Doctor Who: Victory of the Daleks

Exterminate! Exterminate!

...well come on, it's the daleks we're talking about here. No other way to begin a discussion, is there? Or rant, as the case may be. Because all in all, of all the episodes I've seen of Series 5 of Doctor Who, Victory of the Daleks stands as the weakest.

The plot, which I think might have worked better if extended across two episodes, involves the Doctor and Amy being summoned by Winston Churchill to the era of the Blitz. A new weapon has been devised to combat the Nazis, the "Ironsides." Problem is, they're daleks, though feign ignorance of the Doctor and his past experiences with them. And with Churchill determined to bring the war to a close, he's not willing to listen to anything the Doctor has to say.

It's hard to say whether the post-'big reveal' scenario could have gone on longer than it did, but relatively soon in the episode, the daleks' plans are revealed-they trick the Doctor into saying "I am the Doctor and you are the daleks," recording his 'testimony.' The last three dalek survivors from the War in the Medusa Cascade (from the Series 4 finale), they found the last Progenitor Device, capable of rebuilding the dalek race. Unfortunatly, these daleks were produced from Davros's DNA and as such, the device would not recognise them as genuine daleks. But with the Doctor's 'testimony,' what with him being the daleks' most hated enemy, the device recognises them and begins creation of a new "master race." Or, in production terms, the new dalek models.

It's here that things begin to feel iffy. The daleks have always been able to bounce back, but even so, I don't think it should be first priority to bring them back for Moffat's era. Yes, Series 1 of the revived series did it quickly, but that was in the knowledge that the BBC had only authorized one series at the time and if there was only going to be one iconic enemy returning, the daleks had to be it. But bringing them back, yet again seems like overkill. And as for the designs...well, structurally the bulky daleks look more imposing, but the idea of daleks of different colours belies their true nature. They're uniform, their only emotions are rage and hate and hell, only the Cult of Skaro was actually allowed named daleks. I can only hope that subsequent daleks in the series keep a uniform appearance, otherwise we'll we asking for a pot of gold every time the 'rainbow brigade' shows up.

Suffice to say, through a series of standoffs, the Doctor is given the choice of destroying the daleks once and for all, or saving the Earth from a bomb they have planted in their 'creator.' Naturally, he chooses the latter and the daleks escape, ready to rebuild. A bittersweet ending at the most.

So yeah-the episode doesn't stand out as the strongest so far in my mind, both in content and pacing.

Doctor Who: The Beast Below

"A horse and a man, above, below. One has a plan, but both must go. Mile after mile, above, beneath. One has a smile, and one has teeth. Though the man above might say hello, expect no love from the beast below..."

Although I feel that Series 5 of Doctor Who has been beset by somewhat rushed plots, which in turn have hindered characterization, episode 2 of the series definitely stands out as the gem of the series IMO. Unlike The Eleventh Hour, Moffat did what he does best in regards to writing for the series-the absence of any true antagonist (despite early hints in the episode, likely intended to mislead the viewer) with individuals performing morally heinous actions because they simply have no other choice to.

Case in point-the Starship UK, the whole of the United Kingdom bolted together after solar flares force the people of Earth to search for a new home (have to wonder why other human colonies in the far future couldn't provide this, but that's my inner nerd talking). Of course, one has to wonder, why there isn't an engine on the ship, as the Doctor and Amy discover. Secrets are being kept on the starship, no doubt related to "the Beast below"-some kind of infestation growing from the bowls of the ship.

Only it's not an infestation, but rather the mode of transport. The "beast" is the last star whale, captured and imprisoned by humanity three centuries ago and kept in terrible pain to drive it forward across the stars, fed with food scraps and dissidents (though won't eat children for some reason). The Earth was burning, children were screaming and the star whale was the only way they could escape. And that leaves the choice of what to do-let the whale endure centuries of more agony, release it at the cost of everyone's life or, as the Doctor chooses, effectively euthanize the whale-reduce it to a vegetable and end its agony, while still allowing it to carry the starship.

As Amy discovers though, there's a fourth option-release the whale and let it carry the ship without being driven via torture. The last of its species, old and kind, it, just like the Doctor (the last Time Lord) couldn't sit by and let children cry as the sky burned. It wasn't coincidence that brought it to Earth, but compassion. And after centuries of torture, of being a prisoner, it continues to carry the starship because of that continued compassion.

In a sense, the episode is a more in-depth version of Omeleas, the question of whether it is moral to let an individual suffer if it benefits the greater whole. Here however, an answer is provided, which makes the story all the better for it. Christopher Eccleston once said the theme of Doctor Who is "to respect life in all its forms." And in a situation without any true monsters, in a situation where compassion leads to the best result, I felt this rang true. Defiantly the best episode of Series 5 so far.

In bed above we're deep asleep.
While greater love lies further deep.
This dream must end, this world must know:
We all depend on the Beast below.

Stargate Universe: Faith

If there's one thing the Internet has taught me, it's that it's possible to establish similarities between any one media to any other, regardless of whether they exist or not. In light of this, it is perhaps fair to say that episode 13 of season 1 of Stargate: Universe, Faith, stands as testament to this. Considering that it was nicked from an episode of its SG-1 predecessor, perhaps this isn't surprising.

Anyway, in what is literally a case of in-universe Deus Ex Machina, Destiny comes across a star system with a single planet-a system that should not be here in that a) Destiny's probes didn't record it and b) the star is only 200 million years old-a period which should preclude the possibility of having a fully developed planet in orbit, much less one with a verdant biosphere akin to Eden...

...yes, Eden. I think that's where most of the idea of this episode came from, combined with Dr. Caine and others (Cain and Abel? Meh, there's no sheep to sacrifice anyway) wanting to stay, to access what could be 'forbidden knowledge' of an alien obelisk (A Space Odyssey? Dead Space?) that sends a pulse of light by means of communication (Halo?). I wouldn't exactly call the episode derivative, but for whatever reason, I could not help but be reminded of various other science fiction medias in addition to possible Biblical references.

Still, it was a good episode overall. Melting pot, rather than salad bowl.