The United Colours of Dalek

I won't be presumptious and expect anybody to be waiting for this, but I won't be rude either, so apologies if you have. I'm just a lazy writer in all honesty. Anyways, Episode Three!

The first episode of the new series in the hands of another writer (in this case, former League of Gentlemen member Mark Gatiss, who's not my favourite Who writer, but oh well!) and as it result, it suffered a little, just as the early non-RTD Tennant episodes did. It's the head writer who's responsible for crafting the Doctor and for other writers to come in and adapt to this new version after only two episodes (and at the time of writing, having never seen the new Doctor on screen at all) is difficult. Props for trying, Gatiss did well, but just fell a little short. Not enough super intelligent Doctor moments, and the pacing felt a little off, as if the episode was over too quickly.

Now, on to the Daleks. The bloody Daleks. Or these new super Daleks. The only difference is they're now multi-ethnic and bigger. If you think about a Dalek's skill set (inability to whisper, big laser and more recently, flight) being smaller probably made them more effective. When these new ones were unveiled, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of indifference. I really hope they're not the ones behind the cracks that keep appearing. The other WTF moment worthy of note: Spitfires in space. Yes, it's a cool idea, but I feel it was a little rushed and reeked of something they couldn't find justification for, but wanted to do anyways because it looked cool.

On to the good bits. When he got screen time, Matt Smith was consistent once again this week. I await the final few episodes to see him really explore the depths of his characterisation of Eleven. The best moment of the episode goes to Amy though (who is fast securing her place as My Favourite Redhead Ever) at the end with the line: "Ever fancied someone you shouldn't?" Yes, Amy, you. Because you are a fictional character and it cannot be :(

The real star of the episode however, was good ol' Churchill. Long time British stalwart thespian Ian McNiece absolutely nails it, stealing the episode (although only due to chronic Doctor screentime shortage) and the interplay between him and Amy throughout was brilliantly done. I for one would love to see him again in a future episode.

Speaking of recurring characters, there's only one thing left to address: THE WEEPING ANGELS ARE BACK NEXT EPISODE!!!! If you missed the Moffat penned, BAFTA award winning Season Three episode Blink, find some way to watch it RIGHT NOW. I mean it. Stop reading this and go watch. Not just the best New Who episode ever, it was the best episode of any television show I'd seen for a long time. To say I've been giddy with anticipation ever since Moffat announced that they would return this season is an understatement, although I didn't expect them so soon. Another interesting point is that the episode also promises further development of the River Song (played by the excellent Alex Kingston) storyline that began in the Season Four two parter Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead. And by the looks of things, this week's is the first half of a two parter. Thank IMDB for that.

Anyways, remember to catch Blink and if you're new to Who and want to follow through the River Song plotline, the aforemention Season Four two parter. It's intriguing that, at that point, Moffat would have known he was taking over and thus began to sow the seeds for what could be this season's main plot arc, if IMDB is correct (I won't give too much away, but go on IMDB and check the episode history for the character River Song. This isn't her last appearence this season.)

Until next time, sports fans!

Captain Mark ;)