the show permanently.Madeleynoreply@blogger.com