Season 6 wasn’t great. Not by a long shot.
It was too arc-y to be great. Doctor Who’s
strength lies in standalone plots that are connected together by a crack on the
wall, or an easter egg in every episode. Most of Season 6 was about, well,
River Song, and it did more harm than good, both to the series and to the
character of River Song. A lot the mystery that made the character so
interesting was gone.
So, yeah, Season 6 was disappointing. But if Asylum of the Daleks is any indication, Season
7 is going to be much, much better.
Moffat plays a lot of old tricks with Asylum of the Daleks. There’s a lot of Forest of the Dead, the last Weeping Angel two parter in this
episode. But it does succeed in what it set out to do, and that is, make the
Daleks creepy.
Let’s be honest; the Daleks aren’t scary anymore. They may
have been back in the ‘60s, but after losing to the Doctor so many times, not
to mention their plunger-for-hands trashcan appearance, they’re at worst,
laughable and at best, slightly unsettling. So Moffat plunges us straight into
the Asylum of the Daleks, where the most insane, most dangerous Daleks are
kept, secluded from the rest.
This idea isn’t very well executed, and it becomes more of a
rescue/survival story than a Dalek story. Sure, nearly all the Daleks since,
well, “Dalek” are in this episode, but they’ve got little to do except occupy
the background and do Dalek-y stuff when the script needs any of the characters
to be afraid and/or run. This episode, however, does make them feel creepy. Not
balls-out scary like the Weeping Angels, but creepy enough to make your skin
crawl.
The dialogue is predictably top-notch, the standout being
the back and forth banter between The Doctor, wonderfully played by Matt Smith,
and the Prime Minister of the Daleks. It’s also very well edited and directed.
Some of the best direction I’ve seen in Doctor
Who, in fact.
Asylum of the Daleks is
visually grand, at most times quite exciting, and has a brilliant (but
familiar) plot twist that’ll shock you, but it isn’t cold. It packs quite an
emotional punch while developing Amy and Rory’s relationship, and especially
during something-I-can’t-mention-here-because-SPOILERS.
It could have been a little longer, though. It could have
taken a little more time to develop the concepts and characters. I can’t help
but feel that this episode would have been better off as a two-parter. We
should have spent a little more time in the Asylum.
Asylum of the Daleks
may not be a brilliant episode, but it’s a really solid season opener, with
Moffat and the cast in top form.
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I'll have to disagree with you on what you've said about season 6. For the first five seasons DW was primarily composed of, as you described, standalone plots connected by something. But Moffat had the courage to experiment and take it to another level in S6, and in my mind it was the best season till date. But that's probably because I love stories told in the form of arcs, it just builds the excitement and takes it to unprecedented levels as opposed to the somewhat disjointed feeling that standalone episodes have.
ReplyDeleteAs for Asylum, it might not have been brilliant but it certainly brought back the Dalek fear factor. Rory's 'Eggs' scene was particularly well done and it's a welcome change from how the Daleks have been portrayed in the last few seasons, they'd become ridiculously inept at dealing with virtually anything. The whole concept of the Asylum gave a very Nazi concentration camp type feeling to me, and I absolutely loved it.
And to finally bring an end to this wall of text, Soufflé Girl was brilliant. I'll be sad to see Amy and Rory go, but JLC showed that she'll be a more than capable replacement. And the very thought of a Dalek companion (if Moffat proceeds to go with that idea) will be ridiculously epic. It's a pity we won't see her again till Christmas unless Moffat has another surprise up his sleeve.
Anyway, I for one can't wait for the entire season to unfold. This might just be Moffat's best work yet.
Season 6 wasn't the best either, dude. The best was 4.
DeleteSeason 6 wasn't all that bad. And the arc was brilliant as it showed that the Doctor can get in and out of any doomsday as easily as he can straighten his bow-tie.More easily, in fact, since his bow-tie never stays straight.
ReplyDeleteSeason 6 had this weird disconnect and all that stuff about River being Amy's daughter stuff was so bollywood-esque. Still Season 6 had what is the best Doctor Who episode ever i.e. The Doctor's Wife so that evens out the lame stuff...
Deletei have to agree on what tou said on the clasic daleks there were none if them at al none al all
ReplyDeletei really think that they need more casic daleks in this episode moffat promised every dalek known to man but what do e get lods of bronze and paradime and a few clasics here and there
DeleteIt was as if he just put them in for the sake of putting them in!
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