Doctor Who (2005)

Victory of the Daleks

Season 5, Episode 3, Aired 4/17/10

Episode Summary

Location: Cabinet War Rooms, London, UK, Earth''Date: The Blitz, World War 2 (1941)''Enemies: Daleks''''The Doctor has been summoned by an old friend, but in the Cabinet War Rooms far below the streets of blitz-torn London, it's his oldest enemy he finds waiting for him, as the time-travelling adventures continue. The Daleks are back but can Winston Churchill be in league with them?moreless

7.6

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Cast & Crew

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Matt Smith

The Eleventh Doctor
Karen Gillan

Amy Pond
Ian McNeice

Churchill

Fan Episode Reviews (20)

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I didn't see even one eyebrow raised at Amy's micro-skirt!

5.0

"Mediocre"

By Shreela, Aug 17, 2011 Report Abuse

Recent seasons have addressed and somehow fixed the assistants outfits to fit the time they're in, but in this episode, I didn't see even one eyebrow raised at Amy's micro-skirt!

As far as the rest of the show, I took many breaks while watching it, which I don't if I find a show very interesting. The scene with the Dr and Amy going back and forth repeatedly about how long he'd take to return so he could deactivate the Dalek robot that thought he was human, well it got old after the second or third back-and-forth, yet they still went on.

The previews for the show that follows has statues, so that's promising, since the other "statues" show was my favorite. I really want to continue to love this show!moreless

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3 10
the daleks win.

9.0

"Superb"

By alexjones555, Jun 01, 2011 Report Abuse

another great episode from doctor who, not without it's flaws but still a fine episode. I guess the main flaw with this episode was that it was a bit rushed, the daleks plan was revealed too early in the episode, i'd have preffered it if they used a bit more time to build up the suspence, it would have probably done better as a 2 parter or at least an extended episode. however this was still a great dalek episode and I like the fact that they won since it will make them easier to bring back later. also some unanswered questions, like why amy didn't rememeber the daleks invading before, probably something to do with the cracks appearing in time.moreless

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4 6
Winston Churchill has called the Doctor to Earth during the blitz, where he and Amy find the British to have an unexpected 'ally'... the Daleks! Could easily have been a classic, but still one of the much better modern 'Who' stories...moreless

9.0

"Superb"

By Jay-Spacedust, Jun 01, 2011 Report Abuse

I was really looking forward to this episode. The Daleks in a World War II setting sounding very appealing and had a lot of potential. Sadly, due to an unfocused mid-section, 'Victory of the Daleks' does not wind up as the 100% classic that it might have been, but I still found it to be a very good episode, and one of my favourite episodes of modern 'Doctor Who'.

It is written by one of the show's best writers, Mark Gatiss, who often comes up trumps with his stories, and certainly does a good job with this one. Over the years, the Daleks have sometimes been compared to Nazis, so this is an interesting spin appearing in WWII, yet on the British side!

I loved the first 15 minutes or so just what are the Daleks doing in WWII London? Surely they can't be as peaceful as they appear? It was wonderful. Sadly, the midsection of the story becomes too cluttered. The reverse of one of my (few) gripes about the previous two episodes, 'The Eleventh Hour' and 'The Beast Within', which were very stretched in the middle, 'Victory...' actually suffers for having a little TOO much going on.
The World War II setting is wonderful, but in mid-section, with the Doctor on the Dalek's ship, the WWII element at times seems almost coincidental, and not used to its full potential.

Amy has some good moments in this episode, but this is defiantly the Doctor's story, and once again Matt Smith does very well. As much as I liked Tennant, I am enjoying (and warming to) Matt Smith's incarnation eminently more.

Then there is the new Dalek design. I had heard, from reading about this new series on-line, that the Daleks were having a redesign, but had avoided it until it appeared on-screen. And as much as I am willing to give new things a try (hey, we all did with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan just a couple of weeks ago!), I'm afraid I don't really like the new Dalek design. I like the various colours they are in (a nod back to various vintage appearances), but they just look so clunky (and with obvious room for operators inside!), a step back in that department I'm afraid, IMO.

This story raced by. I really enjoyed it, but as I mention above, my main gripe is that there is too much thrown in, at the expense of the WWII setting. Personally I can't help but feel that this one would have worked better as a two-parter, to allow more breathing space, but alas, it wasn't to be.

