Story: Victory of the Daleks
Written By: Mark Gatiss
Length: 45 Minutes
Year: 2010
The Daleks once again make an appearance. I think a good chunk of fans were kind of annoyed when they heard they were once again returning after being in every single season since the show's return...and the last four episodes (the Dalek two-parter in series 3 and the two part finale of series 4) they were featured in were ridiculous stories that made you think that they just needed a damn break. But then we fans all saw trailers and promo material for these episodes. And we got giddy. It looked pretty damn good.
Now the episode itself is average. Just average, everything beyond the Dalek stuff is just rather okay. None of the Churchill stuff feels all that excellent. Its not unwatchable, but it certainly doesn't excite me. The Dalek stuff is excellent. It bodes well for the series' future, opens up some questions that are clearly meant to be answered later, and they restore the Daleks to the universe. For good. RTD used up three series finales in his 5 years destroying all of the Daleks for good. The contrivances of bringing them back each time just to kill them all of again easily kinda ruined them...but Gatiss has restored them. They are out there now. To save the Earth the Doctor had to let the Daleks be restored to the universe. That's gonna be a problem later.
I think my biggest gripe, beyond the story flaws of course, is the Dalek redesign. I saw these promo pictures for them, and while I like that they have more varying colors than they did in RTD's reign, I think they were just kinda clunky. The design is just a little too busy in a way. It is sort of the same problem I have with the Enterprise in the 2009 Star Trek movie. Its not terrible looking, but it is trying to improve on an iconic symbol of a franchise. The simple design of the Daleks is one of the main reasons they have had such lasting power. This chunkier design just makes it look a little over-designed. But that isn't a deal-breaker for me.
The essential problem seems to be that Gatiss is only an average writer. He seems like an awfully nice guy and a definite fan of the program, but I sort of feel like maybe he should be like the rest of us...and a fan from home. See Davies and Moffat took risks, they know the rules of Doctor Who, but they'd push the show to its limits. Even in things like "Journey's End" the problem isn't so much that it is ridiculous in the universe of Who, but that it was just too busy. But Gatiss plays it safe, he never comes close to the edge of pushing the rules of the universe. His stories are decent ("Idiot's Lantern" certainly being the best), but they never get to that point of truly being exciting or new and different and unique.
NEXT TIME: Weeping Angels and River Song - The Moffat Era is Here
Written By: Mark Gatiss
Length: 45 Minutes
Year: 2010
The Daleks once again make an appearance. I think a good chunk of fans were kind of annoyed when they heard they were once again returning after being in every single season since the show's return...and the last four episodes (the Dalek two-parter in series 3 and the two part finale of series 4) they were featured in were ridiculous stories that made you think that they just needed a damn break. But then we fans all saw trailers and promo material for these episodes. And we got giddy. It looked pretty damn good.
I think my biggest gripe, beyond the story flaws of course, is the Dalek redesign. I saw these promo pictures for them, and while I like that they have more varying colors than they did in RTD's reign, I think they were just kinda clunky. The design is just a little too busy in a way. It is sort of the same problem I have with the Enterprise in the 2009 Star Trek movie. Its not terrible looking, but it is trying to improve on an iconic symbol of a franchise. The simple design of the Daleks is one of the main reasons they have had such lasting power. This chunkier design just makes it look a little over-designed. But that isn't a deal-breaker for me.
The essential problem seems to be that Gatiss is only an average writer. He seems like an awfully nice guy and a definite fan of the program, but I sort of feel like maybe he should be like the rest of us...and a fan from home. See Davies and Moffat took risks, they know the rules of Doctor Who, but they'd push the show to its limits. Even in things like "Journey's End" the problem isn't so much that it is ridiculous in the universe of Who, but that it was just too busy. But Gatiss plays it safe, he never comes close to the edge of pushing the rules of the universe. His stories are decent ("Idiot's Lantern" certainly being the best), but they never get to that point of truly being exciting or new and different and unique.
NEXT TIME: Weeping Angels and River Song - The Moffat Era is Here
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