33.01: Asylum of the Daleks (May Contain Spoiler for Future Episodes)

[TheDustyZebra]

Her sideways look, and grin, at the camera as she said: "Run, you clever boy. And remember", is what makes me think there's something we're not being told.

And another thing! How convenient that the whole nano-conversion thing was forgotten about when Rory realised the Doctor had given Amy his bracelet.

Yes, that look at the camera disturbed me, but I wasn't aware that she was the actress who was going to be the companion later, so I didn't make any connection there. That makes sense. As someone said earlier, I do hope they use her name Oswin instead of Clara -- it's much better. Maybe that was a bit of misdirection?

I wonder just what parts of Amy got converted before it was stopped? That seems likely to become relevant later.

 

[MemoryTale]

Personally I liked the episode. Oswin being a dalek was something I predicted, but was overall handled well I thought.

By the way, I try to avoid things like press releases about who's leaving and joining the show. Could any future discussions on that be marked for spoilers please?

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Having seen the last half of this one again before the new episode after it tonight, I came up with another question that I forgot about last week.

Why are the Daleks always chained to something, when all they have to do is move and the chains break? I would think, especially in this case where the Daleks were chained down by other Daleks, it would be obvious that it wasn't going to work.

 

[Perpetual Man]

That is a very good question TDZ, and one that is virtually impossible to answer. Perhaps the chains had just rusted over time

Some one mentioned the Daleks using zombies, and where it had come from - weeeelll, they used controlled humans in Remembrance of the Daleks, and some of the Colin Baker episodes too. And let's not forget the Robomen fro Dalek Invasion of Earth, so it is not something without precedent.

 

[chopper]

at the risk of being shouted down, at times picking holes in the unreality of Who is a bit like wondering how Wile E Coyote manages to order all that stuff from Acme when he clearly has no regular income...

i reckon sometimes it's better not to question the little bits which have been glossed over/left unexplained to keep the plot moving through a single 45 minute episode. if Oswin had sounded like a Dalek through the comms, then would the Doctor really have gone to rescue her? thus she sounded like a flirty entertainments manager. a lot of Who's current target audience (i'm 40 years old; i guess that's not really me) won't have questioned it even if they did guess that all was not what it seemed.

for what it was, i quite enjoyed it. the only thing that gets me banging my head against the wall is Nu-Who's reliance on hoary old prophecy ("he will knock 4 times!" - "the question that must never be answered!" - "the North will rise again!"....um, wait, that's one of mine...). that, for me, is lazy table-setting in this series, and it means the plots have to do a lot of frantic explaining to fit all the elements in. Oswin's (currently) explanation-free appearance in this episode just veers on the right side of foreshadowing.

 

[Dave]

Some one mentioned the Daleks using zombies, and where it had come from - weeeelll, they used controlled humans in Remembrance of the Daleks, and some of the Colin Baker episodes too. And let's not forget the Robomen fro Dalek Invasion of Earth, so it is not something without precedent.

That would be in my OP. Maybe further explanation is required for my dislike.

Robomen were brain-washed (with psychedelic pictures IIRC), as were the other controlled humans. Some humans were simply collaborators.

That is more than a little different to cold dessicated bodies being "Dalek'ed" by a nano-cloud -

"Microorganisms that automatically process any organic matter—living or dead—into a Dalek."

This is a pure Ret-con. It was the Cybermen who turned humans into Cybermen making them Cyborgs without emotions.

Daleks were radiation damaged humanoids; in some instances from deliberate experiments by Davros, but mainly the remnants of the Kaled race after the "fire of war." I accept that Davros somehow made Daleks from sick people he "cured" in Colin Baker's "Revelation of the Daleks." Also that, Davros creating a new race of Daleks using human tissue, is similar to the Dalek Emperor creating a new race of Daleks from human contestants killed on the Game Station in "Parting of the Ways." It isn't an overnight change.

The lack of pity of the Daleks; their hatred for other races, that was all genetic breeding experiments by Davros. They were bred to be faceless and authoritarian. They were never created by micro-organisms otherwise the Doctor would never have said to Davros (Genesis of the Daleks)

"Davros, if you had created a virus I your laboratory, something contagious and infectious, that killed on contact, a virus that would destroy all other forms of life, would you allow its use?"

to which Davros replied:

Davros: It is an interesting conjecture.
Doctor: Would you do it?
Davros: The only living thing, a microscopic organism, reigning supreme. A fascinating idea.
Doctor: But would you do it?
Davros: Yes. Yes. To hold in my hand a capsule that contained such power. To know that life and death on such a scale was my choice. To now that the tiny pressure of my thumb enough to break the glass, would end everything. Yes. I would do it. That power would set me up above the gods. And through the Daleks, I shall have that power!

at the risk of being shouted down, at times picking holes in the unreality of Who is a bit like wondering how Wile E Coyote manages to order all that stuff from Acme when he clearly has no regular income...

I won't shout you down. I agree. I just wonder why continuity can't be more important. I think "Genesis of the Daleks" is the best Dalek episode. It is written by Terry Nation, their creator. It has all the hallmarks of a Terry Nation script. I just don't like what they have done with them.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Enjoyed this episode, too - the pathos at the end was really great, and despite the foreshadowing, still very effective. Reminded me of the first season episode with Christopher Ecclestone and the lone Dalek in the research facility - nice to see the different sides to the Daleks.

As to criticisms of continuity with Daleks - let's be fair, continuity has never been a strong point with Who and the Daleks - try reading the Wikipedia entries on them and it soon becomes clear attempts at continuity become quite forced.

Simply put, any excuse to bring the Daleks into a Who episode will be explored.

At least this time the Daleks had a real presence, and we see something of their psychology - will be interesting to see how removing their memory of the Doctor will play out, but actually really liked the ending with them repeating "Doctor Who?"

Only part wasn't so keen on was the Rory and Amy split up and reconciliation - weak and superficial, but we've seen worse.

 

[IanK]

I enjoyed the episode but overall I was left feeling disappointed in that the majority of the daleks seen were the (fantastic) bronze versions. The problem is that this was hyped as being every previous type of Dalek and it was a case of "blink and you miss them".