{"id":137,"date":"2011-02-02T13:55:11","date_gmt":"2011-02-02T21:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=137"},"modified":"2011-02-02T13:55:11","modified_gmt":"2011-02-02T21:55:11","slug":"mark-watches-doctor-who-s03e05-evolution-of-the-daleks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2011\/02\/mark-watches-doctor-who-s03e05-evolution-of-the-daleks\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Doctor Who’: S03E05 – Evolution of the Daleks"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fifth episode of the third series of Doctor Who<\/em>, the Doctor and Martha are forced to deal with the possibility of the Daleks creating a new race of human-Dalek hybrids. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ok, so maybe I do understand why this two-parter is not a fan favorite. Again, I wouldn’t say this was flat-out awful (FEAR HER FEAR HEAR FEAR HER), but it’s certainly underwhelming as a whole. The idea of the Daleks evolving is fascinating and I hoped that it would lead to a cliffhanger, in the sense that perhaps they’d escape with their new creations and we’d have to deal with them later. But nope. Instead, with the exception of just one Dalek, everything seems to be conveniently tied up.<\/p>\n

It’s not that this episode doesn’t work entirely. Things start off fairly well, as we get one of the Doctor’s infamous speeches that act as a distraction to help them all escape. The idea that the Daleks are becoming more human was intriguing to me and for a moment, this episode headed in a direction that was totally fantastic and exciting before it veered off into MEH-VILLE.<\/p>\n

The hybrid Dalek Sec acted as a great foil to the normal Daleks, and there was nothing that demonstrated this better than when our heroes returned to Hooverville to update Solomon about what was happening. Acting in a quintessentially human matter, Solomon clung to the idea that these beings could simply be reasoned<\/em> with. While the hybrid begins to demonstrate more and more human tendencies, in direct contradiction to what the Daleks have always stood for, the Daleks are unable to budge from the purpose they’ve always known. As Solomon gives a speech that’s kind of corny, but still powerful nonetheless, I was actually horrified that the Dalek Caan simply exterminates him right on the spot. I mean, I shouldn’t<\/em> have been surprised, but there was honestly a moment there where I believed that Dalek Sec’s influence might have affected Dalek Caan.<\/p>\n

NOPE. COMPLETE MURDER MACHINE.<\/p>\n

This episode also helped me put into words a thought I’d had long ago, but couldn’t articulate properly. In the Doctor Who<\/em> universe, it seems the villains are awfully willing to explain their plans to the Doctor, aren’t they? I guess I noticed it before and simply thought nothing of it, but it’s kind of the standard way in which the Doctor (and us) learn about what these dastardly villains are planning. I kind of what to go back through the show and take note of how many times this happens, because I’d be interested to learn how frequent it is.<\/p>\n

I suppose that this episode, though, has a very specific context to this phenomenon. Dalek Sec is far more talkative and reasonable than his counterparts and he seems to be explaining their plan to the Doctor out of respect more than teasing him with the futility of fighting against him. Even then, we learn Dalek Sec’s true intentions: to create a race of Dalek-human hybrids and use the Doctor to help them settle on a new planet.<\/p>\n

Did you believe Dalek Sec at first? He was incredibly sincere while asking the Doctor for help, but I couldn’t help but think it was a trick. Still, it was an idea I’d not considered: if the Daleks evolved, leaving their biological purpose behind, could they exist in the Universe without being a force to be feared? I think the idea intrigued the Doctor and, maybe, it was a way for him to finally deal with the Daleks without exterminating them himself.<\/p>\n

I think this is the point where this story sort of falls apart. Perhaps I really liked the idea of a true evolution of the Daleks and watching that idea be destroyed by DALEK BIGOTS and then ELECTROCUTION and then WHAT IS HAPPENING dampened my mood a bit. The end of “Evolution of the Daleks” feels convoluted to me, much like the beginning of “Daleks in Manhattan.” Essentially, there’s a lot<\/em> going on at the same time. Martha and the Doctor get separated (AGAIN, COULD THEY PLEASE STAY TOGETHER FOR AT LEAST ONE EPISODE), and we left to deal with the Doctor attempting to perfect the DNA mix before the solar flare hits, and with Martha, Laszlo, Tallulah, and Frank having to deal first with figuring out what the Daleks are using the Empire State Building for, and then with the Pig Slaves sent to attack them.<\/p>\n

Is their metal contraption scientifically possible? Just a thought.<\/p>\n

I will say that that I enjoyed that the Doctor wasn’t able to remove the Dalekanium AND he dropped his sonic screwdriver, only because it’s interesting seeing him fail at something when he is otherwise flawless. Though, I suppose it doesn’t count as failure, as the act of having the gamma ray flow through him actually works to his advantage later on. The Daleks awaken since the Doctor doesn’t remove the Dalekanium panels in time, and then the chase begins. It’s at the theater that my hopes of a planet full of Dalek hybrids are completely destroyed. Literally. And maybe it was naive to think an episode would end on such a positive note, BUT STILL. LET A BOY DREAM.<\/p>\n

Turns out that a little bit of Time Lord DNA got mashed into the hybrids, since the Doctor allowed the gamma rays to pass through him. So, after a particularly harrowing scene in which Dalek Sec sacrifices himself to save the Doctor and the remaining humans, the two Dalkes present in the theater discover that they’re not quite in control of their creations. Time Lords have a lot more freedom than the Daleks and the Doctor was correct in thinking that was all that they needed to resist the commands of their alien overlords.<\/p>\n

EXCEPT WAIT THERE WAS ANOTHER DALEK FAR AWAY WHO KILLS THEM ALL REMOTELY. Well, not until the hybrids killed the two Daleks inside the theater first. Now that<\/em> leads to an interesting idea: there is now just one<\/em> Dalek left in the entire universe, just as there’s only one Time Lord left. So the odds are entirely equal, unless the writers come up with some hokey idea about Daleks hidden somewhere else in time.<\/p>\n

Everything besides this detail seems tied up rather nicely at the end of “Evolution of the Daleks,” and I suspect it won’t be much longer before we find out what happens with that final Dalek left in the universe.<\/p>\n

THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n