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5x03 Victory of the Daleks (Grading/Discussion) SPOILERS!

How did you like the episode?


  • Total voters
    163
Well that was... rubbish :shifty:

I can't think of anything redeeming about it after the Daleks blew their cover. It started somewhat interestingly, and very quickly went downhill from there on.

The direction for the show is a bit off putting. I'm not sure if it's the new Doctor or the new fellow at the helm, but it just seemed to meander from here to there rather quickly and then it was all over.

So the Daleks are back, escaping, just. And there's another crack. And the companion fancies the Doctor. More than ever, the episodes feel like a setup for the season finale. Fair enough, we get that in exchange for the longer stories of the old Who. But it just makes the episodes feel like so much of a means to an end, where will the crack appear when the camera falls?!

Maybe next week will redeem everything, but that's a bit maybe. By this stage of the previous two Doctor's run, I was quite happy with the way things were going.
 
Daleks have to appear every year. Nation Estate orders.
That's never been anything more than a fan rumour, though, has it?

Gatiss wrote a World War II script for the fourth season that RTD ultimately didn't go forward with. I've wondered the past day or two how much of that script may have been recycled into "Victory of the Daleks." (I should note that, as far as I know, that rejected script did not involve the Daleks.)
The set report for Victory of the Daleks in the next issue of DWM should shed some light on that...
 
The Daleks really played their "We're not Daleks" role to the hilt. I liked how they acted like they were actually nervous about being exposed. "I do not understand." And my personal favorite, after the Doctor starts wholloping the crap out of the Dalek, and it tried to back off; "You do not require tea...."

Best psychological warfare from a Dalek since, well, "Dalek."
 
Right, because Steven Moffat has never written a Doctor Who story about companions and allies of the Doctor who are in love with him. :rolleyes:

Looks like the rule is going to be: when something's bad, keep blaming RTD as long as possible. If we like it, credit to Moffat. :lol:

In fact, credit and blame now both need to be attributed to the folks actually making the show now. This is fundamental.

Romance and romantic tension of one kind or another for the Doctor has been a strong component of Moffat's DW work for quite some time now. That's a good thing, and I'm more than willing to credit him rather than Davies with it. :techman:

And the RTD Knee-Jerk Defense Team enters the area! :guffaw:

Assume what you like about my statements. But, the fact remains that the companion having out-of-the-blue ogling for the Doctor,

Dude, there was nothing out of the blue about it. Moffat had Amy clearly already smitten with the Doctor in episode one, and they've only re-enforced that in episodes two and three.

written specifically to be the "moment" in the episode where "emotions conquer all" is, by plot definition, Russel Davies.

No, that's a Moffat trope, too. I mean, the nanogenes just happen to figure out that they weren't supposed to turn the Human race into gas-mask zombies because Nancy finally said she was the Child's mummy and that she loved him? Seriously? If that's not a "the power of love conquers all" moment, I don't know what is.

Whether you view that good or bad is your own backyard to play in. But, just because it's so obvious as to be pointed out, don't get your panties in a twist. Being observant and being critical are two different things. Perhaps some will learn that soon... ;)

I'm not even questioning whether it was good or bad. I'm just saying, these tropes you're ascribing to RTD are Moffat tropes, too, and it's ridiculous to say they're from one but not the other.
 
Assume what you like about my statements. But, the fact remains that the companion having out-of-the-blue ogling for the Doctor,

Dude, there was nothing out of the blue about it. Moffat had Amy clearly already smitten with the Doctor in episode one, and they've only re-enforced that in episodes two and three.

Yep. It's hard to imagine how one can actually watch the show and follow what's going on in the episodes and not have noticed this.

written specifically to be the "moment" in the episode where "emotions conquer all" is, by plot definition, Russel Davies.

Arrant nonsense and poor rhetoric, there. Nothing to respond to, as it's actually content-free.

No, that's a Moffat trope...I'm not even questioning whether it was good or bad. I'm just saying, these tropes you're ascribing to RTD are Moffat tropes, too, and it's ridiculous to say they're from one but not the other.

