Doctor Who "Evolution of the Daleks" Talkback (Spoilers)

[HellCat]

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k22/HellCat86/docTZ.jpg
Doctor Who Season 3
"Evolution of the Daleks"
Written by Helen Raynor
BBC 1, 6:45 pm

With the birth of a Dalek/human hybrid, have the Doctor's old enemies finally triumphed?

[HellCat]

I've noticed the first two parter of each season sows the seeds for the finale. So, my guess- Mr Saxon is a descendent of a surviving human/Time Lord hybrid.

[MonkeyFunk]

I've noticed the first two parter of each season sows the seeds for the finale. So, my guess- Mr Saxon is a descendent of a surviving human/Time Lord hybrid.

I dunno... did the Slytheen two-parter have any connection to the first finale? Well, I guess it did indirectly, through Boom Town...

This was a perfectly serviceable storyline overall with several great moments. Bit disappointed that Sec didn't survive, though, he might have been interesting to have around.

And the solar flare simulation went "za-woc"! What more could I ask for?

I give it another four stars - really for both eps, though.

[Conan-san]

I dunno if it's because I've been watching a litteral f'ton of .hack//sign but I apprecaiated the whole talky thing.

[James]

The weakest this season. Personally, while the Doctor's presence and ability to feel his audience might explain how he seems to dangle himself in front of the Daleks without being exterminated (I'm sure his unpredictablity makes him a foe you tend to pause with uncertainty with), I found that there were too many instances where it seemed the Daleks didn't have too much reason to be holding off the trigger.

You can do that sort of "Doctor-takes-center-stage" setup in front of his enemy once per episode, three to four times just feels its stretching credibility.

I really enjoyed last week. The two parter gave some nice space to slow the pace, expand on the characters and set the scene. The pace for this part felt very uneven, choppy and a little too formulaic.

Some nice bits though: Sec was an interesting character, I loved Solomon and his speech, I thought the romantic ending was very touching and the genocide of the new humans a credible touch. I just felt it didn't really live up to the shine of part one, and I found myself wondering if there was something wrong with these Daleks being their will to kill seem to fluctuate wildly.

I liked the fact that the Doctor's final confrontation proved he could actually advance from the status quo between the Dalek/Time Lord battle to the death, and the Dalek couldn't.. but it just all felt, well, drawn out.

So 3 stars. Weakest this season, but not terrible.

[HellCat]

I generally agree with James. One thing that might have worked better would be to hold Sec back. Have him more slowly give into his new humanity. That scene with him on all fours and chained was bizarre.

[Conan-san]

I generally agree with James. One thing that might have worked better would be to hold Sec back. Have him more slowly give into his new humanity. That scene with him on all fours and chained was bizarre. You do realise your talking about a Darlek that SWALLOWED A GUY WHOLE?!

[Rasputin]

I got that impression too that the Daleks were holding back far too much. I just kept finding the Daleks underwhelming considering the previous OMGAWESOMEness they've demonstrated. I kept looking at the Doctor and thinking 'you and everyone around you should be dead by now'.

I liked how the other Daleks turned against Sec and his conversion to humanness, but there was another thing that bugged me...if the Dalek/Human hybrids were supposedly '100% Dalek' (with a bit of Time Lord thrown in) then shouldn't they have looked a bit more...you know...Dalek? I thought that was the point of this whole exercise. It's that that kind of ruined the episode for me, how things just didn't make as big an impact as they should have.

It was a decent enough episode, so it gets a 3 from me.

[Tinytooncrazy]

It was dissappoing and they took some of the story frome evil of the daleks namely the turining humans into daleks

[sulamite3]

I do agree with James' review! I expected too much I think, and felt let down by the part 2 story. Although I'm not one to shout "Canon" all the time, the Dalek behaviour was most strange - not killing when they had the advantage is completely Undaleky.
Also there was no Focus to this story, it was jumping about disjointedly. I just hope that this is not the way Series Three will continue. Too ambitious for its own good!

Loved Gridlock!

[Temple Fugate]

As usual, James, you take the words right out of my mouth. That final showdown scene I kept screaming "Why is the Doctor just STANDING there? Why isn't the Dalek SHOOTING HIM?"

I also question how a solar flare can suddenly transfer all of its DNA-changing powers to a lightning bolt...I mean I can understand the stretch of having the Doctor's DNA being channeled through the lightning via the dalekanium, but the solar flare's relation to the lightning bolt is what confuses me.

Changing one's DNA doesn't change their brains to the point of what the Daleks wanted. It probably gave them the genetic abilities that allowed the Daleks to control them remotely, but since the humans were "blank slates" they needed more than just DNA, they needed thoughts and memories. You can't just give a computer a new hardware and expect it to run. It needs an OS to be installed on the hard drive.

Solomon's extermination was probably the best part of the episode. That's classic Dalek right there. The reaction Sek had to his death was fitting and I was eager to see where it would go, but once the other Daleks took over the episode started to feel predictable. Seeing the Doctor agree to help Sek was inspired, but too bad the plans all got shot down so early. The first 1 1/2 episodes of this were great, but it all got wrapped up too routinely at the end.

The music was really good. Too good, in fact. I expected to really feel the emotion the music was conveying, but the situation (or at least the way it was conceptually and visually presented) didn't really call for such a bombastic chorus. A shame, really.

I'm hoping the Daleks (or just "Dalek" now) has nothing to do with the finale.

Doctor Who #729 (3x05): "Evolution of the Daleks" - ***
Doctor Who #728-729 story arc - ***

[James]

I'm going to stick up a little for the program here.

