Daleks in Manhattan

I'M SORRY FOR LIKING SHITTY NEW YORK ACCENTS AND DALEK DRAMA AND ANDREW GARFIELD, IT'S NOT MY FAULT!!!!!!!!!

It's not a very compelling script, but Daleks in Manhattan manages to skirt by a lot thanks to its outstanding production. They do a good job of evoking the time period and setting in a way that this and Evolution of the Daleks are still left feeling unique to this day. Sure, there are quite a few American adventures in Doctor Who at this point, but few feel so thoroughly there. That only some shots were actually taken in New York and the rest was done in Cardiff makes this illusion all the more impressive. I really like the locations like the still under construction Empire State Building and Hooverville.

It feels like these elements of the story also are used to inform the plot. There's a ring of desperation around the poverty of the era that informs a lot about how the Daleks are able to get away with so much.

Things kind of go off the rails in Evolution of the Daleks but Daleks in Manhattan does a decent job at selling the setting and creating a relatively engrossing setting with some decent build-up to the mystery around the Daleks and their plans, even if the pig-monsters are weird and some of the writing around that feels overplayed. This also feels like a very underwhelming follow-up to Doomsday. The Daleks go from barely surviving the Time War as these Cult of Skaro Daleks manage to nearly conquer the Earth and defeat the Doctor only to start messing around with a single building on Earth? It's a little underwhelming. Martha and the Doctor also feel pretty underused, especially the former. Their characters feel more like passive observers to the story around them rather than active participants in the story - a very Chibnallesque trait, unfortunately.

The two part story comprising of Daleks in Manhattan and Evolution of the Daleks has something of a reputation.

With a cliffhanger spoiled by the Radio Times and a script derided and ridiculed, with it’s author, Helen Raynor, getting a disproportionate amount of vitriol directed at her online, its two episodes which many would think aren’t particularly shining examples of Doctor Who.

Me being me, of course, I rather like them and find them quite charming. Bearing in mind this is a Dalek story and Daleks are an enemy I find dull and uninspiring whenever they crop up on TV or in Big Finish audios, it’s quite an achievement for me to enjoy such as story.

But enjoy it I did. The first episode is stronger than the second but overall I think there’s lots to enjoy and entertain across both episodes – as well as, of course, some less than successful elements which is par for the course of any episode.

To begin with, 1930s New York is brought to life gloriously from the theatre to Hooverville to the Empire State Building. It just feels sumptuous and tangible. Theatre is one of my other loves and seeing backstage always thrills me. I’ve been lucky enough to appear in a small role in an amateur production of Anything Goes (way back when I was a youthful 16/17) which was performed at Wimbledon Theatre – a theatre I had visited every single year of my childhood for a trip to the pantomime. Being backstage, in dressing rooms, standing in the wings, treading the boards was absolutely one of the best things I’ve ever had the opportunity to do. So seeing backstage in Who gives me all the feels. I love the dancers and their cheeky devil costumes. Tallulah (three Ls and a H) in the contrasting angel costume is a bundle of New York Broadway energy and I could have spent so much longer in the theatre than the story eventually does. Miranda Raison brings to life a character which could have been hugely two-dimensional and annoying but has a adventurous spirit and determination that is hugely appealing.

What’s odd is that the theatre scenes in the second episode feel detached from those in the first. The empty theatre and darkened stage feel light years away from Tallulah’s number and it actually feels like a completely different setting. I’m not sure if this is intentional but it brings a disconnect to the two episodes which is strange as those scenes more or less bookend the story.

The deprivation of Hooverville provides a dynamic counterpoint to the colour and vibrancy of the theatre and as with the inhabitants of the theatre has residents who add to the believability of the setting: Solomon and Frank are great characters, fitting perfectly into the role of the Doctor’s local allies, along with the sassy Tallulah. The later destruction of Hooverville by the Daleks is a brilliant set piece, with added atmosphere by being set at night, and the Pig Men attack is suitably scary.

At the top of the Empire State Building, the third main location of the story, we find the ostensible villain of the piece, Mr Diagoras. He is an interesting character, as he is ever so slightly chewing the scenery but pulls back from being cartoonish. Helen Raynor, in the accompanying Confidential admits to making him more moustache-twirling in the initial drafts but that this was softened and with references back to the Great War (it’s shadow lingering just a little bit longer than I’d thought), Diagoras has some shades of grey. His ultimate fate is tragic rather than horrific especially as his humanity is what leads to his death. I’m not sure Eric Loren’s performance fully carries the shades off in part one and once he dons the silly Dalek Sec head all hope of subtlety goes out of the window – although, to be fair, you can see he’s trying.

And that brings us to the Daleks. Possibly my least favourite Doctor Who baddie, the Daleks in this story are, at least, interesting. However, Dalek Sec as a human/Dalek hybrid looks utterly ridiculous. It’s the sort of thing Doctor Who gets ridiculed for, even by us fans. It’s the Kandyman, the Taran Wood Beast and Erato levels of crazy. It’s what Doctor Who does and often gets away with but this time it’s just a step too far. The silly head with wiggly appendages stuck on top of a 1930s pinstripe suit and spats just doesn’t work that well. I think the worst part for me is the cyclopic eye in the centre. It’s an aspect of the modern series Dalek mutant design that’s never really worked for me, so when it’s presented as part of an already ridiculous costume, it’s just the icing on the silliness cake.

The other Daleks are pretty normal fare although I like that their cunning is slightly heightened and the oft-mentioned scene of one Dalek looking over its shoulder is fun. Their scheme is suitable insane. I find the human Daleks at the end rather silly but more because the whole stompy choreography given to them reeks of the way the Cybermen are directed in the new series and the costume and make up makes them seem too similar. There’s a part of me that feels they could have been better presented but also part of me that thinks they are unnecessary to the story – they’re an extra complication that could have been adapted to utilise the Pig Men better (a much better presented monster). The Doctor’s solution to them is a bit ridiculous too. Just because some lightning passes through him, suddenly they’ve got a bit of Time Lord in them which has the effect of making them ask why. It’s a rip-off of the climax to The Evil of the Daleks but, much as I have no problem with the series mining its past for story ideas, it doesn’t really work very well here.

To be honest I think Daleks in Manhattan (save for the slightly silly title) is better than Evolution of the Daleks. The Dalek Sec hybrid and the climax of the story are a bit of a problem and some of the vibrancy of the first episode seems to be lost. There are some superb set pieces though, such as the attack on Hooverville and the excellent guest cast of characters performed by some noteworthy actors (not least Spider-man Take Two himself, Andrew Garfield).

I particularly like Freema Agyeman as Martha in this story too. She gets a lot to do and actually, for her, Evolution of the Daleks is a strong episode particularly the way she takes command at the top of the Empire State and rigs up a defence against the approaching Pig Men. Tennant is also on good form as the Doctor with the annoying hubris of Series 2 seemingly long gone (even if it will return before his exit from the series).

Historically, we actually get some ‘educational content’ included with explanations for Hooverville and the building of the Empire State Building and the re-creation of 1930s New York is very convincing.

I really enjoyed this rewatch and even if the second part is a little anti-climactic and has some less satisfying elements, I still find it a very watchable story. I think it’s the characters that help this, particularly the Pig and the Showgirl and overall its a fun package with some choice details peppering the script.