Spoilers Resolution grade and discussion thread

[BritishSeaPower]

The implication from the art we are shown from history is they burned the casing. So it seems the mutant escaped the casing and they then cut up the creature as they perceived it to be flameproof if it survived the burning of the conveyance.

It’s said a few times that the Dalek was one of the first to leave Skaro, so I think it’s fair to assume it is a pre-Time War Dalek. (I think I mentioned upthread that I’m surprised they didn’t make this Dalek the one responsible for the Dalek Invasiton of the Earth.) What complicates this is that it cobbles together it’s new casing from scrap metal and pieces of the Time War-era Dalek from the Black Archive.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

So not only is this NOT the best Dalek Episode since Eccelston's "Dalek".. 5.15 Million overnight
We are somehow supposed to believe that a Dalek direct from Skaro with the Ability to shut down a TARDIS, and sonic tech.. Can be defeated by medieval humans and weaponry. If a lesson was learned from that, it was that the assault on the Dalek from the Eccleston era was pitiful, because well we are supposed to suspend belief and accept that the Daleks can be defeated by Melee weapons over high powered rifles. So in the future, just drop the gun, and use a sword.

I like the theme of Dalek technology being so advanced and over designed that it fails to account for sticks and arrows.
The Doctor continued that in her Solution by misusing the relative low tech microwave oven in a really unsafe way .

During the Ryan/Dad scene, I told my wife to wake me up when Doctor Who comes on. Waste of time best used elsewhere. The only thing that MAY have made it worthwhile is if the dad sacrificed himself and let go of the TARDIS with the Dalek squid attached.

I think it worked. They set Ryan’s Dad up in such a way that the ending was really ambiguous. He could die or survive and both would have worked drama-wise. You really couldn’t tell which way they would go.

I agree that another rewrite could have made Yaz the Dalek’s puppet to raise the stakes for everyone.

 

[Solariabsg25]

I like the theme of Dalek technology being so advanced and over designed that it fails to account for sticks and arrows.
The Doctor continued that in her Solution by misusing the relative low tech microwave oven in a really unsafe way .

I was reminded of an episode of Captain Scarlet, where the Mysteron Agent was an electronics expert who defeated all the high-tech traps and security measures, but got beaten because of a trip-wire.

 

[Skellington]

i found it highly enjoyable, though it does benefit from a willingness to suspend disbelief. Loved all that TARDIS-fu, the vortex shots and that TARDIS launch at the very end. Nice callback to Dalek when the creature surfed the internet like a boss. I really liked the makeshift casing and the new Dalek voices (especially the one from within the casing).

It did raise some interesting points. The Dalek seemed to recognize the Doctor, so presumably they’ve had several dealings with her prior to its discovery of Earth. And it would indeed have been a nice touch if some reference had been made to their mid-22nd century enslavement of mankind.

Overall, though, I saw this as season 11 leaving on a high note after a run that perhaps suffered from a lack of focus. And Yaz once again didn’t get much to do. Hopefully the writers will crack Yaz before it’s too late. And hopefully they’ll give Thirteen a little more depth and fallibility than she’s generally been afforded so far.

 

[Marc]

It did raise some interesting points. The Dalek seemed to recognize the Doctor, so presumably they’ve had several dealings with her prior to its discovery of Earth. And it would indeed have been a nice touch if some reference had been made to their mid-22nd century enslavement of mankind.

Given it was one of the first dalek scouts to leave Skaro we'd be talking post-Genesis of The Daleks here the Doctor would be pretty fresh in the memory banks and the dalek her probably recognized by general characteristics (Gallifreyan physiognomy, meddler, etc though at that point in time didn't know about the TARDIS).

 

[Solariabsg25]

Given it was one of the first dalek scouts to leave Skaro we'd be talking post-Genesis of The Daleks here the Doctor would be pretty fresh in the memory banks and the dalek her probably recognized by general characteristics (Gallifreyan physiognomy, meddler, etc though at that point in time didn't know about the TARDIS).

