There is no celebrating the best of the Ninth Doctor without this episode. My favourite writer in all of Doctor Who, Rob Shearman’s, one and only televised contribution to the show. As I mentioned in Jubilee, this episode is partially reworked from the former, specifically the iconic scene in the cage where the Doctor confronts the Dalek, almost line for line, though this episode is 100% its own unique entity. Honestly the poetic similarity between the two stories is much like how Jubilee is the ideal first story for newcomers to Big Finish, I feel Dalek is the perfect first episode for anyone interested in Modern Who. Series 1 until this point had been at best average, it got the necessary premise of the show out of the way; introducing the Doctor, the concept of time travel, visiting the past and the future, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say they were all that good. In fact, if a newcomer started watching the series from the beginning, I feel they’d give up by the time they got to the farting aliens from Aliens of London and wonder why the hell people love this show to begin with. If you’re new to Modern Who and are looking for a very strong first impression, you won’t find many as strong as Dalek.

This is an intense 45 minutes packed with memorable scenes, quotable dialogue and great performances from all involved, especially Eccleston who delivers his best performance as the Ninth Doctor, I honestly don’t think any other Doctor could’ve pulled off the intensity and rage Eccleston brings to this episode, or at least not to that level. The scenes between him and the Dalek is honestly some of the best scenes in Doctor Who history. Speaking of the Dalek, a common criticism from fans, even by 2005 was the fact the Daleks can’t exactly feel like a terrifying force anymore, they’ve appeared more times than any other villain, are always defeated, they spent the last half of the classic show being reduced to Davros’s minions and the fact that they’ve been parodied and merchandised to death since the 60s. Yet this episode manages to achieve the near impossible by making this single, damaged Dalek truly feel like the most dangerous creature in existence. Sadly, the Daleks have gone downhill in the years since and never really hit this peak again, they’ve basically just become the typical main villains we expect to appear every year and outside of the Series 1 finale it’s gonna take a lot for them to shake off that stigma.

But the real beauty of Dalek is all in its subtext, anyone familiar with Rob Shearman’s works will know that he is big on meta-commentary and here he creates an episode that under the surface is a story about what it meant for Modern Who in its infancy after the destruction of Classic Who. You have the Doctor and the Dalek, the last two survivors of an old epoch who find themselves in a new era where everything they knew is long gone and are questioning whether they still have a purpose in this new era.

Dalek is a self-aware commentary on Doctor Who finding itself in a new era with a new generation of audience after its failure from the old era and asking if it still has a place. Which ties into the beautiful ending where the Dalek would rather die than accept this change. If you think I’m reading too much into that, trust me, look into Shearman’s works, this is kind of his schtick and why he’s a favourite writer of mine. Part of me wishes we got more from him in the show, but I am fully content with all he’s given, especially after having listened to his final Doctor Who audio My Own Private Wolfgang which was all about how even the best can become a shell of what they used to be when they go for too long (case and point The Simpsons). Shearman knew just when to stop and not let his talents diminish and I have a lot of respect for people like that. Of course, he hasn’t quite stopped with his writing contributions in other mediums and most recently has written a novelisation of Dalek which I highly, highly, highly recommend!

Maybe the best the dalek[s] have been in the modern era.

On a recent rewatch, I was struck by how brave this script is regarding where it takes the Doctor. He's angry, he's vulnerable, he's very, very fallible - the sense of which is only bolstered by an astonishing performance from Eccleston. His skill is the final piece of a puzzle that risks falling apart without the gravitas and weight he imparts to the story.

Watched again for the anniversary.

This one’s incredible and lives up to its reputation for me. Eccleston gives easily his best performance yet. van Staten plays an incredibly hateable Musk like character who gets his commuppence. While I have a couple issues with Rose’s character at the end, Piper brings her A-game too.

The way it reintroduces the Daleks is perfect. Having only Dalek instead of loads for the introduction really establishes them as a threat, which leads to the oh sh*t moment we get in the finale. It also does what I’ve repeatedly said I like most when the Daleks are done well: it makes it a manipulative schemer. It’s not a yelling shouty robot, it’s a living creature trying its best to survive and do its mission. It’s efficient and it knows how to use people like Rose to get what it wants.

The score is one of Gold’s best. It’s purely atmospheric and it hits perfectly.

I love 9’s characterisation here. It’s so much darker, and the first time we truly see him wanting something dead whatever the cost. Which further establishes the threat. And as I already said, Eccleston puts in an all-timer nuanced performance that sells the fear, rage, trauma and guilt perfectly.

Is it Jubilee? No! But I think despite being loosely based on it, and having some of the same core ideas, it’s tackling totally different themes and has the different missions statement of reintroducing Daleks to a new generation. And I think it succeeds on all fronts. It and Jubilee are both great, even if I do prefer the latter for sure.

Unfortunately. Adam exists. He’s annoying, and his actor uh… Doesn’t put in a good performance to put it very gently. And also as some folks alluded to earlier in the thread, Rose doesn’t show any guilt at all about what she caused and almost seems more concerned about the Daleks than she does human lives.

But I love that ending, whatever folks say. The idea of a Dalek scheming to absorb human DNA to recover itself but due to decades of isolation, years of torture, and the existential discovery that it’s the last of its kind when it thought otherwise all that time made it miscalculate and not realise it too would become a little more human. And that isn’t pure. And to not be pure is a fate worse than death for a Dalek.

In the end I have one word to describe this story…

Fantastic!

4.5-4.75 stars

Review #9

The tale of the Impure Dalek

This was a good one. The daleks are appearing for the first time in new who but this time its only 1 dalek. Rose made it impure so lt can't bring itself to kill the one man that tortured it the most. This episode also delves more into the Time War and we learn that the time Lords and the daleks were the ones at war and everyone lost. Definitely do not skip this one. 9/10