I don’t like robots. Call them what you will: Cyborgs, Androids, Replicants, or Stepford Wives, they just don’t scare me very much.
That is why I was prepared for this week’s “Doctor Who” episode, “Victory of the Daleks” to NOT be one of my favorites. Ever popular, the Daleks made their debut in 1963 and are perhaps the Doctor’s oldest and most deadly foe; the race responsible for wiping out the Doctor’s home planet and people in a long and agonizing war. Not bad for a bunch of cyborg trashcans equipped with plungers and eggbeaters for appendages.
The episode starts as a curious World War II setup. Winston Churchill (a pithy Ian McNeice) is set to employ the Daleks as a secret weapon during the Blitz. On the surface, the military-green Union Flag wearing Dalek is prepared to help the Allied cause claiming, “I am your soldier!” but when you mash-up the Doctor and the Daleks you know you’re just asking for trouble.
If you like Dalek episodes, you won’t be disappointed. The Daleks have been destroyed by the Doctor many times over by now. Yet you can ALWAYS be certain that a few of them will manage to survive and somehow flung across the Universe to come back to pester the Doctor. This time around, we find that they actually need the Doctor to re-activate the “pure” Dalek strain. Their greatest enemy is also their savior.
Not my favorite episode, but as I said before I don’t really care for Dalek and Cybermen themed “Doctor Who” episodes. Otherwise, some fun moments, including the reveal of the bright candy-colored Daleks, which reminded me of the famous “flavored” iMac ads.
Best Parts: Professor Edwin Bracewell is a robot! The Doctor holds off the Daleks with a raspberry cookie! The War Room, Churchill, London during the Blitz and Spitfires in Space!
Worst Parts: The Daleks — Again!
My Rating: Robots are just O.K. I wish Moffat had waited awhile longer for the Daleks to reappear. I give it a 2 out 5.