Asylum of the Daleks

Save the Daleks!

The Daleks

Synopsis

Kidnapped by his oldest foe, the Doctor is forced on an impossible mission – to a place even the Daleks are too terrified to enter…

Review

Asylum of the Daleks kicks off Matt Smith’s third series as the Doctor by giving him a third encounter with the character’s oldest recurring foes. It is a bombastic and dynamic start to a series leading into the fiftieth-anniversary year.

I still remember the shock of having Jenna Coleman in this episode when it was first broadcast in 2012. Those who followed the programme devotedly knew that Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill were leaving and that Coleman was starting at Christmas, so her sudden appearance here was a genuine surprise. Of course, this isn’t the exact character she plays when she does finally appear in the series, but it sets up the arc for the second half of the series. There are clues that Oswin is in fact a Dalek, including the lack of milk to make soufflés, but that doesn’t make the reveal any less of a gut punch. I remember leaving this episode wanting to see more of the enigmatic Oswin.

Moffat continues to be inventive with the Daleks here, and they are devious and manipulative here. Having had a security breach due to the Starship Alaska managing to crash onto the planet housing the Dalek asylum, the Dalek Parliament decide to send their nemesis and his companions to resolve the issue. The Daleks don’t want to sacrifice any of their own, and the solution to their problem is to destroy the planet from orbit. Ultimately, the mere fact that the Daleks even keep these damaged Daleks around is surprising, however, they find it abhorrent to destroy creatures capable of hatred. They obviously do not care about these insane Daleks, shown by the decay and grime, both on the asylum itself and the Daleks contained within it. Their use of puppets, like Darla and the crew of the SS Alaska, along with the ones that help capture the Ponds is also quite creepy. This is especially evident with Darla, who is able to maintain memories of her daughter, Hannah, to entrap the Doctor. The Daleks here are unsettling without killing anyone, which is testament to how their

What’s he doing?

He’s chosen the most defendable area in the room, counted all the Daleks, counted all the exits and now he’s calculating the exact distance we’re standing apart and starting to worry. Ohh, and look at him frowning now – something’s wrong with Amy and Rory, and who’s going to fix it? And he straightens his bow tie!

Rory Williams and Amy Pond

If there is one thing that doesn’t really work with Asylum of the Daleks, it is the Amy and Rory subplot. The fact that they are getting divorced at the start of the story comes out of nowhere. The last time we saw them, they were celebrating Christmas together, and save for the final part of the web series Pond Life, there have been no signs of fractures in their relationship. It has clearly been an acrimonious split; Rory refers to Amy’s work as posing in front of a camera. The root cause of their problems is enough to drive a wedge between the strongest couple: Rory wants children, but Amy is unable to have them due to procedures performed on her at Demon’s Run. The reasoning for the separation is solid enough, but the resolution of it in this episode feels far too speedy. It feels as though Moffat realised that he had painted himself into a corner. Having the divorce subplot carry on to the new series would beg the question as to if and how the Ponds would be able to carry on travelling with the Doctor as they seemingly cannot stand each other at the start. It’s not a terribly appealing TARDIS team dynamic. It is the show’s way of demonstrating that Amy and Rory have started to outgrow the Doctor, something which would be emphasised in their four remaining episodes of this series. Ultimately, the fact that they nearly got divorced is something that is never mentioned again. Both Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill do well with the material that they are given, but it is definitely a misstep for both characters.

Does it surprise you to know that the Daleks have a concept of beauty?

I thought you’d run out of ways to make me sick, but hello again! You think that hatred is beautiful?

Perhaps that is why we’ve never been able to kill you.

The Dalek Prime Minister and the Eleventh Doctor

Matt Smith shines through in the first episode of his final series. He continues to be imminently watchable as the Doctor and conveys his emotions really well. His fury at the Dalek Prime Minister is great, as is his terror at being cornered by the Daleks in intensive care. The Doctor gets another nickname here, being identified as the Predator, something that makes him deeply uncomfortable. I suppose having been involved with the Time War and various other Dalek operations, the Doctor has a bit of a reputation by this point for the destruction of thousands, if not millions of Daleks.

Verdict: A fast-paced and gripping story with the Daleks. There are flaws, but the highs cover them up enough to be a compelling story. 8/10

Cast: Matt Smith (The Doctor), Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams), Jenna-Louise Coleman (Oswin Oswald), Anamaria Marinca (Darla), Naomi Ryan (Cassandra), David Gyasi (Harvey), Nicholas Briggs (Voice of the Daleks), Barnaby Edwards (Dalek 1) and Nicholas Pegg (Dalek 2).

Writer: Steven Moffat

Director: Nick Hurran

Producer: Marcus Wilson

Composer: Murray Gold

Original Broadcast Date: 1 September 2012

Behind the Scenes

• The appearance of Jenna-Louise Coleman in this episode was able to remain under wraps until broadcast.
• This story marks the final appearance of the Paradigm Daleks introduced in Victory of the Daleks. Their appearances would be changed in this story to make them look more metallic.
• The first appearance of Skaro in televised Doctor Who since The TV Movie.
• The first story where the Daleks do not kill anyone.

Best Moment

I do really like the scene where the Doctor finds the intensive care wing of the Dalek asylum, which houses the Daleks who have survived him.

Best Quote

You’re going to fire me at a planet?? That’s your plan?? I get fired at a planet and expected to fix it?

In fairness, that is slightly your MO.

Don’t be fair to the Daleks when they’re firing me at a planet!

The Eleventh Doctor and Rory Williams

Previous Eleventh Doctor story: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

For more Eleventh Doctor reviews, click here.