An interesting and strong Dalek episode. Somewhat along the lines of the 2005 episode 'Dalek' but with enough of a difference to stand on its own and let's face it, how can you make a truly original Dalek story with no similarities to any that went before.
The story is about a faulty and apparently 'good' Dalek being held by a group of human resistance fighters in a Dalek dominated time in our future. The Doctor and Clara, along with a few soldiers are miniaturised and sent inside the Dalek attempting to fix the fault so that it can be used to infiltrate the Daleks. But will this 'fix' the Dalek back to evil? The Doctor shows his hatred, fear and mistrust towards the Dalek. (We will ignore the fact that, despite suggestions to the contrary, the Doctor has seen 'good' Daleks before in classic episodes during the Troughton era.) The miniaturised journey is actually also something done before in the classic show during the 4th Doctor era's The Invisible Enemy.
There is a nice psychological aspect to this story as with 2005's 'Dalek'. The symbolic search inside the Dalek mirrors the Doctor searching within himself to answer his question to Clara, "Am I a good man?" Although I find the idea the Doctor isn't sure if he is good a bit silly I still think that the depth of character study, along with Capaldi's performance, lift this to a good standard. It is not perfect in every single way but it is an absorbing and thoroughly enjoyable slice of TV science fiction.
The Doctor is starting to reveal more of his new character. He is shown to instinctively dislike soldiers. This is, for me, a more extreme reaction than earlier incarnations because, while always suspicious of soldiers and disdainful of warmongering, the Doctor was able to be best of friends with the Brigadier despite their different approaches. I think Moffatt's sensationalist nature makes him exaggerate this feeling and portray the Doctor as uncharacteristically judgemental. However, I guess the Doctor has a feeling about people he meets and judges on his instincts whereas he had time to change his mind about the Brigadier. The Doctor is also shown to be rude and socially inept, have a dry wit and have a lot of self doubt and inner conflict.
Some of this is pretty dark as he appears rather uncaring about the fate of people he is with. This seems out of keeping with all we know of most Doctors, perhaps except the 1st and the 6th. I think this is Moffatt's take on all those times when people die or are in danger and the Doctor just carries on. Personally I think Moffatt interpreted this in an over negative way. I think that the Doctor was always more pragmatic, realistic and strong, thinking of the bigger picture rather than individual lives but I don't think most Doctors are at all uncaring. I think this aspect could have been toned down a touch.
Acting, filming style and production values are all strong. Jenna Coleman's acting is good but Clara has never been a particular favourite of mine as I feel she is slightly confused as a character. I wonder where she is coming from at times whilst at other points I really enjoy her character and sharp tongued banter with the Doctor. New character Danny Pink has an OK debut but I worried straight away how this relationship story would go and sadly I didn't end up liking Danny's involvement.
This episode is well written with very funny lines and very interesting psychological drama. There is action and excitement but best of all there is Peter Capaldi. He is fabulous as the Doctor and watching this the first time I remember just hoping the writing would produce quality to match his characterisation and acting talent.
My Rating: 8.5/10.
My Series 8 Episode Ranking: 5th out of 12.
