Doctor Who Asylum of the Daleks [spoilers]

[mr friendly guy]

Well its available on ABC iview so I watched it.

Lets see. It sort of resets things without destroying the daleks. He just had a rogue dalek (who was a human dalekinised, but still retaining their humanity) hack into the Dalek telepathic net or whatever its called and wiped out all knowledge of the Doctor.

Continuity stuff

We see Dalek firepower easily destroy a planet when its unshielded. Of course there were gaps in the forcefield which a ship could crash through, so why didn't they just fire through it, instead of sending a strike force to shut it down?

What exactly did the Daleks need the doctor to save them for? How is destroying their prison planet saving them? The "mentally insane" daleks would have just been imprisoned there.

Going on, if some of the dalek prisoners are those that can fly and survive reentry (see "Dalek") then they could potentially escape from the holes in the forcefield as well. I assume either they were drained of energy (unlikely given Oswin's story, although she could simply remembered it wrongly) or the planet has higher gravity so a lone dalek can't fly out into space. Moreoever, how far will they get without a ship. So this plot point isn't totally without some merit.

The new Paradigm daleks would destroy all new Davros created Daleks as they are impure. Presumably those other new style TW era daleks are the non Davros type. So how did they survive?


Overall impression
We see a plot where the Doctor is said to be so awesome, but it seems like he was mostly there for the ride. Oswind the rogue Dalek seemed to have done most of the work. Not impressed with that. Overall, I will give it a 6 out of 10. Extra half a mark because Jenna Louise Coleman looks stunning. Yes, its sad when I give extra marks for that instead of for plot.

[Stark]

Maybe Moffatt thinks clumsy hamfisted plot devices are the best way (or only way) of doing this sort of thing.

Someone should let him know he's wrong.

[Soontir C'boath]

Bit more fanservice would've been nice. I'd be happier if some of the old Daleks actually worked instead of just being there for show.

Still probably wouldn't have made up for what was given.

[The Imperator]

Maybe Moffatt thinks clumsy hamfisted plot devices are the best way (or only way) of doing this sort of thing.

Someone should let him know he's wrong.

I wholeheartedly agree. The stupid Deus ex Machina at the end could have been much better handled. It makes no sense, and there is no way for a large time traveling race in the Whoverse to not learn of the Doctor rather quickly.

Bit more fanservice would've been nice. I'd be happier if some of the old Daleks actually worked instead of just being there for show.

Still probably wouldn't have made up for what was given.

I also agree with this. Wish more of the old Daleks worked.

[Parallax]

I still can't get my head around the plot holes with the planetary forcefield.
A crashing civilian ship can get through but Dalek missiles can't? They can 'beam' the Doctor and Co down but can't shoot down some big boom devices?

It was worth noting that whoever chained the Daleks up really sucked at it. They're all damaged, lacking in power or whatever and those heavy chains slip right off like rationality off a republican presidential candidate.

The Doctor, at the very beginning, was an idiot. He goes to Skaro (which is somehow back) has the talk with the woman and falls into that trap like a complete and utter amateur.

[The Imperator]

The Doctor, at the very beginning, was an idiot. He goes to Skaro (which is somehow back) has the talk with the woman and falls into that trap like a complete and utter amateur.

Yeah, that annoyed me. Though, I guess the Doctor was banking on the Daleks thinking he was dead??? I don't know, but the beginning felt incredibly rushed, which annoyed me.

[Jaepheth]

As unlikely as it would be...

I was sort of hoping at the end that The Doctor would be getting a Dalek companion.

[Alkaloid]

The most frustrating part is that the plot itself could potentially work if the bad guys weren't daleks. And I might be wrong, but having dalek puppets actually be staff to the dalek parliament just seems very un dalek like to me. Almost any other aliens would have been a vast improvement, but no, we need to magically make the daleks forget the doctor. With a plot twist you could see coming from a mile off. And added melodrama!

[The Romulan Republic]

Is Skaro back now without any explanation?

