3.4-5: Daleks In Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks
Synopsis: In Depression-era New York, people are mysteriously disappearing from the shanty town of Hooverville. When the Doctor and Martha begin to investigate, they find porcine humanoids lurking about the sewers. Meanwhile, the Empire State Building is nearing completion, and a Mr. Diagoras seems to be in charge. He, along with the porcines, is working for the last four remaining Daleks. He is "rewarded" by becoming hybridized with Dalek Sec, resulting in the universe's first human Dalek. The plan is to attach Dalekanium (the metal in the Daleks' armor) to the mast of the Empire State Building, wait for a solar flare to give them a gamma strike, and create thousands more hybrids with the people they've taken. Sec asks for the Doctor's help in making them more human than Dalek, convincing him that he could find them a new home. The Daleks turn on Sec and begin to override the gene sequencing in order to make the new beings entirely Dalek. The Doctor attempts, and fails, to remove the Dalekanium, and instead gets in the way of the gamma strike. Sec is killed in a confrontation, and the Doctor invites the new hybrids to kill him. But they will not obey orders because Time Lord DNA, as a result of the strike, gives them a bit more freedom and doubt. Two of the Daleks are destroyed, as are the hybrids, and Dalek Caan, the last, escapes by temporal shift.
Golden Comic Moment: The last Martha-feels-rejected moment in Gridlock was eventually undercut by some genuine honesty on the Doctor's part which does a lot to advance their relationship.
The writers must be getting better, because in this story, what could have been another make-you-miserable moment in the contiuum of Martha's pining for the Doctor, is undercut by a rather funny, and not entirely unreasonable, assumption by Tallulah. She calls the Doctor, that "hot potato in the sharp suit," and tells Martha, "I've seen the way you look at him, it's obvious!" When Martha answers forlorly, "Not to him," Tallulah delivers the blow. "Oh, I should have realized. He's into musical theater, huh? What a waste." This is followed by two more jokes, in which Martha and Tallulah both call him "different," with divergent meanings. Later on, Tallulah tells the Doctor she knows he's got a thing for showtunes, but now is not the time...
She thinks the Doctor is gay! And had Tallulah known the phrase "Fag Hag" in her day... Part of us cackles just seeing those words in black and white!
There are those who have claimed that Doctor Who had an "agenda" during the Russell T. Davies years. If that were true, we have to wonder why this assumption doesn't come up more often during the Tenth Doctor's reign. Certainly, he exhibits more than a few heterosexual tendencies, but, well... a thin, well-coiffed man in a well-tailored suit, with sharp, delicate features who speaks a lot of high-fallutin' jargon with an English accent and is not sexually interested in the attractive woman with whom he seems quite close? How does that look to your average New Yorker in 1930? Or your average Londoner in 1599, 1926, or 1953 (minus the accent bit)? Or even, perhaps, in the 2000's?
Golden Fangirl Moment: Three cheers for Solomon! We were tempted to bring this up in the Golden Moments section because he is such a strong character (and blimey, does Hugh Quarshee give a great performance). But we've decided that it's more of a motif than a moment, and what does a fangirl do better than point out motifs and continuity in sci-fi television? (Well, we squee, but even that has its intellectual aspects.)
The entire episode is pervaded by a theme of leadership, and more specifically, descent in the ranks thereof. Naturally, as always, the Doctor proves to be the highest authority... and yet there is Solomon. Much of Solomon's screen time is devoted to, as it were, a Solomon-versus-the-Doctor contention over the ways of leadership, and over the position of immediate leadership.
But Solomon is wishy washy; or alternatively, you could call him dynamic. With authority, as the "mayor" of Hooverville, he tells the Doctor and Martha that they are both welcome. However, in spite of them being new and clearly not from around those parts, he has no trouble bringing him in close to talk about the disappearances. He lets the Doctor go forward and investigate to commune with the pig slave, but when the chips are down, he literally tosses the Doctor out of the way to shut the manhole cover so the creatures who took Frank can't escape. He won't abide the Doctor blowing off his questions by saying he's, "just sort of passing by," but then acknowledges his weakness, admitting that he has used his "authority" for his own convenience because he was so scared.
