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Good wasn’t it? Towards the end I was wondering if the Dalek was going to become a companion. It would have been an interesting rip-off errr… adaptation of Trek’s 7 of 9, combining her with The Terminator and K9.
I just hope that the new companion doesn’t turn out to be another Adric.
I think doctor who works best with 2 companions. The new guy is totally bland and boring, however. I don’t even recall his name. Yawn. Potentially the most boring companion ever
I seriously doubt the new guy will hang around long… Then again, I could be wrong, but I’d have thought they’d publicize his addition to the crew.
Anyone notice they mentioned “Bad Wolf” again at the beginning of the episode? And I think they’ve now named one of the final episodes this season as “Bad Wolf”. Of course, during “Aliens of London” some punk spray-painted “Bad Wolf” on the side of the TARDIS, and the Doctor made him clean it off before they left at the end of “World War Three”… Any ideas what it might mean?
Yeah, New Companion has “victim” written all over him. I give him three episodes; enough time to get used to him and then have him bumped off.
In other comments, it was a nice take on the Daleks. At the start of the episode I was wondering if its signal was going to be picked up. IIRC 2012 was the date of the first Dalek invasion of earth (or close enough to it that I could see them doing a tie in to the original story). I thought they could have worked at making it a little more menacing, but then that would have been a completely different story.
I like the cute ex-Corrie guy. But only enough that I want him to stick around for a few episodes.
I agree with the ‘victim’ theory.
Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you Adric. The undisputed most-hated companion ever, killed off (to great cheers from fans everywhere) and with more than a passing resemblance to our new guy.
As soon as he stepped into the Tardis I thought of Adric.
I only wish he’d worn a red shirt.
I liked this a lot. The slapstick from the previous twofer was gone, and even if I liked those episodes, they could have been better without the farting.
I haven’t watched Dr Who in a great number of years, so someone with the older eps in fresher memory: Was it an old Dalek prop or did they build a new one?
All was revealed in the “behind-the-scenes” programme that follows it on BBC3.
It was completely new, with radio-controlled devices, so that the guy inside it doesn’t have to do everything at once. Still, operating a Dalek must take it out of you, the poor guy looked quite worn out by the end of the episode. 
I used to be a HUGE fan of this show the first go round clnilsen lovingly at his model of the TARDIS and I must say that this episode really highighted the differences between the new series and old.
I liked this episode a lot, because it highlights that in this new series, there isn’t the cut and dry Good vs. Evil of the old series. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the overwhelming badness of the Master (god I hope they bring HIM back, or explain what happened to him in the time war), the Cybermen, or even the Daleks. But in this new series, it seems like they’ve made the Doctor not be as clear cut good as he used to be - witness the breakdown towards the end of this episode.
And making the ultimate badass of the old series a sympathetic character, mmm so much the better. I also like the references to the Cyberman, which seems to bring them into the same light as the Dalek in this episode. If I’m not mistaken, that was a very old version of the Cybermen (Early Tom Baker era, maybe from “The Five Doctors?”).
I think they are begining to hit their stride with this series, writing wise, and I’m excited to see where they go.
Also, did anyone catch the “Bad Wolf one landing” quote at the begining of the episode with the helicopters? I wonder what this Bad wolf stuff is all about.
Finally, did anyone else notice anything else in the musem that was a referance to the old series? The ball ship off to screen left in the museum scenes looks like a Sontaran raider?
WHO’s afraid of the big bad wolf.
So in destroying the Daleks in a Time War, it’s as though they never existed at all? And the same with the Time Lords?
That’s pretty heavy.
I loved this eisode. They managed to make what would in real life be ultimately a kind of goofy and ineffectual bad guy (if past series was anything to go by) and make him actually menacing even with its monotone voice and plodding pace. And then make him a sympathetic character! Wow!
Outstanding. I hope this episode wins an award and will be considered a favourite by fans.
I juast rewatched; his name’s Adam.
Lemme see…
he’s an obnoxious brat
he’s a boy genius
and he’s called Ad-
Oh my gawd, no.