[Stark]

The most frustrating part is that the plot itself could potentially work if the bad guys weren't daleks. And I might be wrong, but having dalek puppets actually be staff to the dalek parliament just seems very un dalek like to me. Almost any other aliens would have been a vast improvement, but no, we need to magically make the daleks forget the doctor. With a plot twist you could see coming from a mile off. And added melodrama!

The saddest thing is how it was done; it could have been done more neatly years ago, and Moffatt clearly wants weaker Daleks, but he can't seem to hit the target.

[Alkaloid]

Yeah, I never really watched old who because I wasn't alive back then, so I was aware of the daleks culturally but never really understood things like my parents talking about how they used to have nightmares about them. Then there was the Dalek episode of the first season and I got it, that thing was scary and unstoppable.

Now its reverse and a firecracker and easy as hell.

[Stark]

I'm the reverse and don't really understand the audience now, so it's possible Moffatt considers his 'lols and japes' approach extremely successful and thus doesn't really care how sensible anything he does is. I just wonder if he'll be able to slowly depower the Daleks to a reusable level before people start pressuring for them to return to their higher power business and all these stories get re-retconned away

[mr friendly guy]

Is Skaro back now without any explanation?

It was destroyed in the classic episode "Rememberance of the Daleks".

Then in the EU John Peel's something something Daleks something, it turns out he didn't destroy Skaro. Which RTD seems to agree with because the sourcebooks state the Time Lords destroyed it.

Now its back because..because..

Yeah its back without any explanation.

On another note, who gave it a 5 on the poll? Please post your opinions. I may disagree, but I would be interested in why people liked it.

[DaveJB]

It was worth noting that whoever chained the Daleks up really sucked at it. They're all damaged, lacking in power or whatever and those heavy chains slip right off like rationality off a republican presidential candidate.

Well, be fair, a plunger isn't exactly high up on the list of ideal implements for fastening and securing chains.

As for Jenna Louse Coleman, I wonder if her impending permanent role on the show is just the same sort of situation we had with Freema Agyeman (cast in one episode, killed off, then the producers decided they really liked her and brought her back permanently as a different character), or whether her appearance in this episode is directly related to her eventual companion role. Something interesting I noted was that the Doctor never actually found out what Oswin was really supposed to look like, only her Dalek form.

[weemadando]

Plot hole.
Plot hole.
Plot hole.
Convenient plot device.
Plot hole.
Plot hole.
Deus Ex Machina.
Plot hole.
Writer's fiat.
Plot hole.

I think that sums up the episode.

[Revy]

Gave it a 4. It gets a bonus point for not having River Song in it. Yes I hate her that fucking much I will give points just for not having her around to steal the show.

How is making a Dalek forget about the Doctor going to stop it from killing him? They're Daleks! They kill anything not Dalek! When she wiped their memories, they should have gone from "Kill the Doctor!" to "Kill the humanoid lifeform!" and just plungered his face off regardless of his identity.

Amy is all distraught because she cant have babies any more? Oh fuck off, I'm sick to death of 'women = babies' being shoved down my throat on TV. I can't have babies, and I don't break down into tears over it. Believe it or not Who writers, some women don't want babies. I know, shocking but true.

So ... they escaped, and the Doctor is now infested with Dalek nanites which are rewriting him into a Dalek puppet? That's right, isn't it? Or is he magically immune to them even without the wristband thing?

It looked good and was enjoyable if you didn't use your brain at any point, and it's kinda sad that that's the norm for Who episodes these days.

[Parallax]

I'd assume being a Time Lord gave him some level of resistance to the Dalek nanites. Maybe even immunity ... but who knows.
The EU had the TARDIS cleansing inhabitants of things such as viruses, nanites, etc so they didn't spread universal smallpox so maybe once he teleported back to 'sexy', he was 100% again.

[NecronLord]

Good Grief. Parliament of the Daleks, okay, maybe the Doctor is just using the phrase... Prime Minister? What?

Are they elected now? While this would actually make sense (elected governments have historically offered various advantages, especially if people vote candidates in based on intelligence), the terms are far too prosaic. Especially when "Dalek Supreme Council" has been a thing since Planet of the Daleks, and a Dalek Emperor would serve the plot just as well.