Of course, all good leaders are willing to give up control every now and then. All strong buildings sway a little in the wind, all great bridges are equipped to give. Perhaps, below the radar, this is what makes Solomon so freakin' cool. Unfortunately, the lone exception to these juxtapositions is the one that gets him killed. He steps down to let the Doctor deal with the "creatures," but then tries to appeal to the Daleks himself, against the Doctor's advice. At least he went down with good intentions and a powerfully-delivered speech.
Cringeworthy Moment: Sorry to say, but this is not Martha Jones' shining hour.
It has been argued that Martha is actually diminished by being with the Doctor. Obviously, he makes her feel inferior, rather heartlessly rejects her advances at romance and sometimes even at friendship. In one example, she is forced to support him financially and in another, she's literally his servant. But there are reasons, both internal and external to the series, for all of that, and there is no need of a reminder of what makes Martha's departure from TARDIS life different from Rose's or Donna's. She doesn't just endure all of that, she actually comes through it with flying colors, and becomes a butterfly! And we still think that Martha Jones is the strongest Companion ever, and that she and the Doctor are only enhanced by each other.
Except in this story. Starting from the first sewer scene, many of Martha's lines are either written or delivered with the goal of conveying terror or panic. She is unsure and her voice is quavery more here than anywhere else in the series, bar-none. She is frightened when she should be angry. She clings to Frank for comfort, screams when she is scared, hides behind the Doctor when the violence begins and is just generally more of a damsel in distress than she really ought to be.
Disturbingly, and supporting that other theory, she's much calmer and able to perform when the Doctor's not around. Before leaving, he tells her, "Do what you do best. People are hurt, you can help them," and she very calmly attends to the medical needs of those injured by the Dalek attack. Even thrown back into the fray in the Empire State Building with Frank, Tallulah and Laszlo, she's together and ingenious. But when the Doctor shows up again, she's back to protesting and whining and sitting on the verge of tears...
Sigh. One wonders if this episode wasn't written for another, perhaps blonder, Companion, and for whatever reason, it didn't go into production. Just a theory we have.
Golden Moment: And once again, we have a story which explores what it means to be human! But it does so by discussing what it means to be a Dalek, the Doctor Who stock "anti-human." We find this a very clever twist on a recurring theme!
As such, there are lots of great little moments where there is a pointed attempt to show to show the radical change in Dalek behavior and how much it nonplusses the Doctor. He points out that "Daleks never change their minds," but one did today. He is totally surprised to hear Sec confess that the killings in Hooverville were wrong, that he admires Solomon's bravery, and that their creator was incorrect to assume that removal of emotion makes them stronger. And after hearing Sec argue that Daleks can no longer be the supreme beings, the Doctor concludes, "So you want to change everything that makes a Dalek a Dalek." Indeed. By becoming more human, the Daleks are more flexible, more compassionate, prone to ambition and aspiration, and like any strong leader, can admit to faults. Through reverse definition, once again, we find that humanity is something to aspire to!
And so, put yourself in the Doctor's mind. His entire existence, he's had to fight these awful, egomaniacal, illogical, homocidal beings who have ultimately killed off his people. He doesn't believe in genocide, but dear God, would he love to be rid of them. But now they're changing, against all odds, into humans, and he likes humans! Think of how Golden a Moment it must be for the Doctor when Sec says, "You have your TARDIS. Take us across the stars, find us a new home and allow the new Daleks to start again." He's getting rid of his greatest and most annoying enemy, they're begging for his help, he doesn't have to kill them to do it, and he gets to turn them into a species he actually likes! Perhaps a potential ally! It is the impetus that finally gets the Doctor moving, doing that beat-the-clock and speaking-a-million-miles-a-minute thing he does so well!
It's a shame it doesn't work out, because something like that could very well have gone into the running for a Golden Moment for the season, or for the Tenth Doctor!
Why I Beg To Differ: DWM likes the moment when Diagoras is sucked up by the enormous nozzle of Dalek Sec. It is Golden, they argue, because it is scary in a way that a rogue Dalek killing everything in sight cannot be. The author gives his three-year-old son, who burst into tears upon seeing it, as an example. A three-year-old can hardly master the finality of being exterminated, but he can certainly grasp the horror of being swallowed up by the giant, gooey green hose of a squid thing.