Indeed could be an interesting situation where this scout Dalek knew who The Doctor was, but didn't know who the Timelords were, apart from what it may have gleaned from any UNIT archives it got it's puppet to hack into. And the thing with Time Travel means that this Dalek may have been a "pre-flying" version, but when it downloaded data from the arms firm that had some wreckage and artefacts from probable other Dalek encounters, it may have gained the knowledge to do that. Certainly a ground-bound Dalek would have been easier to defeat in the ninth century than one of the Doomsday versions.

 

[Worf2DS9]

This was one of my faves of the season. Ryan's dad showing up was something I could have done without; or maybe it was just that one scene where they're talking at the diner that just seemed to go on and on. I did really like the scene between Graham & Aaron though. I also liked the two archaeologist characters, or whatever they were. Glad they didn't kill off the nice girl again, like they did in Kerblam!

I wasn't sure about including Ryan's dad in the story and his part initially felt isolated from the rest of the story, but I liked how his story was woven into the main story by the end, helping Aaron earn Ryan's (and Graham's) trust and admiration.

When Aaron was hanging onto the TARDIS doorway with the Dalek latched onto him, and time running out, I thought for sure he was going to let go and sacrifice himself in order to kill the Dalek and save his son. That seemed to be exactly where it was leading and I was surprised it went another way. But maybe Ryan losing two relatives in one year was too much.

 

[Mr Soak]

When Aaron was hanging onto the TARDIS doorway with the Dalek latched onto him, and time running out, I thought for sure he was going to let go and sacrifice himself in order to kill the Dalek and save his son. That seemed to be exactly where it was leading and I was surprised it went another way. But maybe Ryan losing two relatives in one year was too much.

The self-sacrifice ending is cliche. I’m glad they didn’t.

 

[DS9Continuing]

The self-sacrifice ending is cliche. I’m glad they didn’t.

True, but acting like not letting his father fall into an active supernova is enough to resolve all their differences and now they're best friends again is also not ideal. I would have liked some kind of acknowledgement that, while it does demonstrate that some affection remains, it doesn't fix everything, would have been nice. Unless such a moment was actually there and I just blanked it out.

.

 

[Starkers]

Any redemption for Aaron didn't really feel earned, he just comes back and apologises and then saves the day and everything's ok? The importance of the microwave was very clunkily contrived. First off surely the Tardis has a million things lying around that could super heat a Dalek, but more importantly, why did Graham even bring it on board anyway?

 

[captainkirk]

One of the things that bothered me about the episode is that it keeps changing its mind on what it's supposed to be. It starts off as Lord of the Rings, then becomes Venom, then ends as a run-of-the-mill Dalek story. If they'd kept the whole thing as one of the first two I feel it could have been more interesting.

 

[Solariabsg25]

Okay, some of the rabid "I hates Doctor Who now!" people are getting a bit desperate now. The latest thing they're claiming? "The Doctor wasn't even needed in this story, it would have worked out exactly the same without her there!"

So, no-one identifies the Dalek, no-one manages to get through to Lin to assure her help is coming so she can fight the Dalek control, no-one discusses it and ways to adapt the microwave to wreck it, no-one gets ferried around to attack the Dalek, the Dalek gets to contact the Dalek Fleet, and Earth is subjected to Daleks roaming near the Houses of Parliament bragging about being the masters of Earth.

Jeeze

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Whiners are going to whine just so they can remember what their whiny voices sound like.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Here's my honest impression of the special, after I've seen it three times now.

Its a mess. I think the mish-mash that never quite meshed description of it fits it best. It tries to be an all-encompassing tale, but it falls short, and I'm not really sure why, but if I had to guess, I'd say its Chibnall's main blame. Ryan's Dad never earns his redemption, the character being too aloof of what happened with his own mom and never really owning up to what he did (some might argue that its an implied thing, but its not really delivering that punch). The action is never quite spectacular, and the Doctor's invite to the Dalek to "get off this planet" just seems wrong, even in light of the character's new-found overt pacifism. Its a Dalek, it should never get away, not matter what. And I actually appreciated some continuity here, in the form of the Doctor wondering if he could help/educate a pre-Time War Dalek in a way he couldn't Rusty, a post-TIme War Dalek. But there's none of that potential of theme in here, or anywhere. Indeed, its so decidedly neutral, its annoying. And that's my main problem with this entire season: Being neutral. Sure, being such gurantees you won't offend anyone with your views. No one can say this wasn't an ethically diverse cast, both in the main and the guest, and no one can claim it didn't try to be racially sensitive. But when you can't take a stance or dissalow edge from the proceedings, you also take away any teeth a given story might have (and, to make a pun, put them in Tim Shaw's face).

