Epsiode #234: Asylum of the Daleks

"These are the Daleks who survived me."

Episode #234:      Asylum of the Daleks.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
Air Date:               1st September 2012.

Insane Daleks are about to escape the Dalek Asylum where they are kept. The rest of the Daleks call on their greatest enemy, the Doctor, along with his companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams, to lower the defences so they can destroy the Asylum. Can the Doctor save the day, along with his companions' marriage, as easily as he can fix his bow-tie?

The season starts up with a fantastic adventure for the Doctor and his companions. Normally, I am like a lot of modern viewers who grumble about Daleks being used in every season of the new show but with this story I forgive them. Primarily because this adventure is a great throwback for the old classic fans as it features daleks from throughout the run of the show and even makes references to a number of classic stories. My favourite, the special weapons dalek, even gets a brief showcase but unfortunately only in the background.

Other than the daleks the focus of this story is about the companions. Since Amy and Rory last travelled with the Doctor they have had a bad time in their relationship to the point that they are on the verge of splitting up. It takes the Doctor and the dangers of this adventure to bring them back together again. Also, we are introduced very briefly to Oswin, a young woman trapped in the Asylum. I won't spoil her plot for those who haven't seen this but suffice to say this isn't the last time we see her... sort of. Her inclusion is a nice set up for later in the show. The adventure isn't about the daleks but about the companions and it works really well.

The adventure is fun and feels like the old classic dalek stories which is why I enjoy it so much. But there is a niggle towards the end. The Doctor's existence or identity is removed from the daleks collective memory before he makes his escape. But why then is he remembered in later stories? Was it just those daleks in the council that have their memories altered or what? It isn't explained and it niggles in the back of my head.

This is a great adventure and certainly up there on my watch list.

Episode #233: The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe

Madge: Are you the new caretaker?
The Doctor: Usually called "The Doctor." Or "The Caretaker." Or "Get off this planet." Though, strictly speaking, that probably isn't a name.

Episode #233:      The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor.
Air Date:               25th December 2011.

Christmas Eve, 1938. Madge Arwell comes to the aid of an injured Spaceman Angel, the Eleventh Doctor, who promises to repay her kindness – all she has to do is make a wish. Three years later, Madge escapes war-torn London with her two children for a dilapidated house in Dorset. Crippled with grief at the news her husband has been lost over the English Channel, she wishes to give her children the best Christmas ever. The Arwells are greeted by the Doctor, who acts as their madcap caretaker. However, a mysterious Christmas gift from him leads them into a wintry, magical world. Madge must learn how to be braver than she ever thought possible... and that wishes can come true.

Another Christmas special and a better one than recent years. Although set at Christmas the season of good will is not the centre piece of the story which immediately boosts it for me. But saying that the episode features a nice amount of Christmas spirit which does raise a little smile even now watching well past Christmas itself.

The episode itself does not tie into any of the continuing plots and is nicely self contained. The only reference to the previous show is the future setting of Androzani Major. The foresters are from that system but it isn't clear whether the story takes place there or not. If it does, it doesn't resemble anything from 5th Doctor story The Caves of Androzani.

Like previous Christmas stories, this one seems based on a piece of literary work. In this case, as I am sure you can tell by the name, it is The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Thankfully there isn't too much of a correlation between the two. Other than a play on the name, it is only the strange "magical" box which takes them from the old country manor in 1938 to an alien forested winter planet in the distant future.

While the build up is slow and there isn't an actual villain to the story, what I enjoy most about this is the emotional aspect that builds up in the second half. First off by building on the love of a mother for her children, and then the revelation of her husbands death and finally the union of the family on Christmas morning... even I had a lump in my throat watching it. Whether I had that the first couple times I watched this I don't recall but it hit me this time.

The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe is a good story but it does suffer from both slow pacing and a lack of any real story. It just starts, flows along and then ends. Not to mention, once again, that is a little too fairytale for me. I suppose that is fine from the point of view of a basic Christmas episode for the family but it isn't what I would like to see from a special episode like this. Still, enjoyable.