I loved the whole episode. The revamped Dalek was great, the references to past enemies was also very well done. Have to admit I’ll have to re-watch the video to get the references to the bad wolf and the sontaran ship.
The Cyberman was one of the vintage models from either “The Invasion” which featured Patrick Troughton or “Revenge of the Cybermen” which starred Tom Baker. I have a feeling that both episodes had the same Cybermen.
I second you on the subject of the Master, he’s too good a villain not to bring back. With luck given the quality of the guest stars they will get soemone like Derek Jacobi to play him again. (Derek Jacobi played the robotic Master in the webcast “Scream of the Shalka”)
The writing was good and much better than the slapstick of the previous two episodes. It was a different writer for this episode though.
I hadn’t though of the Adric link until I read the posts here, but I think everyone that mentioned it has a point. I suspect, but am not certain that he’s not going to be around for long. The actor is listed in the cast list for next weeks episode in this months Doctor Who magazine (DWM), but is not mentioned in subsequent episodes that were also previewed. Either he gets killed or written out or that’s what the BBC wants us to believe.
I was actually sorry when the Dalek died at the end, I was kind of hoping for a new breed of Dalek/Rose hybrids being transplanted to an alien world devastated by the war and rebuilding it, As Daleks reproduce by cloning, it would be reletively easy to mass produce them from the last survivor. I particularly like seeing the actual Dalek being in much greater detail than previously portrayed. Other than their first appearance they generally appear as a green mess after the Daleks have been destroyed. Although there is a rumour that the Daleks make a reappearance in the series finale.
I thought that Eccleston showed a new side of the Doctor in this episode, more willing to kill and use weapons than previous incarnations, could this be a guilt trip for his responsibility in the destruction of Gallifrey and the Dalek fleet? The Dalek did at one point accuse him of being a coward. Hopefully this will be explained as the series progresses.
As for the “bad wolf” in a recent interview in DWM Russel T. Davies said on the subject “the time war affects more than just the Daleks and the time Lords”.
Slight correction Just a Guy the Dalek invasion of earth took place after 2164 in the original series (dated by the Doctor using a calendar showing the ytear as 2164 in a room that had been abandoned for some time.
Apologies for typo’s in the above.
Thanks for the correction. I think I was transposing some of the numbers in the theatrical Dalek movie (2150) in my head to get it sooner.
At least in one instance the Doctor had a chance to kill Davros before he created the Daleks, during the Peter Davidson term IIRC. Had the gun in hand, sights lined up, even told Davros “I came here as your assassin” but ultimately couldn’t do it. I wonder if the current Doctor would have had the same crisis of conscience if Rose hadn’t been standing in the way. Although it was “easy” to sacrifice her when he was pressing a button on the keypad, not so much when he had to pull the trigger and see the result in person.
As far as bringing the Master back, Tom Baker made a half-in-jest suggestion in an interview on his website that HE should play the role. There is precedent, as both Lala Ward and Colin Baker played bit parts before the roles they were most famous for. I do agree that the Doctor needs his foil, and who better than the Master himself?
Do you know where he said this?
That would completely rock, especially if they could weave in the basis for his look into the story! 
Anyone know how old Mr. Baker is now, anyway?
Of course, these days he looks quite different. Gone is the mane of wavy brown hair. Now he looks a bit more like a shorter-haired John Pertwee. It would make a great plot point though, “we have met the enemy and he is us”. Perhaps the Master really is the Doctor’s final (telegenic) regeneration & he’s trying desperately to cling to life?
Except we know about the Doctor’s twelfth regeneration since he was a villain in one of the episodes and the Master has had his own set of regenerations (which he’s exceded through various means) so making the Doctor the Master doesn’t really work if we assume that this series is completely in continuity with the classic Who.
On the other hand, I kind of hope that this series feels free to ignore the original when necessary. I enjoy the homages to the first series, but I’m also alright with completely ignoring it when necessary. I don’t need the current Doctor to be the ninth regeneration. If they go down that path then why not have the Doctor and the Master be the same guy…