I feel cheated that there was a special weapons dalek on some of the material and we never got to see one fire (it may have been in the background I do not recall) at anything.

Why are the daleks cowardly now? What exactly do these mad daleks do that's so formidable? They were empirically less threatening than normal daleks. There was also no reason to euthanasia the other daleks on the ground just because Oswin is playing some music.

The Dalek notion of beauty was stupid, it would have been much easier to just say that they didn't want to kill their own kind for no reason; seriously, even an ethical broken clock can be right twice a day. Daleks are all about racial superiority, is it that hard to believe that they are reluctant to kill their own? Frankly, you could have made it an actual, factual, asylum where actual factual treatment happens, to restore daleks to their normal "sanity" and it would have made more sense.

Also, have they had this ability to go after the Doctor and snag him in an obvious trap all the time, and not done it? What?

Why would they bother to keep Oswin alive when she was obviously not hateful, but deluded? Take her gun off her and talk at her until she self destructs or goes mad. She deleted the doctor from their memories... with telepathy? Why not delete their belief in racial superiority while you're at it?

The most sensible explanation, if you want to use the word, is that Skaro is what the daleks rename their current capital to... Doctor: Of course, this isn't the first Skaro, because I blew up the others... Supreme Dalek: SILENCE!

[DaveJB]

Amy is all distraught because she cant have babies any more? Oh fuck off, I'm sick to death of 'women = babies' being shoved down my throat on TV. I can't have babies, and I don't break down into tears over it. Believe it or not Who writers, some women don't want babies. I know, shocking but true.

That dialogue was pretty vague, actually - I'm still not quite sure whether Amy was upset because she now can't have children, or whether she was so emotionally traumatised by the whole Demon's Run and River Song business that she just doesn't want to have any more children. I suppose we'll find out more in the weeks to follow; somehow I've got a feeling this is going to link into her exit from the show.

So ... they escaped, and the Doctor is now infested with Dalek nanites which are rewriting him into a Dalek puppet? That's right, isn't it? Or is he magically immune to them even without the wristband thing?

Well, the TARDIS apparently has super-magical healing powers, so presumably so long as they got on-board before they were fully converted, they'd be fine.

[Lost Soal]

So ... they escaped, and the Doctor is now infested with Dalek nanites which are rewriting him into a Dalek puppet? That's right, isn't it? Or is he magically immune to them even without the wristband thing?

It looked good and was enjoyable if you didn't use your brain at any point, and it's kinda sad that that's the norm for Who episodes these days.

He never lost the wristband. Rory took his of to protect Amy but the Doctor was protected at all times

[NecronLord]

That dialogue was pretty vague, actually - I'm still not quite sure whether Amy was upset because she now can't have children, or whether she was so emotionally traumatised by the whole Demon's Run and River Song business that she just doesn't want to have any more children. I suppose we'll find out more in the weeks to follow; somehow I've got a feeling this is going to link into her exit from the show.

I hope to god it's not normal infertility. Because that is assuredly something the Doctor can help with, not least by just going to a future hospital, perhaps one run by feline nuns.

[Alkaloid]

He never lost the wristband. Rory took his of to protect Amy but the Doctor was protected at all times

Nope. Rory tried to put his on her, and when he grabbed her arm she was already wearing the doctors. It would have been nice it they addressed that at some point though. Are they all still infected, or did the bracelet cure them entirely? If they take the bracelets off will the resume becoming puppets? Why were the acknowledged crazy daleks, which seemed to be killing each other in the first place even making dalek puppets? Why were they turning other life forms into proper daleks at all? I'm quite sure that at some point that was considered blasphemy by the dalek emperor.

[Stark]

Is Skaro back now without any explanation?

It was destroyed in the classic episode "Rememberance of the Daleks".

Then in the EU John Peel's something something Daleks something, it turns out he didn't destroy Skaro. Which RTD seems to agree with because the sourcebooks state the Time Lords destroyed it.

Now its back because..because..

Yeah its back without any explanation.

On another note, who gave it a 5 on the poll? Please post your opinions. I may disagree, but I would be interested in why people liked it.