Yes, I think the Dalek's actions were dramatically weak; too many instances of standing dumb in front of the Doctor does stretch credibility - as it seems all who have seen it felt was happening.

To be fair, the Daleks have done this before on countless occcasions, and POTW highlighted the genuine fear the Daleks have for the Doctor, which to some degree may explain some of the pauses - for instance - a Chess player will play every move - even the most simplest - with far more hesitancy if they are up against someone they are in awe with.

That and the fact that on a couple of occasions, they were ordered to hold back, and the stretches aren't out of character, but yes, there is clearly a stretch for the audience in the way this works within the story.

As for the final encounter, I presumed that the Dalek was charging up for a flee, and maybe a discharge of his weapon would prevent him from maxmising his energy build up for his jump. Again, maybe it should have been a little more evident if this was the case.

As for the science, this was found on Wiki:

When the ejecta reaches the Earth as an ICME (Interplanetary CME), it may disrupt the Earth's magnetosphere, compressing it on the dayside and extending the nightside tail. When the magnetosphere reconnects on the nightside, it creates trillions of watts of power which is directed back towards the Earth's upper atmosphere. This process can cause particularly strong aurora also known as the Northern Lights (in the Northern Hemisphere) and the Southern Lights (in the Southern Hemisphere).

I can't say for certain it's accurate, but it may explain some of the thoughts behind the.... fantastic science.

[Stewie]

Most of you seemed to like part one more than part two. I'm just the opposite. I loved the idea of Dalek Sek trying to take the Daleks back to what they were before even Genesis of the Daleks. And The Doctor being the one to save the Daleks from extinction and put them on some planet where they could grow again would be beautiful. And plenty dark.

And Martha is starting to show how clever she can be. Have previous companions been useless lumps that just waited for The Doctor to save them/explain the universe? Or were some of them actually useful members of the team?
Martha is just now becoming useful. And aside from being some sort of long lost love (for some reason), just about the only thing Rose ever did was Bad Wolf. And I still think that was a load of...

Agreed that the Daleks could have ended the series once and for all if they would shoot first and shriek "Exterminate!" later. You mentioned the Dalek's fear of The Doctor, James. That's something I was keeping in mind during the episode. (Back in the first series finale, when he said he was coming for Rose they actually panicked. Great bit.) But after a while, they were just letting him go.

And I'm a bit tired of so many scenes of The Doctor and his companion just running. I've been rewatching Series One since my local PBS finally picked it up. And in the first two episodes, plus all of this new series, The Doctor must have turned to his companion and yelled "Run!" at least 800 times. There's got to be a more clever way for a Timelord to escape.

Overall, enjoyable but not great.

[Frozen]

I really liked the first part, but this was undoubtably weaker, in my opinion.

It transpired Lazlo and Tallulah (spelling?) were pretty pointless, and Dalek Sec proved to be just a curio. Personally, I'm glad, because whilst the concet was interesting, that prosthetic really started to get on my nerves after a while.

Also, cod science. Now, I'm no scientist, so that's why I avoid talking about science. To make it a central part of your plot when it's unconvincing and contrived is just a bad idea.

For me, Soloman remains the high point of the two-parter. Great character.

[HellCat]

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/46247500/

:D

[Frozen]

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/46247500/

:D

That's brilliant! Cheers, Hellcat--that really brightened my day! :D

[Bones Justice]

Wow, this episode started off so good then just went downhill fast. I loved the bit when The Doctor revealed himself to the Daleks in the first act -- perhaps the oddest / funniest / best confrontation between hero and villain in science fiction:

Dalek Sec: "What is that sound?!"

The Doctor: "Ah, well now. That would be me. Hello! Surprise. Boo. Et cetera."

:lol:

Unfortunately, none of the rest of the episode was nearly as witty or interesting. In fact, I look back at The Doctor's entrance now and it almost seems that he, along with me, has lost respect (fear of) for the Daleks as villains since season one's Dalek. I'll never forget The Doctor's reaction to being locked in a vault with but one old, dusty, and chained Dalek. Much different than The Doctor's almost bored reaction to them here (even if it was damn funny). Later, The Doctor almost seemed to be bipolar, going from fits of self-sacrificial rage to extreme humanitarianism (or what-ever term befits a Time Lord). I'm not convinced that there is only one Dalek left after this episode but either way, they seem to have lost their fangs. I much preferred them in season one but I guess I preferred the overall tone of season one to anything since, as well.

And Dalek Sec's plan never really seemed to make any sense. The plot seemed to wander much of the time. I also didn't see how Sec merging with a bastard like Diagoras would bring about such a swift change of heart, either. Diagoras didn't seem like the type that would care whether Solomon was wiped out; or The Doctor, for that matter.

Having the rest of the "Daleks" be just plain ol' human actors seemed like a cop-out (or a budget shortfall). Okay, so the pig-heads and even Sec's fusion head were kind of hokey lookin' but they should have done something to make the new "Daleks" a little more menacing.

Tallulah and Lazlo seemed like even more a waste of time in part two than part one. Could The Doctor really do nothing for Lazlo? Not even a bit of dentistry? :p

How many sonic screwdrivers does The Doctor own? Maybe he should start carrying a spare if they are so easily lost / broken. Or how about giving one to Martha? She seems smart enough to handle one.

And what about Dalek Sec's, um, robot-casing? Does The Doctor collect that sort of thing (kind of like the giant penny in the Batcave)? Plus, there were a lot of Dalek rifles left lying around.

At any rate, I enjoyed this episode enough to give it three stars. It was still better than the Shakespeare episode.