All-in-all, this IS an excellent episode, but sadly it falls short of being the classic it might well have been. Still one of my favourite modern 'Who' stories though, and I give it a decent 9 out of 10.moreless

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3 6
The Daleks are back and the show lets us down a bit by falling very short of the mark!

7.5

"Good"

By JohnnyKusanagi, Jun 01, 2011 Report Abuse

Our third instalment of the new series of Doctor Who was set up quite nicely and indeed looked promising. It started off quite well to, with the Doctor being called to London by Winston Churchill, and arriving (a month late) to find Daleks scooting around fighting for Britain in World War II.

That said, I felt that they did not explore the ideas in this episode as well as they should of done. The ideas were great, The Daleks masquerading as inventions to help win the war but were actually serving a secret plan to recover from the events of the Stolen Earth/Journeys End story. The reveal of brand new shiny (multicoloured) Daleks. Amy not even remembering the Daleks and when there were planets in the sky, even though that would have been impossible to miss (unless your Donna Noble of course).

All of those ideas were good and could have worked well, but they did screw up a bit this time, which is not good for a Dalek episode or a WWII episode. The Doctor just seemed to shout at the Daleks for a bit after the demonstration of them blowing up Nazi fighters, proceed to go aboard the Dalek ship leaving Amy behind, get cornered into a difficult position and then leave.

Amy didn't seem to do anything in this episode either, she had a few funny moments but that was it, the writers have yet to do something that interesting with her, which is a shame because she has loads of potential.

The way the actor portrayed Winston Churchill, I was half expecting him to start going "OH YES!" any minute.

Despite this, there are some good enjoyable moments in this episode. The new Daleks look great, I am going to miss the old ones, but still. I am sure there must be a reason for them all being different colours, but it did seem a little weird. We have always had different Daleks with different paint jobs, but not at the same time before, unless you count Dalek Sec or the Supreme Dalek. However, they did look very cool, and may, at some point, be viewed as more threatening, although not yet as this episode lacked the most important element of a Dalek episode, and that was "FEAR".

Continuing with the good things, the Doctor's reactions in this episode were priceless, some good acting on the part of Matt Smith.

The Space battle with the Spitfires was great as well. Excellent work with CGI, and very impressive looking and exciting.

Overall, this episode wasn't bad, but left much to be desired and wasn't as good as a Dalek episode should be. The jury is still out on the new Daleks and hopefully Amy will get to do something great soon that will bring her up to the standards of previous companions like Rose, Sarah-Jane, Martha and Donna.

Saying that, I know it looks like I think the episodes have gone downhill from week to week, but so far the new series has failed to really impress me, but looking at the preview of next week's episode, we all might be in for a treat, or at least, I hope we are!moreless

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7 2
The Ironsides Written by Mark Gatiss Directed by Andrew Gunn

9.0

"Superb"

By shawnlunn2002, Jun 01, 2011 Report Abuse

The Doctor: "You are everything I despise. The worst thing in all creation. I've defeated you time and time again, I've defeated you. I've sent you back into the void. I've saved the whole of reality from you. I am the Doctor and you are the Daleks."

It's amazing that back in August 2009 when this episode was being filmed that a raw version of the above piece generated a pointless amount of uproar. Some fans were annoyingly convinced that Matt Smith was going to be a terrible Doctor but that's already been proved wrong by now, hasn't it?

So, the Daleks, eh? Am I supposed to be shocked that Steven Moffat would bring them into the fifth series? No, but I am grateful that a) he did it in an early episode of the season b) that it was one episode and not a two parter and c) that he didn't write the episode himself. If this is the only appearance of the Daleks this season, will we have to wait until Season 6 before he pens an episode with the longest running foe of the Doctor?

Fortunately though, Mark Gatiss is more than flipping skilled to tackle the Daleks and a World War 2 backdrop almost seems a little atypical for him as well. After all, both "The Unquiet Dead" and "The Idiot's Lantern" were period settings and it made sense to throw the Daleks into Churchill's era during the war.

Churchill believed that the rather scatty Bracewell had created the Ironsides (what the Daleks go by here) to win the war and he wasn't having any of the Doctor's guff about their true purpose. After all, everyone except the Doctor was blissfully ignorant of the Daleks in this episode.

When I said everyone that also included Amy. A fair amount of stuff happened in this story but Amy's ignorance of the Daleks was the thing that stood out the most in this one. How the hell could she not know about them? Was she living underwater during their worldwide attack in Season 4 or what? The best part about that however was the Doctor taking notice and confronting the issue head on towards the episode's closing moments.

