It was a distinctly unsubtle case of another week, another call back in last Saturday’s episode of Doctor Who. ‘Into The Dalek’, episode two of this brand new series, with its brand new Doctor, saw The Time Lord (Peter Capaldi) and companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) visit a Dalek prisoner stranded on an enemy warship.
Reminiscent of Christopher
Eccleston’s trip to a Utah alien museum in series one, the Dalek in question is
alone, ill - possibly dying- and trapped. This particular egg-whisker is a Dalek
with a difference, however. Its illness has changed it. No longer perma-angry
and murderous, Rusty, as The Doctor cheerfully dubs him, is even quite chatty. He (I’m sticking with he- I have no idea if
Daleks actually do have genders) is, it seems, essentially a good Dalek. With Rusty’s health failing
and the un-named war between the future-humans and his kind raging on, the
soldiers need information. Operating a dangerous new technology, they shrink the crew down small
enough to, you guessed it, the clue was in the title, go into the Dalek.
The episode proved surprisingly imaginative. Despite choosing to focus on Daleks, them being
the most infamous Doctor Who villain since The Time War, and despite having the
most obvious title since ‘Snakes on a Plane’ was released into the world, its subject matter was actually
rather bold new territory for the show. We’ve seen inside a Dalek before, sure,
but only because it decided to throw its doors open and reveal the goop within
of its own accord. This showed us the intricate workings of a killing machine,
step by step as The Doctor et al walked its veins. It was also a thoughtful,
thought provoking look into war, its casualties and how we deal with them. As
one of the soldiers sombrely announced early on in the show ‘We don’t need hospitals any more. Daleks
don’t leave any wounded. And we don’t take any prisoners’.
All
this context of conflict sat very well, both literally and symbolically,
alongside new character soldier-turned-teacher Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson). Writing fully-fleshed non-irritating side
characters is not exactly Moffat’s strong suit (perhaps no surprise then that
this episode was actually co-written by Bill Ford) but, so far at least, this character
comes across as a companion who might actually have that quality, so elusive in
the show of late: likeability. Shown struggling to pluck up the courage even to
ask Clara out for a drink, conflicted by his feelings and berating himself for
his ineptitude afterwards, whilst also showing very visible distress when
questioned about his past by his new pupils, it’s clear the man has layers.
In
fact, it was character in general which shone in this episode. Jenna Coleman
goes from strength to strength as Impossible Girl Clara, juggling her day to
day life as an ordinary English teacher and her time-travelling ‘hobby’ with good judgement. Capaldi, meanwhile, has settled into the TARDIS as
if was born in it. Whilst he doesn’t quite seem to have found his Doctor’s own
personal energy just yet, he’s incredibly likeable in the role, bringing wit,
intelligence and a sort of calm passion to what had become a distinctly giddy Doctor. You do begin to feel ever so slightly beaten over the head with their ‘I’m
not attracted to you. Nobody is attracted to anyone anymore. This is platonic.
Platonic!’ (delivered with the syntax of a Dalek) banter, amusing though it is,
it just feels a little try-hard. And it just isn't needed.
Finally, I simply cannot let this review go by without a good hearty mention for another new character. There was a second appearance here for the mysterious Missy. Played by the ever-fantastic Michelle Gomez in a spark of utter genius casting, this enigmatic lady/alien/ghost-woman appears to pluck those who have died a death in some way caused by The Doctor right out of their scenes, seemingly re-materialising them in a place she calls Heaven.
Naturally, various theories abound on the internet, with ideas on her identity ranging from a female Master, to the TARDIS, to Clara, to River Song and back again. For now at least, this is a refreshingly new series arc, with the tiny cameo clips at the end of each episode filled with just enough intrigue and a sense of impending doom to keep us all once again clearing the diary and booking the remote for the following Saturday night.
Jen
Becky will be looking after you all next week.
In the
meantime, here’s a link to her review of last week’s Deep
Breath.
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