But as we argued with New Earth, there are so many issues at stake here! Genetic engineering, evolution, the Daleks admitting they were wrong, even for a second. And the Tenth Doctor, as the Master will attest, relishes getting to help out his enemies. Finding a new home, in lieu of destruction, is something he often offers up as a solution, often to no avail. This time the "enemy" is asking for it! The Doctor could have everything he wants, and come out smelling like a lilac! Given the history and all that is at stake, we perceive that something must snap into place in the Doctor's mind upon Sec's suggestion, and that is why it is the Golden moment.
Golden Comic Moment: The last Martha-feels-rejected moment in Gridlock was eventually undercut by some genuine honesty on the Doctor's part which does a lot to advance their relationship.
The writers must be getting better, because in this story, what could have been another make-you-miserable moment in the contiuum of Martha's pining for the Doctor, is undercut by a rather funny, and not entirely unreasonable, assumption by Tallulah. She calls the Doctor, that "hot potato in the sharp suit," and tells Martha, "I've seen the way you look at him, it's obvious!" When Martha answers forlorly, "Not to him," Tallulah delivers the blow. "Oh, I should have realized. He's into musical theater, huh? What a waste." This is followed by two more jokes, in which Martha and Tallulah both call him "different," with divergent meanings. Later on, Tallulah tells the Doctor she knows he's got a thing for showtunes, but now is not the time...
She thinks the Doctor is gay! And had Tallulah known the phrase "Fag Hag" in her day... Part of us cackles just seeing those words in black and white!
There are those who have claimed that Doctor Who had an "agenda" during the Russell T. Davies years. If that were true, we have to wonder why this assumption doesn't come up more often during the Tenth Doctor's reign. Certainly, he exhibits more than a few heterosexual tendencies, but, well... a thin, well-coiffed man in a well-tailored suit, with sharp, delicate features who speaks a lot of high-fallutin' jargon with an English accent and is not sexually interested in the attractive woman with whom he seems quite close? How does that look to your average New Yorker in 1930? Or your average Londoner in 1599, 1926, or 1953 (minus the accent bit)? Or even, perhaps, in the 2000's?
Golden Fangirl Moment: Three cheers for Solomon! We were tempted to bring this up in the Golden Moments section because he is such a strong character (and blimey, does Hugh Quarshee give a great performance). But we've decided that it's more of a motif than a moment, and what does a fangirl do better than point out motifs and continuity in sci-fi television? (Well, we squee, but even that has its intellectual aspects.)
The entire episode is pervaded by a theme of leadership, and more specifically, descent in the ranks thereof. Naturally, as always, the Doctor proves to be the highest authority... and yet there is Solomon. Much of Solomon's screen time is devoted to, as it were, a Solomon-versus-the-Doctor contention over the ways of leadership, and over the position of immediate leadership.
But Solomon is wishy washy; or alternatively, you could call him dynamic. With authority, as the "mayor" of Hooverville, he tells the Doctor and Martha that they are both welcome. However, in spite of them being new and clearly not from around those parts, he has no trouble bringing him in close to talk about the disappearances. He lets the Doctor go forward and investigate to commune with the pig slave, but when the chips are down, he literally tosses the Doctor out of the way to shut the manhole cover so the creatures who took Frank can't escape. He won't abide the Doctor blowing off his questions by saying he's, "just sort of passing by," but then acknowledges his weakness, admitting that he has used his "authority" for his own convenience because he was so scared.
Of course, all good leaders are willing to give up control every now and then. All strong buildings sway a little in the wind, all great bridges are equipped to give. Perhaps, below the radar, this is what makes Solomon so freakin' cool. Unfortunately, the lone exception to these juxtapositions is the one that gets him killed. He steps down to let the Doctor deal with the "creatures," but then tries to appeal to the Daleks himself, against the Doctor's advice. At least he went down with good intentions and a powerfully-delivered speech.
Cringeworthy Moment: Sorry to say, but this is not Martha Jones' shining hour.