Because of her ignorance, Amy was willing to give the Daleks a break. She believed herself that Bracewell invented the wretched things and even cheekily asked one what their true motives were because she was still sceptical of the Doctor's claims of them being aliens. I think this was a time when scepticism didn't do Amy any favours.

But the interesting thing about this episode was that the wait didn't last long. The Daleks could've (and might've if this had been a two episode story) kept the pretence of niceness going a while longer but all the Doctor had to do was flip out and attack one for the Dalek to let it's mask slip.

But even then, things got more and more interesting. It wasn't Churchill that the Daleks were interested in; it was getting one up on the Doctor. The khaki looking Daleks needed him to identify them so a progenitor could help them make a batch of new pure Daleks and there in itself lay something that's been much discussed in the build up to this episode.

Revamping the Daleks was always going to be a risky thing. Too many changes and it might not look like a Dalek and far too little and people would be wondering what they were supposed to be looking at. With this episode, all we got were five Daleks in different colours, a chunkier look and a living eye on the eyestalk, which close up did look quite creepy and effective.

Other than that, this new bunch of Daleks were oddly familiar. They happily destroyed the old Daleks that ushered in their birth and made countless rants about wanting to exterminate the Doctor. In some ways, there's a lot in this episode that doesn't really reinvent the wheel as such. Even their motives are still within character.

They knew as soon as they placed the Earth in danger; the Doctor would everything in his power to stop them. Except this time around, it was what they wanted. By distraction, the Doctor ended up letting the new Daleks slip out of his fingers and there was a very huge tone of regret when Amy tried to reassure him as well.

The Doctor's scenes with the Daleks on their ship were well written enough. I did love the joke with the Jammie Dodger as a potential bomb and the Supreme Dalek talking about the Doctor's compassion being a weakness. The actual victory in this episode seemed to be an intellectual one with the promise of reprisals further down the line.

The Doctor was still able to stop them from destroying Earth with Bracewell, which led to one of the stronger moments of the episode. I liked the idea of Bracewell as a robot and I certainly had pity for him when he painfully realised his true identity. More importantly, the moments where both the Doctor and Amy in their own way diffused him was satisfying.

The Doctor started getting Bracewell to talk about his memories but it was Amy's discussion of love that triggered his humanity and made him sentient. I'm not sure if it was wise for the Doctor and Amy just to leave him there but maybe if they're lucky, Bracewell won't be used by the Daleks from afar.

And as for Churchill, well it's good casting from Ian McNeice and it was refreshing to have a historical in the episode who already had a past relationship with the Doctor but trying to pilfer the TARDIS key? Bad, Churchill, just bad. I did love Amy having her wits about her and stopping Churchill from keeping her and the Doctor bound to one time.

However there was also another issue raised in this episode is Amy Pond in love with the Doctor? There is a part of me that doesn't blame her if she is but at the same time, I don't want a Rose/Mickey situation with Amy/Rory and I'm not sure if the Doctor himself is keen on having another companion fancy him, even if it is someone as sexy as Amy. Also there's the more pressing issue of her not remembering an important historical event to address as well.

Also in "Victory Of The Daleks"

The Daleks in this episode had a small Union Flag underneath their eyestalk at the start of this one. Nice little touch there.

Churchill (re TARDIS key): "Must I take it by force?"
The Doctor: "I'd like to see you try."

This Doctor gets a costume variation as well as he wore a blue shirt, bowtie and braces with his usual ensemble.

The Doctor: "What are you doing here?"
Dalek: "I am your soldier."

The Doctor: "Amy, tell me you remember the Daleks."
Amy: "No, sorry."
The Doctor: "That's not possible."

We got another crack in time appearance as the Doctor and Amy took off at the end of this episode. These have to be connected to Amy, don't they?

The Doctor: "What does hate look like Amy?"
Amy: "Hate?"
The Doctor: "It looks like a Dalek and I'm going to prove it."

Amy (re the Doctor): "What does he expect us to do now?"
Churchill: "KBO of course."
Amy: "What?"
Churchill: "Keep buggering on."

I know there's a Sixth Doctor story that involves Churchill but the Confidential for this episode did suggest that the Doctor and Churchill met more than once. And why didn't Amy question the new face comments as well?

Dalek (to the Doctor): "Extinction is not an option. We shall return to our own time and begin again."

The Doctor (re dead Daleks): "Blimey, what do you do to the ones who mess up?"
Supreme Dalek: "You are the Doctor. You must be exterminated."
The Doctor: "Don't mess with me, sweetheart."

