"If someone who knew the future, pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives... could you then kill that child?"This quote from Genesis Of The Daleks appeared at beginning of Episode 6 when the Doctor was pondering whether he had the right to commit genocide against the Daleks. As good as that story was Terry Nation seemingly bottled the question. So what would Steven Moffat make of it? For a start the resolution to the cliff-hanger wasn’t given immediately, which I think was a very smart move, although the explanation for how Missy and Clara survived was rather long-winded. However, splitting the major protagonists up was a very clever idea and not one that the show has done much in recent years. I suppose back when 6 part serials were more common it was a necessary plot device.
The Missy-Clara sub-plot was clearly the comic relief with Clara becoming “witch” Missy’s familiar. In fact it was far more like watching a sadistic child teasing a puppy – tying her upside down, dropping her into a deep ditch and eventually encasing her in a Dalek shell (not the first time this has happened.) I really love Michelle Gomez in this part. Whilst she might lack Roger Delgado’s urbane charm she perfectly captures the concept of an anti-Doctor: deliciously cruel as the Doctor is ultimately compassionate. I did feel a little sorry for Jenna Coleman, though – I know it’s acting but some of that stuff looked decidedly unpleasant.
The meat of the episode was really the confrontation between the Doctor and Davros. The original duelling between Tom Baker and Michael Wisher takes some topping but if anything I found the Peter Capaldi / Julian Bleach to be more intense. Bleach seemed to be channelling Ian McDiarmid’s Emperor from the Star Wars films at times but his faking of compassion to hide his conceit and duplicity actually had me fooled for a while. Capaldi, on the other hand, managed to show the almost unbridled rage and hatred that the Doctor has for his adversary in a way that only Christopher Eccleston has ever managed to pull off.
If I have a complaint about the episode it is the ease at which the Daleks were ultimately defeated. In fairness, this is almost always the case in Dalek stories as the resolution relies on exploiting their Achilles Heel. However, what of Terry Nation’s original conundrum? It is answered in typical Moffat style with the Doctor going back full circle to complete the beginning of the story he has just told. I did ponder this as it seemed to be rather a cop out until I remembered the rest of that speech from Terry Nation’s script:
"But if I kill. Wipe out a whole intelligent life form, then I become like them. I'd be no better than the Daleks."If he was to have killed the young Davros, he changes time and merely becomes an inexplicable child murderer, lashing out at what may be. As it is, he alters the past in a small but subtle act of compassion. Maybe this long-form story telling appeals more to the classic Who fan but having watched a lot of 1970s Doctor Who over the summer I’m finding the extended narrative quite refreshing. The last two episodes are being repeated this afternoon as a feature length presentation – presumably to allow any Whovian Rugby fans to catch up. It’s the start of another two parter next week (which is on against the crunch match between England and Australia). Could this be the start of dual pace programming?
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