Victory of the Daleks

Victory of the Daleks is an episode that split the fandom in various ways including it's handling of the Daleks reintroduction as the New Dalek Paradigm. But for me on first viewing, I rather enjoyed it and found that it was a suitable entry into the Dalek Lore. On a repeat viewing, it definitely doesn't stand up to scrutiny. This is Victory of the Daleks.

Our story begins as the Doctor and Amy arrive in Churchill's War Room greeted by a barrage of soldiers. Churchill arrives to banter with the Doctor while trying to steal the TARDIS key for him, saying "think of how quick I could win the war". The Doctor shuns him off and they follow Winston to the roof. It's here that he unveils his "Ironsides" which shoot down a squadron of fighters in mid-air, they are revealed to be the Daleks which no nothing of their extraterrestrial origins. 

The Doctor tries to convince Churchill that they are actually Daleks but he is sceptical towards his claims. The Doctor stresses to Amy to tell him about the Daleks but to his surprise, she remembers nothing about them and their plan to move the various planets in the sky. As is revealed later in the season, this has to do with the cracks in the universe arc for this year. This is a brilliant bit of foreshadowing by Moffat who has subtly included the series arc throughout these few episodes. 

The Doctor enters Bracewell's workshop, the man who invented the Ironsides. When a Dalek approaches him with the humorous line of "Would you care for some tea?", the Doctor flips out and calls out the Daleks on what is going on. The Daleks have no idea what he is on about and repeats "I am your solider" trying to convince the Doctor of their good intentions. It's not until the Doctor attacks them and proclaims "I am the Doctor and you are the Daleks" kicking it into a corner in defeat. It turns its head to proclaim "CORRECT". The Doctor stunned, watches as the Daleks review his testimony and disappear. 

It's here that the episode takes a turn for the better as the Doctor confronts the Daleks with a Jammie Dodger and tries to learn of their true intentions. The RTD era Daleks tell the Doctor about the progeniator device which contains the DNA of pure Daleks which will create a new Dalek Paradigm. The Doctor bluffs his way through this conversation to discover the Daleks intentions for WWII-era Earth but before long, the new Daleks emerge to confront the Doctor. 

Matt Smith's performance in these episodes are fantastic and in every episode of his tenure, I can't fault his portrayal of the Doctor as he had nailed it right from the get-go. The true test of a Doctor is his first episode against a well established monster from the series usually Daleks or Cybermen. Matt Smith does a brilliant job at conveying his utter contempt for the Daleks and their ways and his performance really sells this episode. 

Unforunately, this is where the story turns for the worse. Once the new Dalek Paradigm is unveiled, this episode (which had slowly been building up momentum) quickly dissolves into a rushed mess of an episode. They discover the Doctor was threatening them with a Jammie Dodger and quickly try to exterminate him. In this short space of time, Amy, Churchill and Bracewell have managed to re-fit spitfires with Dalek technology and have sent them to attack the radar dish that is lighting up London during the night. The Daleks inform him that Bracewell is a bomb but he knows that if he goes to stop Bracewell, the Daleks will escape. He makes the tough decision and lets the Daleks go to stop Bracewell. The Doctor can't stop Bracewell by appealing to his human side and sees no hope while Amy appeals to the romantic nature that humans have by saying "ever fancied someone you know you shouldn't". Bracewell refers to a long-lost love Dorabella which manages to reverse the bomb (go figure!) and the day is saved. As the Doctor and Amy say their farewells, Churchill manages to steal the TARDIS key while Amy takes it back. Churchill says his catchphrase "KBO: Keep Buggering On" and the Doctor and Amy depart for next week's adventure when a crack mysteriously appears behind the TARDIS as it dematerialises.

Victory of the Daleks was an episode that started well but around the halfway point, the story took a turn for the illogical and the story would have been better served as a two part tale to develop the second half into a much more fitting ending to the promising start. Even Matt Smith's performance in this episode couldn't lift it above an average score so it receives a 5 out of 10. While not an absolute failure, it failed to fire for me and many viewers.

NEXT TIME: THE TIME OF ANGELS