RTD was all about old eps being parts of the time war; I'm pretty sure when he says 'the time lords dun it' he meant the time lord stellar manipulator 'hand of omega' did it at the behest of special agent theta as part of the ongoing time lord campaign to alter the past.

Which we've since discovered is actually piss easy, but never mind. :v

[Juubi Karakuchi]

He never lost the wristband. Rory took his of to protect Amy but the Doctor was protected at all times

Nope. Rory tried to put his on her, and when he grabbed her arm she was already wearing the doctors. It would have been nice it they addressed that at some point though. Are they all still infected, or did the bracelet cure them entirely? If they take the bracelets off will the resume becoming puppets? Why were the acknowledged crazy daleks, which seemed to be killing each other in the first place even making dalek puppets? Why were they turning other life forms into proper daleks at all? I'm quite sure that at some point that was considered blasphemy by the dalek emperor.

That at least I can explain. The Doctor said that one of the purposes of the nanite cloud was to turn any life form that landed into part of the on-site security. If the computer and sensors are suffiently sophisticated, then it should be able to ascertain whether an approaching object is a threat or an opportunity. A missile or asteroid would be destroyed, while an escape pod full of humans would be allowed to crash-land, and its occupants assimilated (yeah I know). Thus I have a theory as to what was going on.

IIUC the planet was run by a fully automated system, which by the time the Doctor arrived was obviously breaking down. There is precedent for the Dalek's creating powerful computers, including the battle computers they used to plan their war with the Movellans (the big joke being that both sides calculated their strategies based on pure logic, resulting in a stalemate) and the one they used in 'Remembrance of the Daleks'. That particular case is relevant, because the computer needed a human (in that particular case) intelligence to provide creativity, hence the use of 'the girl' (otherwise known as Judith Winters). There is also precedent for converting humans into Daleks, though this is usually done out of desperation.

But if no process can be 100% efficient, then no system can be perfect. The Dalek Empire has been having some ups and downs recently, so my theory is that the asylum was breaking down due to neglect. When by sheer luck Oswin's escape pod came by, it allowed the pod to land and assimilated the survivors in search of what it needed. Upon ascertaining that Oswin was the genius it needed, it converted her in order to either boost its processing power or come up with creative solutions. However Oswin wasn't properly converted, either due to system degradation or sheer willpower and/or intelligence on her part. Even worse, she was able to tap into the system whenever it suited her, the only limiting factor being her delusional state.

For the Daleks this is a very bad situation. They've got a deranged ex-human Dalek controlling one of their most powerful computers, so powerful in fact that it could rewrite the minds of their entire race. They can't just blast the planet because she's controlling the nano-field, which by implication could destroy or neutralize the incoming missiles, or even worse, take control of them and throw them back. Sending a commando team down isn't a realistic option either, primarily because they'd be up against vast numbers of insane Daleks who might or might not be under Oswin's control. Also, in either context, there's the risk that if they attack her but fail to take her out in time, she'll lash out in panic (with unpredictable consequences) or else accept her situation and take control, becoming in effect a new Dalek Emperor.

So why send the Doctor? Well, for one thing he might just be able to think his way through the situation. For another, and most importantly, he utterly loathes the Daleks. They are, ironically, relying on this hatred to make him kill Oswin without recognizing the opportunity she represents. As we can see by the look on his face when he's telling Oswin the truth (shifting from pity to disgust and back again), it very nearly works.

[Juubi Karakuchi]

For the Daleks this is a very bad situation. They've got a deranged ex-human Dalek controlling one of their most powerful computers, so powerful in fact that it could rewrite the minds of their entire race. They can't just blast the planet because she's controlling the nano-field, which by implication could destroy or neutralize the incoming missiles, or even worse, take control of them and throw them back. Sending a commando team down isn't a realistic option either, primarily because they'd be up against vast numbers of insane Daleks who might or might not be under Oswin's control. Also, in either context, there's the risk that if they attack her but fail to take her out in time, she'll lash out in panic (with unpredictable consequences) or else accept her situation and take control, becoming in effect a new Dalek Emperor.

I got the nano-genes and the planetary shield mixed up. Sorry about that.