Into the Dalek (3402/802)

[Badhron]

Apparently the Dalek was suffering from radiation sickness, which is strange given that they thrive on radiation and fall ill under the effects of anti-radiation medication.

I'm also not a fan of how the Doctor is repeatedly dropping Clara off at the end of every episode and then picking her up again at the start of the next. It doesn't really feel like she's travelling with the Doctor this way.

He has no problems with -working- with them, he does not like taking them as companions, the only standout to me on that front is Teela, and she was a WARRIOR, not a SOLDIER.
Soldiers get indoctrinated, Warriors simply ARE.

Steven Taylor was a soldier, and the Doctor had no problem travelling with him. You could also make an argument for Jamie being a soldier.

[P-90_177]

Apparently the Dalek was suffering from radiation sickness, which is strange given that they thrive on radiation and fall ill under the effects of anti-radiation medication.

I'm also not a fan of how the Doctor is repeatedly dropping Clara off at the end of every episode and then picking her up again at the start of the next. It doesn't really feel like she's travelling with the Doctor this way.


Steven Taylor was a soldier, and the Doctor had no problem travelling with him. You could also make an argument for Jamie being a soldier.

Different types of radiation will inevitably have different effects.

As for the soldiers, it was pointed out earlier that the Doctor has fought a war since those particular companions... things change.

[BruTak]

Steven Taylor was a soldier, and the Doctor had no problem travelling with him.

No he wasn't. He was an atronaut/pilot.

You could also make an argument for Jamie being a soldier.

And again, no he wasn't. He was a piper.

[Blencathra]

Strax is a soldier.

IMO in this business about soldiers, like many other things in the Doctor's life, he has double standards.

[Gatefan1976]

Strax is a soldier.

IMO in this business about soldiers, like many other things in the Doctor's life, he has double standards.

Strax WAS a soldier, we meet him as a nurse.

[Blencathra]

I presume that is how the Doctor justifies it to himself.

Strax was forced by some means that we don't know, but presumably by the Doctor, to become a nurse in order to restore the honour of his clone batch. But he's still a blood thirsty little chap isn't he? And presumbly he'd go right back to being a soldier if the Doctor would let him.

What about Jack Harkness? Jack was a soldier in India in 1909 (TW: Small Worlds) but I bet the Doctor justifies having Jack around by thinking that he isn't a soldier any more.

So if he's prepared to do that for Strax and Jack, why not Journey Blue? Why can't she become an ex-solder and travel with him? I think it's the old double standards again. This isn't a new phenomenon.

Just off the top of my head - the 3rd Doctor was quite happy to knock around with The Brigadier and Sergeant Benton etc, shooting Ogrons with his revolver when the occasion warranted, but the 4th Doctor wouldn't have anything to do with guns and left the UNIT years behind him. However, he would quit happily kick a flesh eating Horda beast into the face of a tribesman who slapped Leela (The Face of Evil) or snap a guard's neck in The Seeds of Doom. And he takes Leela with him, but she is a "warrior" not a "soldier". [Edit - oh and Leela is forbidden to use her Janis thorns, but she can throw knives and slit people's throats.]

Then we have the 10th Doctor who won't take Wilf's (old soldier) revolver, but the 11th Doctor takes up with River Song who will do all his killing for him. Presumbly he's thinking she isn't a soldier either. And he's still friends with the Brigadier. In The Wedding of River Song, he phones the Brigadier up & says "Hello, it's me. Get him. Tell him, we're going out and it's all on me, except for the money and driving."

Anyway, we know the point of all this is so that later this series, the Doctor will have to do some soul searching in order to let Danny Pink into the TARDIS. But I hope he remembers all the times he's had to delude himself.

[Greenee]

Well what I like about this show and the charcter of the doctor is exactly, that he isn't all plain and straight, but has a kind of twisted, complicated personality especialy when it comes to moral questions. Like Clara said "he tries to be a good man". But how can you be good man, if you have to kill or let other people do it for you in order to save others. We touched this point several times before, for exemple in the Pandorica-story or Demons Run. He can't bee a good man, if he excepts, he has to kill others, but he can't be a good man if has to sacrifice others so he doesn't have to kill for himself. Doctor Who isn't a black-and-white painting Whith teh good Doctor one side and the bad creatures on the other. And it seems this new Doctor starts to see this more clearly than his former self did.