Yep. This is explicit in the show and undeniable, whether it suits a given viewer's agenda to admit it or not.

I'm generally happy with where Moffat's taking the writing, particularly the focus on Amy's romantic attachment to the Doctor and the particular complications for her. The only real drag on the show right now is that Smith is not interesting - for the most part he's carrying on his goofy portrayal in the vein of summer youth theater. Karen Gillan makes up for that most of the time, coming across as the first companion - at least in the revival era - to be the Doctor's equal in these adventures from the start.
 
Well that was... rubbish :shifty:

I can't think of anything redeeming about it after the Daleks blew their cover. It started somewhat interestingly, and very quickly went downhill from there on.

The direction for the show is a bit off putting. I'm not sure if it's the new Doctor or the new fellow at the helm, but it just seemed to meander from here to there rather quickly and then it was all over.

So the Daleks are back, escaping, just. And there's another crack. And the companion fancies the Doctor. More than ever, the episodes feel like a setup for the season finale. Fair enough, we get that in exchange for the longer stories of the old Who. But it just makes the episodes feel like so much of a means to an end, where will the crack appear when the camera falls?!

Maybe next week will redeem everything, but that's a bit maybe. By this stage of the previous two Doctor's run, I was quite happy with the way things were going.

Beast Below had a bit of a meandery quality, but it still held together fairly well I thought.

But yeah, judging from Moffat's previous work I definitely expected this series to be more tightly focused and well-structured than it's been so far.
 
Watching the episode again I was struck by how much of the episode revolved around the Doctor standing around with the Daleks while they explained their plan.

At the end of the day I don't think Gatiss is a terrible writer, but he isn't a great one either, and maybe the Daleks should have been handled by someone else?
 
Well I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I am finding that this forum is descending into a place for pointless nitpicking and bitching which it never used to be.
 
It looks like the episode was budget-constrained, probably from spending the money on the new Daleks - look at how limited the sets and locations were. That might encourage a little bit too much standee-talkee.
 
But people on here have always been nitpicky, especially when it came to RTD episodes. I haven't noticed it getting worse. there are a few more polarised viewpoints lately but it's still overall a nice forum I think.
 
Its always amazed me that [Rob Shearman] hasn't written anymore episodes other than Dalek?
Shearman felt a little burned out on Who. Rumor has it he and Davies had a falling out, but really, he may just have been tired; he'd written a bunch for Big Finish (including the superlative "Deadline"), then "Dalek" (which went through an insane number of drafts, something like nine or ten), all in generally quick succession. Taking some time away to recharge the batteries makes sense. And he's been rumored to have talked with Moffat, possibly for the next season.

On a related note... The interesting writer rumor about season six is Michael Chabon. Yes, Wonder Boys, Cavalier & Clay, The Final Solution. That Michael Chabon.
 
Shearman's collection of short stories sounds great. I'll have to find that.

I'd heard the story before about the "Absence Of The Daleks" title and think it's hilarious. I didn't know the connection to the Toclafane, but they certainly had seemed pretty Dalek-ish as they were introduced in the third season finale.
 
But people on here have always been nitpicky, especially when it came to RTD episodes. I haven't noticed it getting worse. there are a few more polarised viewpoints lately but it's still overall a nice forum I think.

Some people can't even wait now for episodes to air before the complaining begins.

IMO It used to be a lot more fun/positive here.
 
Michael Chabon is HUGE fan. Check out the last essay in his new book, 'Manhood for Amateurs'. I'd be very pleased if he did, he's a magic writer.
 
written specifically to be the "moment" in the episode where "emotions conquer all" is, by plot definition, Russel Davies.
No, that's a Moffat trope, too. I mean, the nanogenes just happen to figure out that they weren't supposed to turn the Human race into gas-mask zombies because Nancy finally said she was the Child's mummy and that she loved him? Seriously? If that's not a "the power of love conquers all" moment, I don't know what is.
At least there was a decent explanation there. Through her admitting to be his mother they recognized that his DNA and physiology should be like hers and could fix their mistakes.
 
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