Extremely well said on the Shearman point; the fact that this is perhaps his weakest story (only perhaps because the novelisation isn’t great imo) goes to show just how outstanding a writer he is
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Also worth noting that this story went through around 11 drafts, IIRC, during a back-and-forth with Russell T Davies. That’s crazy, but well worth it given the episode that came out of it.
I’m glad it’s not just a rehash of Jubilee.
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The greatest catalyst of this episode is that the Doctor and the Dalek are far more similar than he would like to think, both in their capacity for hatred but also humanity. The combatting moralities between Rose and the Doctor come to a head here with striking compassion from our human companion coming out on top. I think it is from here on that we see so much more of Nine embracing himself beyond the darker parts of him forged by the Time War. But regardless, such a solid episode.
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This episode is genuinely disturbing.
It was my first Dalek story, and I was always a little disappointed when I watched other Dalek episodes for the first time as they never seemed to capture the horror of the Daleks that was on display here.
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I almost typed up a whole thing about how this portrays the Doctor as an incredibly self centred person by stranding them all there for his own gain, before realising that this is for Dalek not Daleks.
As a reintroduction to the Daleks for NuWho fans, you don’t get better than this. The titular Dalek is terrifying, it’s threatening, you really feel how this was the race that wiped out the Time Lords.
The scene between the Doctor and Rose regarding the Dalek is just wonderful. The Doctor, terrified and vengeful at the possibility that a single Dalek survived the genocide, tries to correct that mistake. Rose, someone who doesn’t have the baggage of the Time War, can look past the exterior of the Dalek and see it’s true self, a creature locked away, the last of its kind, craving the touch of sunlight. The episode flips the script by portraying the Doctor as the monster, and shows the importance of having a good companion who isn’t afraid to push back.
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