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.

📝9/10

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

"Dalek: The Tragic Return"

Robert Shearman’s sole contribution to televised Doctor Who, Dalek, draws inspiration from his earlier Big Finish audio play Jubilee. The result is a gripping, base-under-siege story that reintroduces the Doctor’s most iconic foes in a way that feels fresh, intense, and deeply emotional. Set against the backdrop of the Time War’s shadow, this episode puts both the Doctor and the Daleks in an entirely new light, delivering one of the darkest tales of the Ninth Doctor’s era.

This is a classic Doctor Who monster story reimagined for a modern audience. The base-under-siege format feels like something straight out of the Second Doctor’s era, complete with a self-absorbed leader, an ill-fated crew, and an escalating alien threat. But here, it’s turbocharged—with a deadly lone Dalek, a faster pace, and a much darker, angrier Doctor at its core.

The episode wastes no time establishing its central threat, introducing the Dalek within minutes. The Doctor’s reaction—shock and fear, quickly giving way to unbridled rage—is captivating and immediately sets the tone. This isn’t just a rehash of Doctor Who’s past; it’s a bold statement about the lasting scars of the Time War.

The story effectively makes a single Dalek terrifying, showcasing its relentless lethality and its ability to wipe out entire squads of soldiers single-handedly. Yet it also flips the script, making us question what defines humanity and monstrosity. The humans torturing the Dalek, particularly the Elon Musk-esque Henry van Statten, are deeply unlikable, while the Dalek itself becomes an object of unexpected sympathy.

Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor is at his absolute best here. His performance ranges from fury to heartbreak, delivering one of the most powerful depictions of the Doctor’s inner turmoil. The parallels between the Doctor and the Dalek are stark—both are war survivors, struggling with their identities. Watching the Doctor edge closer to the Dalek’s ruthlessness is as chilling as it is tragic.

Billie Piper shines as Rose, though her role is more limited than in other episodes. Her act of kindness towards the Dalek leads to the story’s emotional climax, where the creature questions its purpose and ultimately chooses self-destruction. The connection between Rose and the Dalek may stretch believability (particularly the DNA-feeding element), but it’s undeniably pivotal to the narrative.

Corey Johnson’s Henry van Statten is the quintessential “rich and stupid” villain—entertaining but somewhat cartoonish in his arrogance. Harriet Jones would have handled him in seconds! Meanwhile, Bruno Langley’s Adam proves as annoying as ever, already showing the uselessness that would define his short stint as companion.

The production design is simple yet effective. The dark, claustrophobic sets heighten the tension, while the Dalek’s sleek new design and upgraded capabilities (yes, it can climb stairs!) are both iconic and terrifying. Murray Gold’s score, as always, elevates the episode’s emotional beats, though the atmosphere is so strong that it would remain chilling even in silence.

The story’s emotional core, rooted in the Doctor’s trauma and the Dalek’s existential crisis, is its greatest strength. The pacing, while slow to start, builds to an explosive and cathartic conclusion. However, the tonal balance wavers at times. The Dalek’s brief moments of “humanity” are intriguing but may not sit well with purists who prefer their Daleks as unfeeling machines of destruction.

Final Thoughts:

Dalek is an atmospheric, character-driven reintroduction of the Doctor’s most infamous adversaries. While it doesn’t fully recapture the cold, calculated menace of the classic Daleks, it reinvents them for a new generation, combining terror with tragedy. Paired with one of Eccleston’s finest performances, it’s an episode that lingers long after the credits roll.

Random Observations:

• When the first season of a series takes place in a future that has long since passed in real life, you know it has been going on for a while. Here it is the wonderful year of 2012.
• A nice bit of fan service here: the Utah museum has the head of a Mondasian Cyberman on display. That remains the only onscreen encounter between the Ninth Doctor and a Cyberman.
• Davros is indirectly mentioned here by the Doctor.
• Following their latest appearance in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988), the Dalek is capable of levitating up a staircase, effectively ripping off the famous cliffhanger from the previously mentioned story.

Dalek is a triumphant return of the titular monster. Dalek takes a single Dalek and makes it scary. Is Jubilee, the Big Finish audio this shares its roots with the superior story? Yes... and no. While the two stories share the same author and do share a backbone, they're both telling very different stories. *Jubilee* is focused on the desensitization and celebration of evil and how that often leads to a worse evil. In the audio, the Dalek/Nazi correlation is especially highlighted.

Dalek has a much different purpose. Dalek's purpose is to introduce a new generation to the Daleks and make them a credible threat again. It's also the midpoint (-ish) of the season and thus has the job of revealing more about the Time War which has thus far been just barely floating around the perifery of the season. And, I think it succeeds. Robert Shearman is an excellent writer, but a lot of the success falls to both Eccleston who's excellent and in top form here, and to Nick Briggs who gives an excellent performance as the Dalek. The scene in the cage where the Doctor and the Dalek meet for the first time is rivetting and so well done. The stairs scene is brilliantly done, and the scene where the Dalek uses the sprinkler system to kill everyone is brilliant.

In the end, this is a great episode. It's fun, effective, a great Dalek story, a really effective powerhouse performance from Christopher Eccleston and just the boost the show needed to keep people watching. Is it over-hyped? Maybe. And maybe as fans, there're better Dalek episodes and stories out there. But this is a story that you could use to show new fans how good this show can be. And that's a good thing. Within the context of Series 1, it's nearly perfect and boosts the season immensely.

I wake up in the middle of the night after drinking a little too much in a Paris cocktail bar. I’m on holiday. Dehydrated and unable to sleep for a little bit I stuck on Dalek, unaware that it was the 17th anniversary of this very story.

I was blown away by how subversive a way to bring back the Daleks it was. Dr Who gets to be the baddie and the (individual) Dalek gets to be the goodie, reflecting a shared trauma. As a result you get genuine character development and insight for both. The Time War has changed The Doctor.

It wasn’t just good on this level. I watched it go out live in 2005 with a group of school friends on a trip - we were 11/12. We thought it was the coolest thing we’d ever seen. Even a skeptical parent was won over “bloody hell, it never used to be this good!”

So many people were watching to see what the Daleks would be like in the 21st century and possibly would have been satisfied with a runaround. They were given so much more than that, an era defining story with a convincing portrayal of a damaged man meeting his old torturer.