tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post3025076951694607827..comments2024-03-19T03:23:06.738-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Doctor Who, "Victory of the Daleks": Cookie, monsterAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-75168124787969618102010-05-06T17:12:13.579-04:002010-05-06T17:12:13.579-04:00Daleks have been overused on Who 2.0, no doubt abo...Daleks have been overused on Who 2.0, no doubt about it. Even the Vulcans don't surface that often on Star Trek. But what gets me is that Rose looked into the heart of the Tardis and was supposed to have wiped the Daleks from history completely, from all timelines -- and the fact that they resurfaced after that was never satisfactorily explained. One too many maguffins, that -- and I'm STILL waiting for a credible explanation. As for the rainbow Daleks, why would they care about color? They already have minimal rank divisions and have handled that to their own satisfaction, so what could possibly be the rationale for that?? No logical reason whatsoever. And I'm underwhelmed with both the new showrunner AND with Matt Smith, tho his Scots sidekick is a hoot! She promises to be a lot of fun and has the requisite who-sidekick spunk. Haven't seen anybody with the backbone of Leela in more than a decade, however, and I miss that: the Doctor needs a competent partner for a change (one who isn't shagging everything that moves, that is -- sorry, Jack!).policywonkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07129858865099035837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-11534079762861402152010-05-03T23:32:52.138-04:002010-05-03T23:32:52.138-04:00My last post on this site!
Yeah, I'm no Dalek...My last post on this site!<br /><br />Yeah, I'm no Daleks fan either. So this episode was quite boring.<br /><br />As is my post!<br /><br />Good luck on the new site. See you there, Alan!Tyrocnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-15761330427728962152010-05-03T20:37:39.760-04:002010-05-03T20:37:39.760-04:00First off, the last strain of pure Daleckness in t...<i>First off, the last strain of pure Daleckness in that urn-thingy wouldn't even believe that the current Daleks were really Daleks to begin with. Then after the "New Paradigm" showed up, they did exactly what pure Daleks would do, exterminate the unpure ones.</i><br /><br />Certainly. In the 'classic' show, Davros never got any respect from the kids. Which is a pretty damn big design flaw, if you ask me: Psychopathic bigots with the personality of bratty teenagers. :)Craig Ranapiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923246310584658857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-3528751165826597022010-05-03T16:44:01.734-04:002010-05-03T16:44:01.734-04:00Marquis said:
in confidential which is the bbc do...Marquis said:<br /><br><br /><i>in confidential which is the bbc documentary sort of of each episode, the mention they brought the spitfires into space, because the spitfire was such an Iconic plane and so instrumental for winning the Battle of Britain they felt an obligation to try and honour it in someway.<br /><br />I personally thought it was more of a reference to Star Wars myself. trying to shoot out one small thing.</i><br /><br><br />Myself, I saw this as a reference to Warren Ellis' "Ministry of Space" mini-series which is basically a what if the British held onto the German rocket scientists from WWII and used the race into space to rebuild the empire. The spitfires looked similar to what he used.<br /><br><br />What I found interesting about the epsiode is how the Daleks are the one thing that makes the Doctor become irrational/illogical and in this case it was his own actions, predicted by the Daleks, that caused the earth-threatening situation. It shows that like us, even the Doctor has something that push his buttons and lose focus.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18404886155775841437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-46423383102491500082010-05-03T15:05:05.895-04:002010-05-03T15:05:05.895-04:00Is no one else going to say it? OK, I'll have...Is no one else going to say it? OK, I'll have to: "Oh my God, you killed the Daleks! You BASTARDS!!!"<br /><br />OK, now that I've gotten that out of my system... I'm an old-time DW fan, but I never much cared for ANY of the traditional villains: Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans. They all just seem too cartoonish to me, no nuance. And the idea of a robot who thinks he's a human... wasn't that done to death in the Battlestar Galactica reboot? And when I saw the multi-colored Daleks, all I could think was, "How very toyetic. Bet they'll sell lots of those."<br /><br />But overall I did enjoy the episode. Oddly, the moment I liked the most was the propaganda poster with the Dalek, which looked very authentic WWII poster-y. I liked the Bracewell character, and had a lot of fun with their Churchill, liked the idea of the Daleks using the Doctor's testimony to prove their identity.Traceynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-41808950643019903872010-05-03T14:01:13.974-04:002010-05-03T14:01:13.974-04:00Not liking the Daleks because you don't know a...Not liking the Daleks because you don't know anything about their history is like admitting you don't like something because it's easier to remain willfully ignorant.