Victory of the Daleks: One of the most anticipated episodes of the 2010 series. This episode, penned by Mark Gattis, would see the first showdown between new Doctor Matt Smith and the series oldest villains: the Daleks. Yet, while anticipated, Victory of the Daleks would receive a mixed reaction upon its broadcast. So now we fans are left to ask the question: was this episode a rushed "Victory"? Certainly, Victory of the Daleks covers a lot of ground. Not only is it the first showdown between the eleventh Doctor and the Daleks, it also features an outer space battle between Spitfires and a Dalek saucer not to mention homages to classic series Dalek stories and introduces the radically redesigned Paradigm Daleks. Sound like a lot of ground to cover in 45 minutes? In short: yes it is and that's a bit of a problem.
Victory of the Daleks has the distinct feeling of a two-parter being crammed into a single episode. It's easy to imagine the reveal of the Paradigm Daleks and the old Daleks chanting "Hail the return of the master race!" as the cliffhanger of part one so to speak. Sequences such as the battle between the Spitfires and the Dalek saucer, spectacular as it is, push believability as they are set up in with just a few lines about gravity bubbles instead of a proper set-up where things are explained just a bit more (maybe a scene showing Bracewell readying the devices for example). Things never seem to get properly explained as the script rushes from point to point, as if to sacrifice plot for spectacle.
Perhaps the biggest side effect of this crammed feeling is the lack of depth out of the supporting characters. While both Winston Churchill and Professor Bracewell are both well-written and well portrayed, by Ian McNeice and Bill Paterson respectively, other characters seem to fall by the way side into being nearly one dimensional. A prime example is Blanche Breen, the WREN in the Cabinet War Room whose boyfriend is a RAF pilot, whose depth seems down more to the performance of actress Nina De Cosimo than down to the script. Considering the depth that Gattis brought to his supporting characters in his previous TV stories The Unquiet Dead and The Idiot's Lantern, this lack of depth seems rather surprising to say the least. Once again, it seems almost as if the spectacle of the Daleks return overrode everything else in the episode.
Which isn't to say that the episode is bad, mind you. While the script might feel as though it is rushing from point to point, the performances certainly don't. In fact, if there is a single big redeeming aspect to Victory of the Daleks it is that this episode gives Matt Smith the chance to show off his range as the new Doctor. Whenever Smith and the Daleks are on-screen together, sparks fly as Smith shows off a dark side to this new Doctor. Moments such as beating the Dalek in an attempt to get it to reveal its true self show that this Doctor, who just two episodes earlier was sitting at a table with fish fingers and custard, is a man still haunted by his enemies and maybe even the memories of the Time War itself. Yet Smith's best moments may well be when he is just simply reacting to the Daleks such as the horrified reactions he gives when the Ironside Dalek is revealed or the big reveal of the Paradigm Daleks. With all this darkness though, Smith gets to show off his lighter side as well such as in his moments both at the beginning and end with Winston Churchill for example. It's Smith at the top of his game and it very much sets up the performances that were to come in the rest of Series Five.
So where does that leave Victory of the Daleks then? It has some fine performances from its cast (especially Matt Smith's still-new Doctor) and some fine sequences as well such as the reveal of the Paradigm Daleks or the Spitfire vs Dalek Saucer battle. The script by Mark Gattis though feels rushed as it uses those spectacular sequences, rather than its characters, to keep the story moving. The result is that, being so full of those sequences, that this is an episode that feels, whether it was created as such to begin with, as two episodes crammed into one.
A rushed "Victory"? Indeed it is...
timdalton007
Victory of the Daleks has the distinct feeling of a two-parter being crammed into a single episode. It's easy to imagine the reveal of the Paradigm Daleks and the old Daleks chanting "Hail the return of the master race!" as the cliffhanger of part one so to speak. Sequences such as the battle between the Spitfires and the Dalek saucer, spectacular as it is, push believability as they are set up in with just a few lines about gravity bubbles instead of a proper set-up where things are explained just a bit more (maybe a scene showing Bracewell readying the devices for example). Things never seem to get properly explained as the script rushes from point to point, as if to sacrifice plot for spectacle.
Perhaps the biggest side effect of this crammed feeling is the lack of depth out of the supporting characters. While both Winston Churchill and Professor Bracewell are both well-written and well portrayed, by Ian McNeice and Bill Paterson respectively, other characters seem to fall by the way side into being nearly one dimensional. A prime example is Blanche Breen, the WREN in the Cabinet War Room whose boyfriend is a RAF pilot, whose depth seems down more to the performance of actress Nina De Cosimo than down to the script. Considering the depth that Gattis brought to his supporting characters in his previous TV stories The Unquiet Dead and The Idiot's Lantern, this lack of depth seems rather surprising to say the least. Once again, it seems almost as if the spectacle of the Daleks return overrode everything else in the episode.
Which isn't to say that the episode is bad, mind you. While the script might feel as though it is rushing from point to point, the performances certainly don't. In fact, if there is a single big redeeming aspect to Victory of the Daleks it is that this episode gives Matt Smith the chance to show off his range as the new Doctor. Whenever Smith and the Daleks are on-screen together, sparks fly as Smith shows off a dark side to this new Doctor. Moments such as beating the Dalek in an attempt to get it to reveal its true self show that this Doctor, who just two episodes earlier was sitting at a table with fish fingers and custard, is a man still haunted by his enemies and maybe even the memories of the Time War itself. Yet Smith's best moments may well be when he is just simply reacting to the Daleks such as the horrified reactions he gives when the Ironside Dalek is revealed or the big reveal of the Paradigm Daleks. With all this darkness though, Smith gets to show off his lighter side as well such as in his moments both at the beginning and end with Winston Churchill for example. It's Smith at the top of his game and it very much sets up the performances that were to come in the rest of Series Five.
So where does that leave Victory of the Daleks then? It has some fine performances from its cast (especially Matt Smith's still-new Doctor) and some fine sequences as well such as the reveal of the Paradigm Daleks or the Spitfire vs Dalek Saucer battle. The script by Mark Gattis though feels rushed as it uses those spectacular sequences, rather than its characters, to keep the story moving. The result is that, being so full of those sequences, that this is an episode that feels, whether it was created as such to begin with, as two episodes crammed into one.
A rushed "Victory"? Indeed it is...
timdalton007
Comment