“One day he will return.” And that day wasn’t quick coming. After a big, long gap between The Doctor, The Widow, And The Wardrobe, Doctor Who finally returned to our screens in September 2012. Was it worth the wait? Yes. Was it the best episode? No.
Steven Moffat said this episode would be a “blockbuster”. And he couldn’t have been more right. Everything from the planet Skaro to the Parliament of the Daleks looked like something from a high budget sci-fi movie and the pace was so fast that you often wondered if it’ll over run by at least two hours.
It starts with a Dalek agent (or Dalek handpuppets,as the Doctor calls them) speaking over a frankly breathtaking shot of Skaro. Then, before we know it… ZAP! A Dalek egg whisk comes out of the Dalek agent’s hand and the Doctor is exterminated. Then, all of a sudden we find ourselves watching Amy having a photo shoot and before we know it, we hear a sinister, Dalek voice say “TARGET ACQUIRED” in the background. But again, we find ourselves somewhere else. This time on a bus, where the same thing happens to Rory. And in about 5 or 6 minutes, the Doctor, Amy and Rory find themselves in the clutches of the Dalek parliament. And all before the titles. Speaking about the titles, whilst the names of the cast titles look like they were done by a 6 year old mucking about on Windows Movie Maker with he’s mum’s laptop, the Dalek themed Doctor Who logo looks stunning. What a shame it changed again to a far inferior Dinosaur-themed one in the Dinosaurs On A Spaceship titles.
After the title sequence, we find the TARDIS crew fired down towards a planet covered in more snow than you’d find in Antarctica (if that’s possible). It’s not long before there’s a horrific scene where the Doctor and Amy find themselves in a control room full of skeletons of an Alaska exhibition. And, in true blockbuster style, of course, the skeletons turn out to be more Dalek agents, which the Doctor describes as a Dalek security system (enough to make anyone hide behind the sofa). Then, in another two minutes time, they’re already in the Asylum. Yes, readers. This really is how fast paced Asylum of the Daleks is. There is one thing, however, that many Whovians find disappointing, including myself. Steven Moffat promised every Dalek from the 60s onwards was going to make an appearance. Did he live up to he’s promise? No. Most of the Daleks were the RTD era ones, which frankly beat the silly Tellytubby Daleks from series 5’s “Victory of the Daleks”. There were only slight glimpses of the classic series Daleks and none of them really took part in the action.
The plot of this is actually quite straightforward. No, seriously, casual viewers. It is. In a nutshell, the Doctor, Amy and Rory get told by the Dalek parliament to get rid of the force field surrounding the Asylum, where all the insane Daleks that have been defeated by the Doctor end up. The Daleks are too scared to the job themselves and so the Doctor and he's companions find themselves literally “fired” to a snowy planet where the Asylum can be found. Oswin(who is technically the only good Dalek,as well as the only sexy one) guides them along the way and uses her skills in Dalek technology-hacking to get rid of the forcefield and make the Daleks forget the Doctor. However, she is revealed to be a Dalek herself and seemingly dies when the Daleks blow up the Asylum.
Of course, the acting from the main cast(Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill) was spot on, as usual. The three of them have really got used to playing their characters, especially Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, who beautifully acted out a scene where a divorced Amy and Rory decide to get back together. The star of the show, however, was Jenna Louise Coleman’s Oswin Oswald. Sexy, cheeky and clever, Oswin was everything you want from a Doctor Who companion. Oswin’s nicknames for two of the lead characters, “Mr. Chin and “Nina” really added a sense of humour to an otherwise serious episode and was a breath of fresh air. She’s the Donna Noble of the Moffat era. Jenna Louise Coleman played Oswin as though she’d been playing her all her life and it certainly says something about her acting when you find yourself feeling sorry for a Dalek. Oswin’s Dalek revelation is almost certainly one of the most emotional scenes in Doctor Who so far,which is saying something when scenes such as Rose becoming trapped on a parallel universe and Donna having her mind wiped by the Doctor have had Whovians in tears on every watch.
Another strong point from the episode was the references to past episodes. One scene, for example, featured a Dalek POV shot where the Dalek suckers draw closer to the Doctor, causing him to back into the wall. This is clearly a nice, subtle reference to “The Daleks”, which sees Barbara find herself in a very similar situation. Also, when Rory asks how much danger they’re in, the Doctor replies with “Out of 10? 11”. A nice reference there to the Doctor’s current incarnation. It’s nice to see Steven Moffat taking continuity seriously, especially with the 50th anniversary round the corner.