Appropriate that the word "sweetheart" is used considering that River Song is back in next week's episode. This one didn't end on a link to it though.

Supreme Dalek: "The Doctor has failed. His compassion is his greatest weakness. Daleks have no such weakness."

The Doctor: "You are Professor Edwin Bracewell and you my friend are a human being."

The new Daleks in this episode were Supreme, Strategist, Scientist, Drone and Eternal. They were also coloured in blue, red, orange, white and yellow.

Amy (to Bracewell): "Hey, Paisley, ever fancied someone you know you shouldn't?"
Bracewelll: "What?"
Amy: "Hurts doesn't it but kind of a good hurt?"

The Doctor (to Amy): "I had a choice. They knew I'd choose the Earth. The Daleks have won. They've beaten me. They've won."

It shouldn't be any much longer before Amy actually tells the Doctor about her wedding day, should it? And Oblivion Continuum was certainly a cool name for Bracewell the bomb.

"Victory Of The Daleks" is certainly different in some ways to many of the new series Dalek stories but oddly familiar in others too. You've got the sense of epicness, the pure unbridled loathing that both the Daleks and the Doctor have for each other but in a strange way, this is the only Dalek episode with the least body count of the bunch. After much deliberation, I think Mark Gatiss struck gold with this one.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- The new pure Daleks were created to have their eye-stalks at the same eye level as companion Amy Pond (actor Karen Gillan). The Daleks previously used in the new series were made so their eye-stalks were at the same eye level as companion Rose Tyler (actor Billie Piper). Edit
- When the TARDIS disappears at the end of this episode, the camera zooms in on a crack in the wall behind it. This is similar to the cracks shown in both previous episodes. We can only assume that this is a set-up for later episodes as the lingering shot of the cracks are obvious to viewers. Edit
- The TARDIS self-destruct device that the Doctor uses to hold off the Daleks is actually a Jammie Dodger - a popular biscuit in the UK made from shortbread and raspberry-flavoured jam. Edit
Notes
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- Episode writer Mark Gatiss is the uncredited voice of "Danny Boy," the squadron leader of the Spitfires that attack the Dalek ship. Edit
- This episode was followed by a trailer for one of the Doctor Who: The Adventure Games levels, which, appropriately enough, featured the Daleks. Edit
- A new Dalek design debuts in this episode: The new Daleks are taller, a redesigned eyestalk, an enlarged midsection, and a bigger "fender". They do not have the "dogtags" or "cowl" around the eyestalk, and their midsection no longer has slats. They now come in five different-colored variants: white, red, blue, orange and yellow. The White Dalek identified itself as "Supreme", whilst the red, blue, orange and yellow Daleks were later confirmed to be drone, scientist, strategist and "eternal". In the Doctor Who Confidential feature for this episode, Steven Moffat mentioned that the purpose of the "eternal" Dalek has not been decided yet, but the name "sounded cool". Edit
Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- Supreme Dalek: You will never defeat us, Doctor! We will return! New paradigm Daleks: (All in unison) We will return! Edit
- Supreme Dalek: The Doctor has failed! His compassion is his greatest weakness; Daleks have no such weakness! Edit
- The Doctor: Ah no, this is my best chance to get rid of the Daleks. I can rid the whole universe of you once... and for all. Supreme Dalek: Then, do it! But we will shatter the planet below. The Earth will die screaming! The Doctor: Yeah, and if I let you go... you'll be stronger than ever... A new race of Daleks. Supreme Dalek: Then choose, Doctor: Destroy the Daleks or save the Earth! Edit
Allusions
ADD ALLUSIONS
- Churchill: If Hitler invaded Hell, I would give a favourable reference to the Devil. The above quote is a paraphrase of an actual statement attributed to Churchill. While the quote here is a response to the Doctor's warnings to the Daleks, the original was made in reference to Hitler's June 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, a country that Churchill had previously been hostile towards due to his strong anti-communist views. When some of his fellow members of Parliament mentioned brought up his previous hostility towards the Soviets, Churchill is said to have stated, "If Hitler invaded Hell I would make at least a favorable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons." Edit
- Group Captain: Broadsword calling Danny Boy... This is the same line used in the 1968 film Where Eagles Dare, which was also set during World War II. Edit
- The positions the British soldiers when they raise the Union Jack at the end is the same as those of the US Marines in the famous picture of the Iwo Jima flag raising. Edit