Hm, not sure if I managed to say, what I was trying to say.

[Gatefan1976]

I presume that is how the Doctor justifies it to himself.

Possibly, but what it shows is that, for whatever reason, Strax can change. He is not just a bloodthirsty Sontaran soldier willing to kill everyone.
Does he have those drives and impulses? Sure.
Does he choose to supress them for the most part? YES.

Strax was forced by some means that we don't know, but presumably by the Doctor, to become a nurse in order to restore the honour of his clone batch. But he's still a blood thirsty little chap isn't he? And presumbly he'd go right back to being a soldier if the Doctor would let him.

Why presumably by the Doctor?
Additionally, the Doctor is not around 24/7 to keep track of him. ALL we can surmise is that WITHOUT the Doctor, he would still be at heart a Sontaran warrior -Exactly what he was genetically programmed to be-, but he CHOOSES to change. To put it into context of the ep, Rusty once again CHOSE to be a destroyer once his fault was "fixed", He just got it from another source, in this case the Doctors own feelings on the Daleks.

What about Jack Harkness? Jack was a soldier in India in 1909 (TW: Small Worlds) but I bet the Doctor justifies having Jack around by thinking that he isn't a soldier any more.

And WHAT did the Doctor do when he realised what Jack was??
He Dumped him like a bad habit.
He SAW Jack running to the TARDIS and left anyway, Even when the TARDIS chose to drag Jack to the end of the Universe.

So if he's prepared to do that for Strax and Jack, why not Journey Blue? Why can't she become an ex-solder and travel with him? I think it's the old double standards again. This isn't a new phenomenon.

Because see is NOT an "Ex-soldier", she IS a Soldier.

Just off the top of my head - the 3rd Doctor was quite happy to knock around with The Brigadier and Sergeant Benton etc, shooting Ogrons with his revolver when the occasion warranted, but the 4th Doctor wouldn't have anything to do with guns and left the UNIT years behind him. However, he would quit happily kick a flesh eating Horda beast into the face of a tribesman who slapped Leela (The Face of Evil) or snap a guard's neck in The Seeds of Doom.

Does he take Lethbridge Stewart on jaunts in the tardis outside of the story?

I AGREE he is more than willing to utilize soldiers, what he seems not to want is to have them on the Tardis for an extended time. Again, the only Exception I can think of is Leela, simply because she never had a CHOICE in how she turned out.

And he takes Leela with him, but she is a "warrior" not a "soldier".

See above

Then we have the 10th Doctor who won't take Wilf's (old soldier) revolver, but the 11th Doctor takes up with River Song who will do all his killing for him. Presumbly he's thinking she isn't a soldier either. And he's still friends with the Brigadier. In The Wedding of River Song, he phones the Brigadier up & says "Hello, it's me. Get him. Tell him, we're going out and it's all on me, except for the money and driving."

The Doctor USES people, he always has, especially when it comes to violence.

Anyway, we know the point of all this is so that later this series, the Doctor will have to do some soul searching in order to let Danny Pink into the TARDIS. But I hope he remembers all the times he's had to delude himself.

I think the better question is, "just because I was, is that all I am"?
Danny is now a teacher, The Doctor used to be a warrior, his last 700-600 years have been him being a warrior -again-, something he knows are nessesary, but hardly "inspiring figures" when you get down to it.
Can he Change?
Can he become the Doctor again?

[maneth]

I enjoyed this one, and I'm really getting to like Capaldi as the Doctor.

[GodAtum]

The Daleks have had so many comebacks that they are now an inevitable anti-climax and so desperate to keep their act alive with ridiculous gimmicks that they’ve lost what we liked about them in the first place.

[DigiFluid]

I finally got to watch this last night (was at a con all weekend)....

