Victory of the Daleks

Overall, I've really enjoyed season 5 Doctor Who. I really like the new Doctor, Amy pond and Rory, and haven't had any major problems with any of the episodes up to and including The Hungry Earth, except this one. This episode I hate.

First the good: I liked Ian McNeice as Winston Churchill, great choice I thought. And the Daleks looked pretty good in Khaki green, a suitable colour for Daleks.

I know that Doctor Who is fantastical, but please let's have a story and events that make sense on some level. Was having Spitfires in space really worth just how ridiculous and unbelievable the whole idea was? But it was the new Daleks that really got me down, they look terrible! Daleks aren't supposed to look like they're made of plastic (even if they are). There was no need to change their size or basic design, the original shape is iconic, and has stood the test of time for almost fifty years.

So making them bigger was supposed to make them look more menacing? Well, that might work if they weren't painted in florescent colours. Would Darth Vader have been as menacing as he was if his armour was bright orange? Daleks need to be in dark, or metallic colours, or both. Mark Gatiss and Steve Moffat, you have taken liberties with an icon. Keep your horrible new design if you must, but at least paint them metallic grey, or black, or something. Watch Genesis of the Daleks, and then try to tell me these new day glow Daleks are scarier or cooler looking.

I just watched this episode and was quite surprised, but in a decent way.

I fully understand why most don't like the episode as it has a bit of whimsy and such, but I really quite enjoyed it. The casting was on point, the score was decent and the first act was reflective of the deception and planning you would expect from the Daleks.

I would not initially have written this review however I think that the loads of low reviews should be balanced with a positive one, to be more reflective.

Overall this episode was pretty good, not as good or thought provoking as the previous but still entertaining. It definitely has its flaws, especially as it's story is more fairytale than sci-fi, but still enjoyable. I would recommend just watching for yourself before passing judgement.

Winston's new weapon will shorten the war, though he's wise enough to know that he can't be too sure, so he's called an old friend to ask his advice, who has said he'll be there in less than a trice (he's a month late).

When the Doctor appears with Amelia Pond, he's welcomed by a weapon made of Dalekanium bond, but the Ironsides are friendly, courteous and polite, avoiding the Time Lord's aggression and spite.

Like a leopard however they can't change their dots, they're conniving to realise a cunning Dalek plot, in the blink of one eye they've teleported away, Victory for the Daleks, not the Doctor's day today.

Winston Churchill calls for the Doctor's help, at the bunker the Doctor discovers Churchill has a secret weapon helping him win the war, Daleks! (Bracewell's Ironsides.) Seemingly subservient The Daleks have been waiting for something.....activation from the Doctor, with a purpose of

Bold statement, but this is the worst Dalek story of all time, it's so bad it's even worse then the Manhattan Dalek fiasco, and that was shocking.

The good bits, Bill Patterson is one of my favourite actors, he does as well as he can with this awful script, Ian McNeice makes a good Churchill, he's a little less badly scripted. I love the World War 2 Daleks, they look pretty good. The effects of a War torn London look great, especially the effect with the lights.

The bad bits, the script is shocking, the attempt to recapture some of the feel of 'Power of the Daleks,' was a big fail, I am your Soldier, not loving that. The testimony obviously got intercepted by a transmission of the Teletubbies, the new batch of Daleks were totally terrible, what were they thinking? The Kandyman is more terrifying then these, bigger and brasher does not equal scary, especially those colours, yukkkk

I really dislike the music it's totally over the top and too heavy, sometimes subtle can be good.

A really naff plot, which doesn't really hang together well. Hopefully those Daleks will never see daylight again. Gatiss really has thrown in some awful scripts, his best still way back The unquiet dead. 3/10

Don't get me wrong, i'm a huge Dr Who fan, have been for more than 30 years but I have to admit to having problems with the current Dr and his stories. It's not Matt Smith as such, he is a fine Dr and in another time and place he would be brilliant. The trouble is that he is exactly the same as David Tennant, same look, same hair, same mannerisms, same kind of companion, same stories......same everything.

When Tennant left they had the chance to take the show in a totally new direction, they have done exactly the opposite and made the show exactly the same as it was before. The Dr is the same, the companion is the same, the stories are exactly the same. The stories feel totally rushed with the Dr speaking so fast at times you can barley understand what he is saying. I know it will never happen but i'm a fan of the 4-6 part stories that made up the old Dr Who, in that format you had time to develop the story, the characters, today's stories are so rushed, and you can't build a classic story when rushed. Victory of the Daleks is no different, given time it could have been great story, but because everything needs to be crammed into 40 minutes it isn't, and never will be.