Daleks are as synonymous with Doctor Who as tartan is with Scotland (is my blog developing a Scottish agenda to rival Steven Moffat's, now?) Having been rather overused in the rebooted series since 2005, it takes a special angle to make an interesting Dalek story, now. Despite the brilliant Dalek episode during Christopher Ecclestone's 2005 run - where the Doctor was confronted by one of his mortal enemies (at this point thought wholly 'exterminated' by the Time Lord, by his own fair hand, to boot) chained up in a museum and, like The Doctor himself, all alone - Dalek stories of Russell T Davies' Doctor Who fell into the usual category of Daleks attempting to take over or destroy the world/galaxy/universe. Dalek aside, the evil mutants still returned at season one's end with a variation on their usual dastardly plan, as they did for every season after, aside from Tennant's third in 2008 (where The Master was that season's chief villain), where they got a two-parter, Daleks In Manhattan, halfway through. In Matt Smith's tenure, they where thankfully somewhat sidelined, relegated to standalone episodes of varying quality, such as Victory of the Daleks (OK) and Asylum of the Daleks (really good). The metal-encased monsters of course featured in 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, as it depicted the Time War between Daleks and Time Lords. The Doctor's reversal of his previous genocidal actions now meaning that Dalek creator Davros and his progeny are still at large in the universe. If there can be a full Dalek fleet at the start of Capaldi's second full episode, what of the Time Lords?
Into The Dalek is a big improvement over Deep Breath - cleverer, weirder and shorter, the usual suspense brought by the standard episode running time of 45 minutes; plus more Doctor…and no Paternoster Gang. I would rather have had 80 minutes of this, than Deep Breath, which would have worked better as a regular episode. Making it twice the normal length (probably just to show in cinemas) rendered it a ponderous, especially when the Doctor himself was seen less than his friends. In episode 2, he's in almost every scene. Ones where he's absent, mainly involving Clara pulling new boy Danny Pink, are a bit dull, even if new boy Samuel Anderson is more interesting than I thought he might be, as a former soldier, now a Maths teacher with a dark past. The Doctor is firing on all cylinders now he's recovered from regeneration and slipped on his natty new duds.
A Dalek episode might have made a bigger impact later on in Capaldi's first series, by which time, we would have seen him develop as The Doctor and better appreciate his reaction to coming up against his mortal foes once again but in his new form. Still, we know enough about The Doctor's attitude towards the Daleks to be hooked as soon as he finds his his possibly prejudice confronted by a supposedly good one, willing to destroy its own kind. The Doctor is introduced as a (medical) doctor by the group of space soldiers who captured it (and The Doctor) when he is threatened with death if he doesn't co-operate in being miniaturised and placed within the belly of the steel beast - 'Rusty' as The Doctor calls it - in order to make it better. 'Fantastic idea for a movie' The Doctor ironically comments on the shrinking process, 'terrible idea for a Proctologist'. If Doctor Who was ever accused of disappearing up its own backside during Matt Smith's time, then it's episodes like this which demonstrate how Capaldi's first season could very well be a true return to form for the series.
With this line, The Doctor is slyly referring to the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage with Racquel Welch, in which a team of scientists are miniaturised and injected into a mortally injured diplomat's bloodstream to heal him. Into The Dalek also put me in mind of the Martin Short film, Innerspace (a childhood fave of mine, itself inspired by Fantastic Voyage), last year's Matt Smith episode Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS and if I'm being really retentive, Journey To The Centre Of The Punk, that episode of The Mighty Boosh where Howard Moon et al where shrunken down and inserted into Vince Noir's brain. As someone said a long time ago, there's nothing new under the sun, so it seems unfair to criticise Doctor Who for reusing an old sci-fi idea, especially when it's used so well as here, presenting a fresh perspective on an old enemy.
This episode is directed by Ben Wheatley, who, along with Deep Breath, has also helmed Kill List and A Field In England. Where Deep Breath seemed like standard Doctor Who with less Doctor and more talking, Into The Dalek is more effective, presenting some wonderfully weird, arty shots, such as when The Doctor, Clara and a team of soldiers first climb inside the Dalek, as well as a beautiful scene where our Time Lord pal talks 'eye-to-eye' (and mind-to-mind) with his nemesis in a scene reminiscent of the mind-meld between old Spock and young Kirk - a highlight from 2009's Star Trek. Once we've ventured 'into darkness' within The Dalek's insides, previously unseen territory in DW (unless you count moments of brief visibility when they open or they're blown up) is impressively realised, although looks a bit like the TARDIS' interior from Journey…, perhaps they used the same location? Also, have the Daleks mutated again? This one looked thinner and redder than normal but then it wasn't well. It's eye looked normal.
The Doctor's greater visibility throughout Into The Dalek gives the promising traits he demonstrated in Deep Breath a better chance to breathe. That curmudgeonliness is coming along nicely and his curt one-liners, like (regarding Clara being his 'carer') 'Yeah, she cares…so I don't have to,' will be a highlight and he's thankfully less flappy than Matt Smith. I wasn't keen on seeing The Doctor brought into line by schoolteacher Clara, even if it was for a good reason. A slap and a trying question momentarily reducing the Time Lord to one of her pupils. Still, this further deepens their relationship and moments later and The Doctor is back giving the orders, telling people what's what (even though he still doesn't really know what he's doing but at least knows what he wants) His Rock Finger Salute pops up once more, too - index and pinky finger raised for extra emphasis.
'Am I a good man?' The Doctor asks Clara early on. The answer to this question was clearly yes when The Doctor was a hero fighting for his friends in 2011's A Good Man Goes To War. With Into The Dalek, a good Dalek is what The Doctor struggles to deal with, as does Clara her new Doctor's attitude that a Dalek cannot change. Villains are often just a flip side of the heroes they battle - The Doctor and the Daleks are no different. I liked the darkness of a moment where The Doctor uses someone's imminent death to the advantage of everyone else. We have always known that he is capable of dark deeds as long as the end justifies the means (he killed all of his own people to stop the Time War!)
Near the end, Rusty calls The Doctor 'A. Good. Dalek!' So, in Dalek's minds, The Doctor has progressed from the opinion of the Dalek Emperor in Ecclestone's penultimate episode, The Parting Of The Ways, who goads The Doctor, 'You. Would. Make. A. Good. Dalek!' After countless years battling his sworn foes, The Doctor's hatred now mirrors theirs, along with the will to enact it. Like that other genius hero Moffat writes for, he is on the side of the angels but not one of them. So, what's in store for his enemies, then, or friends, for that matter, in the future?
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