Enjoyed the "micro" story quite a bit, but I'm positively over the moon to see the Daleks finally portrayed as a credible galactic threat again. There they are in deep space, bellowing EXTERMINATE as they hunt down some humans whose entire careers seem to be dedicated to fighting the Dalek menace.

They're back, kids

[Badhron]

No he wasn't. He was an atronaut/pilot.
And again, no he wasn't. He was a piper.

Steven Taylor was a helmsman on a battleship and later a combat pilot in the war with the Krayt. This is when he crashed and was later found by the Doctor.
Although Jamie was a piper, he still took part in the Battle of Culloden.

I AGREE he is more than willing to utilize soldiers, what he seems not to want is to have them on the Tardis for an extended time. Again, the only Exception I can think of is Leela, simply because she never had a CHOICE in how she turned out.

I think the Doctor knows more than anyone that you don't have much of a choice when the Daleks are taking over the galaxy.

[Flyboy]

I finally got to watch this last night (was at a con all weekend)....

Enjoyed the "micro" story quite a bit, but I'm positively over the moon to see the Daleks finally portrayed as a credible galactic threat again. There they are in deep space, bellowing EXTERMINATE as they hunt down some humans whose entire careers seem to be dedicated to fighting the Dalek menace.

They're back, kids

I think that's why I liked this episode so much.

It's the first time, imo, that we've come across Classic Who style Daleks in terms of their portrayal, if not appearance.

Almost every other Dalek story in New Who has either served as a grand reintroduction of the Daleks or sole survivors. The one exception being Asylum. For me, with the Daleks as a galactic menace, THAT is how it should be. That is what makes the Daleks impressive, is that there's so many more out there and they already ARE in control. They already HAVE their slaves. The Doctor is fighting a battle, but not the war, that rages on in his absence...

[Blencathra]

Why presumably by the Doctor?

It isn't said specifically but the implication is there.

In A Good Man Goes to War

STRAX: I serve a penance to restore the honour of my clone batch. It is the greatest punishment a Sontaran can endure, to help the weak and sick.
HARCOURT: Who came up with that one?
(The sound of the TARDIS materialising.)
STRAX: Tonight, though, perhaps my penance is over. Captain Harcourt, I hope some day to meet you in the glory of battle, when I shall crush the life from your worthless human form. Try and get some rest.

And WHAT did the Doctor do when he realised what Jack was??
He Dumped him like a bad habit.
He SAW Jack running to the TARDIS and left anyway, Even when the TARDIS chose to drag Jack to the end of the Universe.

Did he dump him because he was a soldier? I thought it was because he was an anomaly in time. Though my memory is pretty hazy on that point. The 10th Doctor era isn't one of my favourites.

But at the end of Last of the Time Lords we get

JACK: Back to work.
DOCTOR: I really don't mind, though. Come with me.
JACK: I had plenty of time to think that past year, the year that never was, and I kept thinking about that team of mine. Like you said, Doctor, responsibility.
DOCTOR: Defending the Earth. Can't argue with that.

Does he take Lethbridge Stewart on jaunts in the tardis outside of the story?

Not known. But the Doctor must at the very least check up on him regularly. When the Doctor phones for the Brigadier he says "Hello, it's me. Get him." And the nurse instantly knows who is calling and who he wants.

The Doctor USES people, he always has, especially when it comes to violence.

That's it exactly. And like Greenee said, that is something that I like about him. He isn't just a good guy or a bad guy. He's all the shades of grey in between. I just wonder why he is being so precious about Journey Blue, when it hasn't bothered him in the past, but I guess this time it just didn't suit him. I do hope we get to see some of his reasoning.

In his Time Lordy head does he think

"I'm not taking Journey with me as a companion. She's a soldier. I don't like soldiers. They are indoctinated killing machines... except for the Brigadier, and Captain Yates and Sergeant Benton because they are thoroughly good chaps... and Steven and Jack and Wilf because they aren't soldiers any more... and Harry Sullivan and Strax because they are medics... and Leela and Ace and River because even though they kill they aren't soldiers at all... but also in the TARDIS I have the biggest killer of them all... myself... and I don't want to be reminded of that..."

[Coco Pops]

Is there a seen with Missy in this episode too?