Doctor Who Series 3 Episode 4 - Daleks In Manhattan (Part 1) - Review

Starring: David Tennant, Freema Agyeman, Hugh Quarshire & Miranda Raison

Written By: Helen Raynor

Directed By: James Strong

 

Originally supposed to be penned by Steven Moffat, both Daleks In Manhattan and Evolution Of The Daleks were written by one of the script editors for Series 1 and 2 of the show - Helen Raynor. Surprisingly, this makes her the first female writer to write a televised Dalek story, as well as the first female writer to write for the revived series. Owing to her experience as a script editor, I had fairly high hopes for Daleks In Manhattan. Sadly, while not exactly bad, it turned out to be something of a let-down …

 

The Doctor brings Martha to New York (not New New York) in the 1930s, just after the Wall Street Crash, in which America’s economy collapsed overnight. The two pay a visit to Hooverville in the heart of the city - the only place where those affected by the crash have left to go. Nearby, the Empire State Building nears completion, but its construction is being manipulated by the last four surviving Daleks, hiding in the city's sewers. Hooverville provides the backdrop for some pretty great supporting characters, particularly Solomon. Solomon is a rational man, who can diffuse any arguments between people in the camp, and recognizes the injustices in New York's society. He's also written as a flawed yet realistic character, openly admitting to the Doctor that he let a friend be captured because he was scared.

 

After our introduction to Hooverville, the episode shifts to the construction at the peak of the Empire State Building, where we meet Mr Diagoras. Diagoras is in league with the Daleks, and you can easily see why - he does have a personality that is very Dalek - something even the Daleks acknowledge. So while this episode gets off to a good start and sets everything up well, it begins to feel weak when the Doctor, Martha, Solomon and Frank go down into the sewers. Here, they are attacked by a large group of Pig Slaves. Pig Slaves ... why? I suppose they’re an interesting idea, but I just can’t take a load of pigs running around the sewers underneath the Empire State building seriously. When I first watched the pre-titles sequence, where we first get a look at a Pig Slave, rather than making me jump, I laughed. The Pig Slaves act as servants to the Daleks, and due to how pathetic and hilarious they are, this reflects back onto the Daleks, and not in a good way either.

 

The group's escape out of the sewers leads to them meeting one of the showgirls: Tallulah. Unfortunately, Tallulah comes across as something of a stereotype of 1930s women. She starts off with quite a sweet scene with Laszlo at the start of the episode, but quickly and sadly spirals out to become a stereotype that really just gets in the way of what the other characters are doing. However, you can still see that Miranda Raison is doing her best with the role. She does a very good job, and Tallulah does have some moments, particularly when she is reunited with Laszlo that are much more emotional and watchable. However, Tallulah’s actions the rest of the time, end up undermining these genuinely great moments.

 

Obviously the biggest draw of this two-parter is the return of the Daleks. Yes, the Cult of Skaro are back, last seen in the brilliant Doomsday. However, the Daleks’ re-appearance here, is not quite as great as it should be. In previous series', the Daleks were terrifying and imposing. Whether it be just one of them killing two hundred people single-handed. effectively crippling Earth in the year 200,000, or even going to war against the Cybermen, they were ruthless and powerful creatures bubbling with hate. However, this time, they’re … hiding under the sewers and getting pig slaves to do their work? The problem with the Daleks in this episode, is that they bring barely any threat with them. Their voices aren’t as imposing or demanding (although it's still a wonderful job from Nicholas Briggs), their presence is weaker and they’re getting comic relief slaves to do their work for them. I understand that the Daleks are supposed to be in a fragile position at the moment, with the Cult of Skaro being the last four in existence - but you still need to keep some element of threat for the Daleks to work.

 

That being said, credit has to be given to Helen Raynor for trying to put the Daleks' intelligence before their guns. It can be difficult for a writer to come up with new ideas for the Daleks, as all they really want in life is to destroy and become the supreme beings. However, Daleks In Manhattan gives the Daleks a new objective - advancing their evolution in order to survive. This episode raises some fantastic questions, such as If the Daleks are the supreme beings, why are there only four of them left, and hiding in the sewers, whilst millions of humans are living on the surface? It makes perfect sense and I love the fact that Dalek Sec has at last begun to understand this. Whilst you could answer the above question about the humans’ survival with “The Doctor”, the Daleks obviously have a weaker survival instinct than humans, and they’ve even tried to extract the “Human factor” before. So, its safe to say that I love this idea.

 

In an attempt to evolve, the Cult of Skaro begins the “Final Experiment”, combining Dalek and human DNA. By the end of the episode, the result is unveiled - a Human-Dalek hybrid, a whole new species. I've definitely got mixed feelings towards this, but I'll start positive as I loved the design, especially how it simply looks like a Dalek mutant sitting on a human head. However, I'm not entirely sure where the episode hopes to go with this, as it looks like it wants to say that this new creation is in some way an improvement from a regular Dalek. It’s not, or at least it doesn‘t seem to look that way. It both appears and looks weaker, even for a new-born. This isn’t helped by the voice that they’ve given it either, scrapping the cold screaming Dalek voice for a whispery human one.

 

Daleks In Manhattan at this point, may only be half of a story, but it's a very mixed start. Whilst some things hit the ground running, such as Solomon, the physical design of the Human-Dalek hybrid and attempts to give the Daleks a new objective; its sadly held back by the ridiculous Pig Slaves, Tallulah, the weakened presence of the Daleks, and the mixed start of the new Dalek-Human. Overall, a poor-to-average start.
Find my review of Part 2 here: https://ojgreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/doctor-who-series-3-episode-5-evolution.html

Daleks In Manhattan



5/10

 So far ...