Into The Dalek (2014) Review

NOTE: This is my original review of this episode that I made on GateWorld Forum in 2014.

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Into The Dalek has given me a grip on the Twelfth Doctor, finally. It's also proven to me that Steven Moffat still knows what he's doing. Or maybe that's Phil Ford. Maybe.

PLOT

The Doctor discovers an injured Dalek who has become "good" due to a malfunction and is ordered to cure it(for not a well explained reason). He ends up making it evil again. And then kinda good. Ah, Doctor Who... where button pushes determine your soul.

CHARACTERS

The Twelfth Doctor is very much like the Third in the sense that it's really the actor being himself. There's a natural oddness about him and certainly an edge. He is, in many ways, the Doctor's soul stripped bare, which makes Deep Breath a bit more palatable.

But oh, Clara Oswald... gone are the days of her likability. Smug, arrogant, bossy.. it's like Colin Baker, but as a companion. 

I like Danny. I see potential with him. He's certainly a more unique character for the show, a proper soldier who's fought humans and really killed. I like where they're going with this.

Rusty was also very well written, as was the Doctor's relationship with him. I still miss the New Paradigm Daleks, but what the heck. It was great. I absolutely adored the way his final moments with the Doctor harked back to Dalek.

NOTES

*I've finally figured out what I hate about Moffat's writing. 1) Lack of attention to detail. 2) The self-awareness of his characters and 3) A lot of the first two.

*This episode was really complicated in a good way. It was an experience.

*I loved how the Dalek's weapon lit up when it was killing people. Such a nice reference to their classic guns.

*Why would the Daleks even bother mentioning that "Surrendering is not an option"? Do they get fed up with all the whining?

*So... Daleks blow up stars in their free time?

*The Dalek's memory core reminded me of HAL 9000's.

*The Dalek mother ship looked like the one from Remembrance Of The Daleks on the inside. Again, good reference, even though I'm not very fond of that story.

*The miniaturisation scene reminded me of a sci-fi B-movie.

*Why does Rusty have to rejoin his pals? Just get the ship out of there and be a bad Dalek!

*I loved the way Rusty just quietly rolls out of the scene. "I AM GOING TO GET SOME TE-A!!"

*Basically, the Dalek here is a combination from the one in Dalek and Dalek Caan.

*How did the Doctor know to save the soldier? Why was he even there?

*Clara got miffed because the Doctor was satisfied proving to the others that the Daleks are indeed, irreversibly evil? Yeah, I think we just proved that the Doctor is a normal person. He is utterly convinced you can't change the Daleks and you'd be ridiculously dumb to try, of course he's going to be happy when the nutjobs realise it!!!

*"Am I a good man?" You've spent about 1500 years saving the universe for no selfish cause. Idiot.
(2015 Note: Ha-ha! I predicted it!

*Why is the Doctor so filled with anger? You'd think that confirmation of Gallifrey's survival would've toned that down a little.

*Who wants to find a creepy Mary Poppins-wannabe on the other side? And who's she supposed to be, God's secretary?

BEST LINE

"You are a good Dalek."

CONCLUSION

A decent Dalek episode that really sucked me into the Peter Capaldi era. Good job. I am a bit terrified of the next episode.