Talking about Steven Moffat, the quality of his writing really was top notch here. Everything from the dialogue to the settings had an epic, movie feel to it and it felt more like you were at the cinema than watching behind the sofa. If Steven Moffat is never knighted for he’s outstanding work on Doctor Who, then the Queen really doesn’t know what she’s doing (NB: This review was originally written when I was at sixth form college in 2012, and Queen Elizabeth II was still alive). In fact, I say she should knight everyone involved in Doctor Who at the moment! Line them all up, Queenie, and declare them all sirs and dames! Because, you know what? They deserve it. Don’t you agree?
One thing you could tell from this episode was all the hard work and effort that had been put into it. There really isn’t many good things on TV at the moment until Doctor Who comes on. Doctor Who really lightens up Saturday nights and if it is ever axed for good, I’ll be crying for eternity. As many other Whovians around the world will. Asylum of the Daleks shows how much of a mistake axing the show would be,if it ever does happen again, which it probably won’t for at least another 20 years. Heard anyone say it’s going downhill? Well, don’t listen to them. Because Doctor Who is one show that will never decrease in quality.
One thing I do recommend to anyone is that you don’t watch this episode just once. Asylum of the Daleks is much more enjoyable on the second watch. My original rating for this episode, when I posted a review on the Doctor Who Online Forums after the episode had finished, was 4/5. However, now that I’ve watched it for a second time, I have now decided it’s more deserving of 5 stars. For some bizarre reason, the second time you watch it it feels like there’s more action involved and the scenes featuring Amy and Rory getting back together and Oswin turning out to be a Dalek feel more sad and depressing.
One thing that still feels the same on the second watch is how scary the Daleks are. Yes, Whovians. Steven Moffat has made the Daleks scary again. The asylum Daleks insane cries of “EGGS EGGS EGGS”, which immediately leads to “TERMINATE” are enough to creep anyone out. I suspect those Daleks forgot to buy eggs from Tesco’s while doing their weekend shopping. Another really creepy idea was Steven Moffat’s Dalek agents. That scene where the dead people are revealed to be Dalek agents and come back to life is enough to give anyone nightmares. They look like they belonged in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video. Maybe they could have the Dalek agents return in some cut, unseen footage of Thriller, doing that Thriller dance while a Dalek eyestalk randomly grows out of Michael Jackson’s forehead? Take note, Moffat, if you’re reading this!
One problem I found with the episode, however, was that it needed more time. 50 minutes didn’t really give the plot enough time to develop. Maybe this episode would’ve been better suited to a movie? With 3D, of course. I mean, imagine how cool it would’ve been to see the Dalek eyestalk grow out of a Dalek agent’s head into the audience or feel the depth of the landscape of Skaro, as if we’re actually there in person, looking down at it from above? Heck, they could’ve included some shots of Daleks flying out towards the audience. Imagine how cool that’d look in 3D? (NB: The Day Of The Doctor would air over a year later, with shots of Daleks flying in 3D). This Doctor Who episode could’ve benefited from being shown in a cinema, rather on the small screen and 3D would’ve added to the atmosphere and looked amazing. I just hope that if there is ever a Doctor Who movie that it’s on the same scale as Asylum of the Daleks and has at least 2 hours and a half for the plot to be able to develop.
The next time trailer at the end is one of the best I’ve ever seen and really made me want to watch Dinosaurs On A Spaceship (which, of course, I did, when it was broadcast on Saturday 8th September 2012). I recommend that you watch Dinosaurs On A Spaceship if you haven’t already, because it’s even better than Asylum Of The Daleks. Be warned, though, because the robots are very cheesy and over the top.
So, overall Asylum of the Daleks was a very fast paced and enjoyable episode, featuring a stunning new character called Oswin(who I can’t wait to see more of in the Christmas special) (NB: The 'Oswin' in The Snowman was actually a Victorian waitress/nanny called Clara, a splinter of the Present-Day Clara, who later appeared in The Bells Of Saint John) and plenty of action from the Daleks. The acting from the main cast was spot on, but the star of the show was Jenna Louise Coleman’s portrayal of Oswin Oswald. The only disadvantages to a very good episode were the underused classic series Daleks and the length of the episode (even though they always tend to be 45-50 minutes anyway).
