Dalek (Doctor Who episode)
161 – "Dalek" | |||
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Doctor Who episode | |||
Cast | |||
Guest
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Production | |||
Directed by | Series 1 | ||
Running time | 45 minutes | ||
First broadcast | 30 April 2005 | ||
Chronology | |||
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"Dalek" is the sixth episode of the revived
The episode is set in Utah in the year 2012, in the underground bunker owned by Henry van Statten (Corey Johnson), a rich collector of alien artefacts. In the episode, the alien time traveller the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and his travelling companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) encounter the bunker's only living exhibit: a Dalek, which breaks loose and attempts to exterminate everyone in the bunker after repairing itself.
Plot
The Ninth Doctor and Rose are drawn by a distress signal to a massive bunker beneath Utah in 2012, filled with alien artifacts collected by the bunker's owner, Henry Van Statten. Rose is offered a tour of the facility by Adam Mitchell, a man who buys and catalogues artefacts for van Statten. Van Statten takes the Doctor to show him a living alien being that he has in captivity, which the Doctor recognises as a Dalek, a race thought to have been wiped out in the Time War. The Dalek is seriously wounded and weakened, and unable to break its bonds, but when the Doctor attempts to destroy it, van Statten orders his guards to restrain the Doctor and return him to his offices. There, van Statten has the Doctor secured, noting that not only does he collect aliens, but also tortures them to gain information, and proceeds to invasively and violently study the Doctor's body to learn more about his physiology.
Meanwhile, Adam has taken Rose to the Dalek. Rose takes pity on the weakened creature and touches its casing; the Dalek promptly absorbs her DNA extrapolating the biomass of a time traveller, and is able to re-energise itself.[N 1] It escapes its bonds, kills several guards, repairs its casing, and connects to the Internet where it learns of the fate of the Daleks and realises it is the last surviving member of its race. With no other purpose, it proceeds to target and exterminate all non-Dalek life forms. Van Statten is forced to release the Doctor to help stop the Dalek, but the Dalek refuses to cooperate, and continues killing all those left in the Vault.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Doctor_Who_Experience_%283998733122%29.jpg/220px-Doctor_Who_Experience_%283998733122%29.jpg)
The Dalek readies to kill Rose but is unable to, realising in horror that it can now feel fear after absorbing Rose's DNA, and begins to question itself. The Dalek is tempted to kill van Statten out of revenge, but Rose instead convinces it to spare his life. The Dalek tells Rose it wants freedom, and destroys a roof so that it can feel sunlight. The Doctor arrives and prepares to kill the Dalek but Rose stops him, convincing him he is becoming like a Dalek. The Dalek is unable to cope with its new emotions, and asks Rose to order its self-destruction. Rose agrees to end its misery, and the Dalek implodes.
Van Statten's assistant Goddard takes over the bunker, planning to wipe van Statten's memories and fill the bunker with cement. Rose offers Adam the chance to travel with her and the Doctor since he will have no job after this. Adam accepts the offer.
Production
Conception
According to Shearman the script went through 14 revisions.
Davies wished for the episode to be emotional rather than "rely on people running down corridors".[1] Shearman expressed a desire "to take all those things people find funny about the Daleks and turn them into something people would find memorable."[1]
Filming
The episode was placed in the third production block, along with "Father's Day" and "The Long Game", the latter taken out due to delays in special effects creation. Filming of the episode began on 25 October 2004 at the National Museum Cardiff,[6] before moving to the Millennium Stadium the following day, where most of the episode was filmed. Most of the filming finished on 3 November 2004, with pick-up shots completed at the show's studio space in Newport throughout the remainder of the month.[7]
Critical reception and awards
Before the broadcast, media watchdog organisation
When it was released on DVD, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) gave the episode a 12 rating, because of the scenes where the Doctor is seen to torture the Dalek.[9] The BBFC stated, "We are concerned about role models for children using the sort of tactics that Doctor Who used against the Dalek. If that was transferred into the playground it would be something we would want to tackle."[9]
Reception to the episode was positive. The episode's overnight ratings were 7.73 million viewers with 46% of the audience share, later finalised to 8.64 million viewers.
The episode was nominated for the 2006
Commercial releases
In print
Author | Robert Shearman |
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Cover artist | Anthony Dry |
Series |
A novelisation of this story written by Robert Shearman was released in paperback and digital formats on 11 March 2021 as part of the Target Collection.[16]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d Lyons, Shaun (29 April 2005). "Friday Series Updates". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ a b Mcalpine, Fraser (2015). "'Doctor Who': 10 Things You May Not Know About 'Dalek'". BBC America. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- SFX Magazine. Archived from the originalon 25 November 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ Mcalpine, Fraser (2016). "'Doctor Who': 10 Things You May Not Know About 'The Sound of Drums'". BBC America. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ "50 Fascinating Doctor Who Almosts..." SFX. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ "Walesarts, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff". BBC. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ "1 episode, broadcast: 30th April 2005". Doctor Who The Locations Guide. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ Lyon, Shaun (25 April 2005). "Weekend Series Coverage". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
- ^ a b "Under-12 ban on Dalek torture DVD". BBC News. BBC. 16 May 2005.
- ^ Lyon, Shaun (1 May 2005). "Dalek Overnight Ratings". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
- ^ Lyon, Shaun (13 May 2005). "Mid-week Series update". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
- ^ "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ Lyon, Shaun; et al. (1 May 2005). "Saturday Series Press Roundup". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
- ^ Hill, Rob (15 April 2010). "Doctor Who: The Top 10 Dalek stories". Den of Geek. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ^ "Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form". 2006 Hugo Award & Campbell Award Winners. 26 August 2006. Archived from the original on 28 June 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2006.
- ^ Shearman, Robert (11 March 2021). Doctor Who: Dalek (Target Collection).
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External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- BBC Doctor Who Homepage
- "Dalek" at the Doctor Who Stories Website
- "Dalek". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007.
- Doctor Who Confidential — Episode 6: Dalek
- "Exterminate!" — Episode trailer for "Dalek"
- The Last Dalek — Macromedia Flash game by New Media Collective based on the episode
- Streaming for More — Article from The Stage about the multicast test leak
- GeoComTex.net — the website of Henry Van Statten's company
- "Dalek" at IMDb