It has been argued that Martha is actually diminished by being with the Doctor. Obviously, he makes her feel inferior, rather heartlessly rejects her advances at romance and sometimes even at friendship. In one example, she is forced to support him financially and in another, she's literally his servant. But there are reasons, both internal and external to the series, for all of that, and there is no need of a reminder of what makes Martha's departure from TARDIS life different from Rose's or Donna's. She doesn't just endure all of that, she actually comes through it with flying colors, and becomes a butterfly! And we still think that Martha Jones is the strongest Companion ever, and that she and the Doctor are only enhanced by each other.
Except in this story. Starting from the first sewer scene, many of Martha's lines are either written or delivered with the goal of conveying terror or panic. She is unsure and her voice is quavery more here than anywhere else in the series, bar-none. She is frightened when she should be angry. She clings to Frank for comfort, screams when she is scared, hides behind the Doctor when the violence begins and is just generally more of a damsel in distress than she really ought to be.
Disturbingly, and supporting that other theory, she's much calmer and able to perform when the Doctor's not around. Before leaving, he tells her, "Do what you do best. People are hurt, you can help them," and she very calmly attends to the medical needs of those injured by the Dalek attack. Even thrown back into the fray in the Empire State Building with Frank, Tallulah and Laszlo, she's together and ingenious. But when the Doctor shows up again, she's back to protesting and whining and sitting on the verge of tears...
Sigh. One wonders if this episode wasn't written for another, perhaps blonder, Companion, and for whatever reason, it didn't go into production. Just a theory we have.
Golden Moment: And once again, we have a story which explores what it means to be human! But it does so by discussing what it means to be a Dalek, the Doctor Who stock "anti-human." We find this a very clever twist on a recurring theme!
As such, there are lots of great little moments where there is a pointed attempt to show to show the radical change in Dalek behavior and how much it nonplusses the Doctor. He points out that "Daleks never change their minds," but one did today. He is totally surprised to hear Sec confess that the killings in Hooverville were wrong, that he admires Solomon's bravery, and that their creator was incorrect to assume that removal of emotion makes them stronger. And after hearing Sec argue that Daleks can no longer be the supreme beings, the Doctor concludes, "So you want to change everything that makes a Dalek a Dalek." Indeed. By becoming more human, the Daleks are more flexible, more compassionate, prone to ambition and aspiration, and like any strong leader, can admit to faults. Through reverse definition, once again, we find that humanity is something to aspire to!
And so, put yourself in the Doctor's mind. His entire existence, he's had to fight these awful, egomaniacal, illogical, homocidal beings who have ultimately killed off his people. He doesn't believe in genocide, but dear God, would he love to be rid of them. But now they're changing, against all odds, into humans, and he likes humans! Think of how Golden a Moment it must be for the Doctor when Sec says, "You have your TARDIS. Take us across the stars, find us a new home and allow the new Daleks to start again." He's getting rid of his greatest and most annoying enemy, they're begging for his help, he doesn't have to kill them to do it, and he gets to turn them into a species he actually likes! Perhaps a potential ally! It is the impetus that finally gets the Doctor moving, doing that beat-the-clock and speaking-a-million-miles-a-minute thing he does so well!
It's a shame it doesn't work out, because something like that could very well have gone into the running for a Golden Moment for the season, or for the Tenth Doctor!
Why I Beg To Differ: DWM likes the moment when Diagoras is sucked up by the enormous nozzle of Dalek Sec. It is Golden, they argue, because it is scary in a way that a rogue Dalek killing everything in sight cannot be. The author gives his three-year-old son, who burst into tears upon seeing it, as an example. A three-year-old can hardly master the finality of being exterminated, but he can certainly grasp the horror of being swallowed up by the giant, gooey green hose of a squid thing.
But as we argued with New Earth, there are so many issues at stake here! Genetic engineering, evolution, the Daleks admitting they were wrong, even for a second. And the Tenth Doctor, as the Master will attest, relishes getting to help out his enemies. Finding a new home, in lieu of destruction, is something he often offers up as a solution, often to no avail. This time the "enemy" is asking for it! The Doctor could have everything he wants, and come out smelling like a lilac! Given the history and all that is at stake, we perceive that something must snap into place in the Doctor's mind upon Sec's suggestion, and that is why it is the Golden moment.