That said, Whittaker is almost there. Really, only a Dalek can bring the best out of a new Doctor, and this one really does get the better out of her. She really own the part in her encounter with the Dalek, in a way she didn't for most of the season.

In any case, this never really felt like a festive special in the slightest, and more like an episode (much like last year's Twice Upon a Time didn't feel like a special, but I digress). Like the rest of the season, it was alright, never quite exceptional, and its reach never intending to be beyond "just ok". That's my main problem with a season that looks good, but not much else beyond.

 

[Starkers]

@Emperor-Tiberius I can't disagree with much of that, though I'm not sure the Doctor offering the Dalek a away off the planet is that unusual. I mean sure, Nine was all ready to blow the last Dalek to hell, but he didn't, and though the final decision was kinda taken out of his hands by the Dalek itself you have to wonder what he would have done if the Dalek hadn't topped itself. And didn't Ten make a similar offer to the Cult of Skaro? (I might be misremembering that). Of course how shifting the Dalek off Earth stops it telling the rest of the Daleks about Earth is anyone's guess.

Completely agree about Ryan's Dad (he's not so bad, apparently) it felt rushed and unearned. Chibnall really does like shoehorning as many characters in as possible. Not sure if someone said this in this thread or on Twitter, but in many respects Resolution feels very much like an episode of Torchwood.

And yeah, it is a diverse show, except which cast member's had the most to get their teeth into and impressed most? The middle aged white guy!

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Whiners are going to whine just so they can remember what their whiny voices sound like.

I wish they'd keep their "voices" in their head like I do. So annoying

 

[Solariabsg25]

And didn't Ten make a similar offer to the Cult of Skaro? (I might be misremembering that). Of course how shifting the Dalek off Earth stops it telling the rest of the Daleks about Earth is anyone's guess.

Yeah, he offered Dalek Caan help at the end of Evolution of the Daleks. He also tried to save Davros in Journey's End AFTER he'd tried to wipe out every single lifeform in the universe.

Meanwhile, some people are in a frenzy that Doctor Who won the Rotten Tomatoes Golden Tomato for Best Sci-fi series this year. Claiming it's fixed otherwise Rotten Tomatoes would feel the wrath of the BBC or something.

 

[BritishSeaPower]

Twelve did introduce the concept of Mercy into the Daleks via Davros in "Witch's Familiar," so her offering to take the Dalek somewhere isn't really all that odd.

 

[matthunter]

Yeah, he offered Dalek Caan help at the end of Evolution of the Daleks. He also tried to save Davros in Journey's End AFTER he'd tried to wipe out every single lifeform in the universe.

Plus, in the new short story collection "Twelve Angels Weeping", we get to see the incident Ten alludes to where he saw Davro's command ship "fly into the jaws of the Nightmare Child" and tried to save him then, too. Which would probably have doomed the universe, given what the Nightmare Child actually WAS...

Spoiler

A Dalek without the usual reverence of Daleks for their own shape, which Davros has realised is stopping them from evolving into a more perfect predator. This one hates its own flaws and will evolve to remove them, which also means it has no loyalty to Davros or other Daleks. A Time Lord scout force comes across the ruined shells of a million Daleks, with the War Doctor's TARDIS hovering above the battlefield, and assume he's responsible, but noooooo..... in the end, realising he loves his Daleks too much to let the Nightmare Child destroy them, Davros takes it out with a suicide run.

 

[Gavin70]

Meanwhile, some people are in a frenzy that Doctor Who won the Rotten Tomatoes Golden Tomato for Best Sci-fi series this year. Claiming it's fixed otherwise Rotten Tomatoes would feel the wrath of the BBC or something.

Well it is the BBC after all. They're pretty scary. They might send Michael Grade to cancel Rotten Tomatoes if they don't behave.