It's the first Nuwho Dalek episode. Pretty cool, the classic Cyberman head tease kills me knowing how the Cybusmen look. Testing on the Doctor is a pretty normal response to being told that they're an alien.

As predicted the Daleks kills everyone, great episode.

Dalek is a very solid episode with great characters and lots of interesting nuance. It keeps tension throughout. However, I feel that some bits of it are a little but rushed.

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It's weird to think  that the Daleks nearly didn't return. That instead of 'Dalek', this episode could have been called 'Absence of the Dalek'. Thankfully, they did in a classic episode of the show many rightfully think of first when they think of Christopher Eccleston's series as the Doctor.

In Dalek, the Doctor and Rose arrive in the year 2012 at a museum of alien artefacts owned by Henry VanStatten (Corey Johnson). The Doctor soon discovers that Henry is keeping a Dalek he calls 'Metaltron' prisoner, sending technician Simmons (Nigel Whitmey) to torture it in an attempt to get it to speak. What's brilliant about this episode is we essentially get to see the Doctor become a Dalek himself; he even uses their catchphrase 'exterminate' when pulling the lever to electrocute the Dalek. It's great to see the Doctor just lose it and fires the imagination as to what the character must have seen during the Time War to make him like this. Of course, the Doctor and the Daleks have a lot of history too which obviously counts for a lot of the hatred but let's not forget this is a character that couldn't destroy the Daleks when he had the chance in Genesis of the Daleks. This Doctor would have done it without the flicker of an eyelid.

You also get to see it from Rose's side: someone who hasn't seen the Daleks in action and therefore has no existing hatred for them. Rose feels sorry for it and so touches the Dalek out of compassion, however her exposure to time travel regenerates it meaning she accidentally unleashes it on a killing spree. It's hard to not see Rose's point of view, even knowing that the Dalek's actions were inevitable and it really adds to the story to see a different point of view to the presence of a Dalek and establishes that the show's not just about the Doctor and his companion VS the latest monster/villain but can also be about one, the other or both trying to help the monster in the episode (something important to be established in the new series' first series).

Dalek also sees the introduction of Bruno Langley as Adam Mitchell; unlike many, I actually enjoyed him in the role. Before The Long Game showed his true colours, he seemed a likeable character played superbly by Bruno Langley and one whom I hoped would become a companion at the end. Of course, he did and he wasn't very good at the companion lark. Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper are both on top form here, especially Christopher Eccleston showing the Doctor's built-up Time War rage.

The writing is also impeccable; Robert Shearman is an excellent writer and it's crazy that he has never returned to the show, especially someone who can write lines like 'I can feel so many ideas. So much darkness. Rose, give me orders. Order me to die.'. In fact, I'd even go as far as to say Robert Shearman would make a great showrunner. Basically, if future showrunner Chris Chibnall gets Robert Shearman to write a story for his era then I for one certainly won't be shouting for him to go.

Overall, Dalek is simply a masterpiece expertly written by Robert Shearman and featuring stunning performances from Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper and Bruno Langley.

Overall, Dalek is an extremely impressive episode. Knowing that it was possible the Daleks wouldn't have been in the rebooted series at all, and that this episode is what ultimately swayed the rights owners, is pretty interesting to have learned about. I quite like how thoughtful this story is, and how well it showcases the power of just one, single Dalek.

I wish I could give this a perfect 10/10 since so much of this episode is done well. The writing is tightly paced and builds up the Dalek well while also teaching fans, new and old, so much about these aliens and their history with the Doctor. I do have to say some of the writing, acting, and effects don't hold up perfectly after so many years and such a limited budget from this era, but I still think Dalek almost completely holds up and is a great introduction to some of the larger aspects of Doctor Who.

Definitely one of the stronger introductory episodes around series one, with a lot of memorable moments and a great showcase of Rose's character.