<br /><br />They are the quintessential Who-villain.<br /><br />The new Daleks are great. First off, the last strain of pure Daleckness in that urn-thingy wouldn't even believe that the current Daleks were really Daleks to begin with. Then after the "New Paradigm" showed up, they did exactly what pure Daleks would do, exterminate the unpure ones.<br /><br />And now the new Daleks are specialists. Drone, orange; Scientist, white; Supreme, blue; Strategist and yellow; Eternal. <br /><br />Just imagine what destruction purely evil specialists can rage against time and space. And I'm dying to know why one is named an Eternal.Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-30468671049891112952010-05-02T22:33:42.941-04:002010-05-02T22:33:42.941-04:00Not a fan of multi-colored Daleks, mostly because ...Not a fan of multi-colored Daleks, mostly because it seems to go against their uniformity. Why have colors at all? They aren't supposed to have personality or emotion or any kind of differentiation. Though maybe this will play a role in their future story, down the line. A change like that has to intentional. <br /><br />I like the idea that the Doctor/TARDIS could be causing the crack. Or maybe whatever the crack is is simply following the Doctor. Or, it all ties back to Amy, since that is where we crack originated (or at least where the Doctor's interaction with it originated).julesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-55751002878657586242010-05-02T22:01:33.257-04:002010-05-02T22:01:33.257-04:00I'd love to get a source for that, seriously. ...<i>I'd love to get a source for that, seriously. because I'ce seen Moffat say, more than once, RTD was absolutely right when he said that, from the very beginning, he couldn't imagine Who without Daleks, the Cybermen or The Master coming back in some form. </i><br /><br />Well, it's one thing to bring them back into the new Who-niverse, which I can understand being an imperative, and another thing entirely to bring them back season after bloody season.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01288100796201737845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-76173679051989372952010-05-02T21:57:19.661-04:002010-05-02T21:57:19.661-04:00The Daleks can't ever be eliminated completely...The Daleks can't ever be eliminated completely, neither can the Timelords or the Master, or anyone else.<br /><br />I remember the Master was utterly completely killed once (well, actually several times), and the Doctor runs into him later, much to his shock. The Master just says, "Come now Doctor, you know I'm indestructible."<br /><br />The Daleks don't have a sense of humor, but if they did, they could say something similar.vampyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14660319794133128873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-90886167689214726052010-05-02T20:09:29.496-04:002010-05-02T20:09:29.496-04:00This episode was horrible. I did not enjoy the ac...This episode was horrible. I did not enjoy the acting by the major characters nor did I enjoy the plot line. This episode is my fear for the new show. I don't know how anyone can enjoy this episode. It felt long. I was bored. I drifted to sleep. <br /><br />JWIIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-72595724430011353022010-05-02T18:07:56.923-04:002010-05-02T18:07:56.923-04:00Isn't that the point? I mean, it is, on at lea...<i>Isn't that the point? I mean, it is, on at least one level, especially in England, a show for kids.</i><br /><br />Well you're not going to get BSG/Caprica levels of genocidal angst, sex and violence (or SGU gratuitous boobage) at Saturday teatime on the BBC's flagship channel. Not. Going. To. Happen.Craig Ranapiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923246310584658857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-71234143666822457482010-05-02T17:58:15.965-04:002010-05-02T17:58:15.965-04:00Nicole:
Fair point, and I should apologise for be...Nicole:<br /><br />Fair point, and I should apologise for being excessively snarky. Of course, Alan (and North American) viewers are going to see <i>Doctor Who</i> through their own pop cultural/historical frame of reference and the iconography of the Blitz and Battle of Britain won't necessarily register. <br /><br />(Also very easy to forget that I've been watching this show for almost thirty years. The Daleks aren't any more "silly" to me than green Orion slave girls or Robbie The Very Camp Robot would be to American geeks of a certain age.)<br /><br />Perhaps I'm guilty of the very artistic myopia I'm complaining about? Oy... :)Craig Ranapiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923246310584658857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-70728943596851986982010-05-02T17:49:36.777-04:002010-05-02T17:49:36.777-04:00I didn't really think this was the weakest epi...I didn't really think this was the weakest episode thus far - I preferred it to the space whale.<br /><br />Victory of the Daleks had little to offer "new" (post 2005) viewers but it had lines which were very similar to Power of the Daleks.