Doctor Who - 'Victory of the Daleks' review

Synopsis:

World War II! Churchill needs all the help he can get and seems to have gotten it in the secret weapon they call 'Ironsides'. The Doctor knows them by another name: Daleks...

Thoughts:

One story on contemporary Earth, the next on a spaceship related to a damaged Earth, and the third set in Earth's past with an historical figure. The first two stories are written by the showrunner and the third by Mark Gatiss. Is it 2005 or 2010? It's not that these new stories really resemble the first three stories of the revived series but it is interesting how this 'pattern' repeated itself.

Much like 'The Beast Below', the basic story doesn't feel all that complicated. The Daleks are doing something weird as part of a devious plot to protect their future. It's 'Power of the Daleks' only half as long and without Patrick Troughton. While the story can be boiled down to a few words, the story never feels simple. Churchill is grand. The Doctor has to walk a line between encouraging him and avoiding telling him that things will work out in the end.

Traditionally, the Daleks have been short, squat little things, about five foot tall, not unlike Tom Cruise. In 2005 they were 'upsized' a bit in order to go eye to eyestalk with Billie Piper. Karen Gillian doesn't look all that tall until she leans over a Dalek and suddenly she's a giant. What happens? They redesign the Daleks to make them taller again. The Daleks will not be denied!

It's a rattling adventure that flies by at top speed. The Doctor makes a tough decision and believes that, in victory, he has still lost.

We have one trend for the series now: the cracks. The one in the first episode was part of the story but both episodes since have shown a crack in existence after the TARDIS departs. This has to be leading to something. It's probably tied to Amy's inability to remember the Daleks. The Earth was stolen! She remembers none of it. What happened? Is it just her or has something happened? Or will something have happened? I'm blaming the Daleks. They are so mean.

More good stuff. Three episodes in and things are going well.