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“Doctor Who: Asylum of the Daleks” — A Slice of SciFi Review

“Doctor Who: Asylum of the Daleks” — A Slice of SciFi Review

September 5, 2012 By Michael Hickerson 4 Comments

After a longer  the usual (for the new series anyway) hiatus, the Doctor is back, kicking off the lead-up to his fiftieth anniversary by facing off against his long time, lethal foes, the Daleks.

If you haven’t yet seen “Asylum of the Daleks,” I highly recommend you stop reading now.  I’m going to discuss the entire episode, including SPOILERS just as soon as I find some milk and eggs for my souffle.

As many of you know, I got a bit frustrated with the hero of the universe mentality taken on by the later stories in the RTD and David Tennant era and during much of last season’s run of Doctor Who installments.   It didn’t quite gel with the character I got used to on the classic series and so I was delighted when the series seemed to be headed back toward its roots last year with the series acknowledging this fact and trying to pull back from it.

And so it is that we enter series seven.  I’ll have to admit my expectation levels weren’t quite as high as they were last year (series five put so high that no run of episodes could have lived up to my expectations), but I will admit I was excited by all the tidbits leaked to the press and fans about “Asylum of the Daleks.”    The idea that we’d see every single Dalek seen on screen since their arrival in 1963 thrilled the fan boy deep inside me.   The big reveal of all the Daleks is the reason why HD was invented and why I’m glad we have the ability to pause things and look in greater detail.

And yet, that scene only proved to be a slight of hand by series writer Steven Moffat to distract us from the real details of the story–namely that the show could and would sneak in our first look at Jenna Louise Coleman as the new companion.   But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Lured out of hiding by the Daleks, the Doctor is forced to transport down to a planet that contains all of the Daleks that have gone insane or hated too much.   Realizing that the Doctor needs companions in order to function, the Daleks also summon Amy and Rory from their London life, just as the two are preparing to divorce and go their separate ways.  The Daleks want the Doctor to turn off the force field around the planet so they can destroy it and silence a signal coming from the planet.  Afraid of what’s waiting on the surface, the Daleks decide to use the Doctor and maybe exterminate two birds with one stone.

On the surface, the Doctor comes in contact with Oswin, the lone survivor of a crashed space ship on the planet who survives at the center of the prison.   She helps the Doctor, Amy and Rory survive and figure out how to turn off the planetary defenses.  But when the Doctor goes to rescue her to take with him, he makes a startling discovery–Oswin’s creativity and intelligence were so desired by the Daleks that she’s been transformed into one herself.

As I said before, Moffat once again pulls the rug out from under the audience, creating one expectation and then going entirely in another direction.  A planet full of Daleks driven insane is an intriguing idea–even the idea that there’s a special area for those driven mad by being defeated by the Doctor.  But in all of the cool, fan moments and shout outs to the classic and new series run, Moffat grounds the story in some very real and very authentic emotional beats.  The first is the decline of the Pond’s marriage and the reasons for it breaking down.   It could just be setting up a tragic departure for these two fan favorites, but it’s nice to see them get a moment or two of happiness before they depart the series entirely.

The other big emotional revelation is the Oswin is a Dalek and that she’s played by Jenna Louise Coleman, who will join the series full time at the holidays.  Knowing how her story ends is an intriguing idea, once again exploring Moffat’s obsession with the mechanics of time travel.   And her actions here also feed into the theme of the series of exploring more about who the Doctor really is and his desire to sink back into the shadows of the universe.   The moment when it’s revealed that Oswin wiped out not just the Doctor’s memory from those Daleks he drove insane but the Doctor’s memory from every Dalek in the fleet was nicely done.

As a long time fan and one who sampled the Big Finish stories on a sporadic basis, I can’t help but wonder if the Oswin storyline may not be a bit like that of Charlie from the eighth Doctor range.  It’s a nitpick and one that casual fans won’t pick up on (the Big Finish range is really targeted at die-hard classic series fans) but it should be interesting to compare and contrast the stories as they unfold.

But until the bigger picture comes into play, I’ll be satisfied to re-watch “Asylum of the Daleks” a few more times looking for Easter eggs I missed the first time and to comb for clues of future developments.

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Filed Under: TV Reviews Tagged With: Doctor Who

About Michael Hickerson

Michael was a contributor to Slice of SciFi, as both a news curator and assistant editor, under the tutelage of former News Director Sam Sloan.

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Comments

  1. Seb says

    September 5, 2012 at 4:38 pm

    Had that annoying mix of some excellent ideas (a Dalek equivalent of Arkham? You have to love that) and a really obvious plot twist. Fell into that usual TV series problem that a new character must be written out by the end of the episode. And the logic didn’t hold. I mean – why chouldn’t the Doctor have a Dalek companion? All the same – good to see the Doctor back to his old habit of saving people and being clever, rather than turning into some galatic destroyer.

    Reply
  2. Lejon from Chandler says

    September 5, 2012 at 6:24 pm

    Enjoyed the ep. Better than most of the previous season. Sadly, figured out that Oswin was a Dalek fairly early in the ap. One epic nitpick; however. If the Daleks had such an easy time acquiring the Doctor and his companions, why not do it before and get rid of them permanently? Really, if you can get the Doctor lured to Skaro of all places without him batting an eye, why not off him and get on with cleansing the universe of all the inferior beings? Because they’re afraid of a planet of slow-moving insane brethren? Anywhoo, besides that truck-sized plot-hole, did enjoy it.

    Reply
  3. Mich67 says

    September 9, 2012 at 4:53 am

    Liked the premiere better than episode two…I think Oswin is what made it so good…heartbreaking what happened to her…she was a very likable character.

    Reply
  4. Ben Ragunton says

    September 18, 2012 at 7:17 am

    Not a bad episode, but flawed nonetheless. I like Oswin, but figured her out early. Still, it was well told so I didn’t mind.

    I didn’t care for the Amy/Rory relationship problems that were teased in the final episode of Pond Life. The resolution here just didn’t add to the story.

    I am also perplexed regarding this nano-bot atmosphere which turns people into Dalek foot soldiers/puppets. That would make a terrific weapon to conquer other planets. Instead of killing and wiping out civilizations, you just convert them into your Dalek puppets. I don’t like introducing such all powerful weapons or tools which don’t fit in with the general continuity, and this nano-bot virus is just such a thing.

    Lastly, if the Daleks no longer remember the Doctor, how does this affect their recorded history regarding the Time War? Again, something which I don’t think Moffatt considered when writing this part of the story.

    While these flaws (as well as others) were glaringly apparent in this episode, it wasn’t enough to turn me away from it. I found it enjoyable and I just loved Oswin! I look forward to seeing Oswin/Clara return in the Christmas special!

    Reply

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