<br /><br />One thing about the Daleks. They work BEST in small numbers, not armies.<br /><br />The bunker scenes in this story were fantastic, (as with Christopher Ecclestone's single-dalek story). As soon as you bring lots of daleks in, they stop being scary.<br /><br />The ikea daleks are a little weird but I guess they're trying to get back to the ranked/purposed daleks of the Peter Cushing films and the old series.<br /><br />I just hope they don't feel tempted to kill them off utterly (again!). Just leave them and find something else to be the villain for a while.<br /><br />Fendahl anyone? A real post-2005 fendahl would scare the pants off anyone.Gavin Bollardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13833941398375568706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-4806823487597552332010-05-02T17:16:20.685-04:002010-05-02T17:16:20.685-04:00I agree with Craig regarding the so-called use of ...I agree with Craig regarding the so-called use of American imagery in this episode. There was Churchill and the London blitz, so I really don't think it can get more British than that. The spitfires and raising the flag are fairly common war images that I think are in most war movies, not just American ones. Everyone brings their own cultural baggage when watching a show, so I can see why certain viewers see images a certain way, but I honestly don't think Moffat has inserted anything explicitly American in this episode, especially since this would be happening in 1940.Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11317568565085893849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1316692649985640902010-05-02T16:28:49.426-04:002010-05-02T16:28:49.426-04:00I agree with others who have read that Moffat was ...<i>I agree with others who have read that Moffat was contractually obligated to use the Daleks, so he decided to get them out of the way early.</i><br /><br />I'd love to get a source for that, seriously. because I'ce seen Moffat say, more than once, RTD was absolutely right when he said that, from the very beginning, he couldn't imagine Who without Daleks, the Cybermen or The Master coming back in some form. About as likely as JJ Abrams deciding his Trekkie-enraging move will be to wipe out the Klingons... <br /><br />And if <i>Victory of the Daleks</i> was contractual obligation filler, then I've got to wonder why Moffat had outlined the story before RTD wrote <i>The End of Time</i>. According to Davies' book <i>The Writer's Tale</i>, he originally planned to have the Time Lords forming a last ditch alliance with the Daleks in the last days of the Time War to prevent the end of both races at the hands of The Doctor, but dropped it after Moffat told him he was planning a Dalek story for early in the next series.Craig Ranapiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923246310584658857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-71480160065304907512010-05-02T16:22:10.658-04:002010-05-02T16:22:10.658-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Craig Ranapiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923246310584658857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-75365632064697428742010-05-02T16:13:32.738-04:002010-05-02T16:13:32.738-04:00Last week, there was some discussion of Moffat sta...<i>Last week, there was some discussion of Moffat starting to incorporate a lot of specifically American references into this most British of shows, and here I saw a couple more of those: the Spitfire assault on the Dalek ship looked very much like the climax of "Independence Day," and of course the Union Jack gets raised like the American flag at Iwo Jima.</i><br /><br />And I'm still not getting it, Alan. I don't mean to sound like some tiresome Yank basher, but Britian does actually have a history and pop culture that does not revolve around its former colonies across the sea. Really.<br /><br /><i>Perhaps because I came to the series with the Russell Davies reboot, I've never much cared for the Daleks, and in particular have grown frustrated in how frequently the series appears to kill the entire race off, only to bring them back almost immediately. So I was especially disappointed that Steven Moffat felt compelled to do this again, only three episodes into his tenure. </i><br /><br />Yes and no, Alan. I was one of the people who wouldn't have minded seeing the Daleks take a rest for a couple of seasons, like the Borg in the Trek-i-verse Who hasn't always resisted Iconic Big Bad Overuse Syndrome. But you just watch the internet implode if Moffat ever exterminated the Daleks for good. Just make sure you're wearing dark glasses and SPF infinity sunblock. :)Craig Ranapiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923246310584658857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-2467540473959108102010-05-02T16:13:32.739-04:002010-05-02T16:13:32.739-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Craig Ranapiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923246310584658857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-65480776129260270482010-05-02T15:46:13.625-04:002010-05-02T15:46:13.625-04:00"Ransom said...
