Rating - 8/10
Finally, after a long eight months of waiting, Doctor Who is finally back where it
belongs, and I have been getting twitchy for time travel since Christmas Day of
last year (has it really been that long?). Excitement for the new series has been
building for a long time, with the news that the Ponds (Karen Gillian and
Arthur Darvill) are leaving in the first five episodes and the introduction of
a new companion at ‘Christmas’ (you know what I mean). Regardless of the news
of coming and going companions, the main reason we watch the show is to see Matt
Smith return on fine form as the bowtie wearing elegant-shambles portrayal of
the Doctor. It has been a long wait to see the show on our screens, let’s just
hope it was worth the wait.
The first episode kicks off Series Seven with the return of
the Doctor’s most notorious enemies: the Daleks. Apart from a few brief cameos
in The Wedding of River Song, The Big Bang and The Pandorica opens, the pepper pots have been off the screen since
Victory of the Daleks back in 2010.
In this episode we were introduced to the new multicoloured ‘Power Ranger’ Daleks,
which replaced the familiar golden bling Daleks that had become a familiar
sight on the show since its revival in 2005. Since their last appearance, I
started to realise that the Daleks have lost their original fear-factor and
have become a pantomime like enemy that never really imparts a sense of terror.
Steven Moffat, head writer of the show, argued that they are probably one of
the most easily defeated enemies in the universe, and as s a result they have
lost their ‘scariness’ and importance within the show. He said: "There's
a problem with the Daleks. They are the most famous of the Doctor's adversaries
and the most frequent, which means they are the most reliably defeatable
enemies in the universe". Asylum of the Daleks attempts to establish the Doctor’s greatest
enemy as a foe that sends a chill down your spine rather than a colourful
dustbin with attitude. But did it work?
For the majority of the show, Asylum presents the Daleks in the callous and vindictive manner
that we have not seen in recent years. We are presented with a dumping ground
full of insane and uncontrollable Daleks that are feared even by their own
species – now that is creepy. That answers the question: how do you make the
Daleks scarier? Present the one thing that terrifies them – which just happens
to be their own species. I thought the idea of the Asylum was genius, and was able
to provide a real treat for fans of the classic series We got to see not only
the bling and Power Ranger Daleks back on our screens, but every Daleks throughout
the history of the show including the Special Weapons Dalek, Necros Daleks,
Imperial Daleks to name but a few. This was undoubtedly one of the most
elaborate and bold Daleks episodes that we have seen in recent years, or
perhaps have ever seen.
With regards to Series Seven, this episode throws the Ponds
back into the Doctor’s life at a point when their marriage is at an end and
they can barely talk to each other. It is clear that the cosy, lovey-dovey
relationships that we saw in the last two series, along with the happiness of
travelling with the Doctor as a couple have been shaken and may never be the
same again. How their relationship changes before their departure in The Angels Take Manhattan is unknown,
but I am sure that we as an audience are in for a rollercoaster ride of terrors,
laughs and tears.
So what did you think of Asylum of the Daleks? Are the Daleks back to their old ways of terrifying people? Comment below, let me know or contact me on twitter @Rohanseal221B
Very much agree with you here. Not a perfect episode but one with tons of surprises and excitement! How did you think the rest of the series turned out?
ReplyDeleteJust to let you know, I've given you a blogger award. :) http://chalbo.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/dragons-loyalty-award.html