1. Did anyone else have ...<i>"Ransom said...<br /><br /> 1. Did anyone else have the impression that a subplot involving the female military officer from Winston's war room may have been cut? Special attention was paid to her, yet there was no meaningful purpose, other than to add some detail to a background player.</i><br /><br />I thought the same thing. I expected her to have more of an impact. It seemed like they were hinting that she knew more about the Daleks but it just came down to her worrying about someone in war. Seemed very random in the end and almost not worth the time to be featured at all.<br /><br />I agree that this was the weakest so far. I'll echo that if you aren't really feeling this season so far DEFINITELY stick through at least the next two episodes because they are quite good!<br /><br />I like the Daleks but also agree that they are better when used less and not as the go-to for a finale.rachelmednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-72917568182199429792010-05-02T14:44:55.665-04:002010-05-02T14:44:55.665-04:00For purely selfish reasons I wanted a green Dalek,...For purely selfish reasons I wanted a green Dalek, so it could slide alongside the white & orange ones to make the Irish flag.<br /><br />Alas, yeah it gets pretty irritating whereby they follow the same plot device with all the Daleks getting blown up, but oh wait, a few survived and escape to start up an army. The rinse-repeat cycle gets a bit tired after a while.<br /><br />I'd agree with Jackie & Nicole that they Christopher Eccleston 'Dalek' episode has probably been the best with those baddies since the relaunch. Which hurts all subsequent Dalek episodes as there is a really high bar set for them. It'd take a very special episode to top that one I think.<br /><br />I agree with others who have read that Moffat was contractually obligated to use the Daleks, so he decided to get them out of the way early. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they just disappeared until Christmas with a brand new rebuilt army.<br /><br />The "would you like a cup of tea?" and The Doctor holding them off with a Jammie Dodger scenes were just so absurd that they just about worked.<br /><br />I do wish they would have made the 'cracks' more subtle like the Bad Wolf or Torchwood references. It takes a lot of the fun out of it whenever the camera just zooms in on them.Paul Cnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-18404705098879968142010-05-02T14:19:09.038-04:002010-05-02T14:19:09.038-04:00After this one aired in the UK, I was convinced th...After this one aired in the UK, I was convinced that I was the only one who liked it...and still am.<br /><br />But than again, I've been a Dr Who fan for 20 plus years now and found the Daleks here reminiscent of how they were used in the Troughton era Dalek stories (alas, they're lost so you can only hear them but not see them). <br /><br />The Daleks in the beginning, acting as servants to humanity all concealing a greater, darker plan was reminiscent of "Power of the Daleks" and I liked seeing the Doctor being on the outside for a bit with his obvious mistrust. <br /><br />In many ways there are two ways the Daleks were shown on the original series--the hellbent on destruction and conquest Daleks and the evil manipulative Daleks. I prefer the second and that's what we got here.Michael Hickersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08283539524957605129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-60898769913669242812010-05-02T14:10:20.184-04:002010-05-02T14:10:20.184-04:00A mediocre episode, I thought, but one with some f...A mediocre episode, I thought, but one with some fun moments. A few comments:<br /><br />1. Did anyone else have the impression that a subplot involving the female military officer from Winston's war room may have been cut? Special attention was paid to her, yet there was no meaningful purpose, other than to add some detail to a background player.<br /><br />2. I agree with most of you who note the silliness of the Dalek retread. It seems to me, though, that in a show involving time travel, there are some alternative ways to depict the Daleks. Here, the events of "The Stolen Earth" are clearly in the past of the depicted Daleks, but why not have the Daleks existing in the 1940s be from the past, i.e. Daleks for whom the events of "Dalek," "Daleks in Manhattan," and/or "The Stolen Earth" are in their future, perhaps their very distant future? I'm not certain why each time we encounter the Daleks, they have to be from the current Doctor's present, rather than the present of whatever time period the doctor happens to be visiting.<br /><br />3. The rapid assimilation of the new companion is also of some concern to me. Here, we have a new companion who may well have suffered some emotional problems or abandonment issues as a result of the doctor's early appearance in her life. One would think that she would be a bit more troubled or introspective about the sudden reappearance of the magic space man from her childhood.<br /><br />4. To Mark S., who commented that Dr. Who may well be the best science fiction show currently on television, <a href="http://www.chronologicalsnobbery.com/2010/02/off-duty-xvi.html" rel="nofollow">you're forgetting one</a>.Ransomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04044839274236944783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-26603162291166586242010-05-02T14:03:47.481-04:002010-05-02T14:03:47.481-04:00Meant to say in my comment, "it isn't tha...Meant to say in my comment, "it isn't that the episodes have been terrible..."<br /><br />And that's pretty much where I stand. The episodes have had a lot of OK elements, Smith and Gillan are good, but in their entirety, the first three haven't had much substance to them, which has been a letdown. I certainly do hope things improve. <br /><br />I didn't expect "Blink" every week, but I surely didn't expect this much predictability. <br /><br />RTD's Doctor Who tended to operate in two extremes -- really, really good episodes could be followed by really, really atrocious ones. <br /><br />Moffat is aiming down the middle, but so far his Who is occasionally mildly entertaining without being memorable at all.Mo Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01685367085407381479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-64073597876398305672010-05-02T12:52:14.493-04:002010-05-02T12:52:14.493-04:00Hmm... I think everyone who has only seen the Eccl...Hmm... I think everyone who has only seen the Eccleston onward Daleks ought to consider firing up their Netflix queue and ordering "Genesis of the Daleks" with Tom Baker as the Doctor.<br /><br />Mainly because it's the best thing that has ever been done with Daleks.vampyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14660319794133128873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-53950548012910466392010-05-02T12:03:50.415-04:002010-05-02T12:03:50.415-04:00^Your post gave away the villains of the next two ...^Your post gave away the villains of the next two episodes, Damien.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09179521069134978029noreply@blogger.com