The penultimate episode of this story and this is one of
those episode just gets better as the story progresses. The way that Ace was
saved was perhaps not the strongest but after the previous episode’s start it
was always going to be less dramatic. The effects used in the machine that the
Doctor used on the Daleks doesn’t look very good and is the only thing that
lets this early scene down. The action starts up quite quickly in this episode
when the Doctor being strangled by a claw was a great moment and one that made
me jump when I first saw it.
The Daleks conflict is given more credibility I think when
we get a little explanation from the Doctor (to Ace) about why the hand of
omega is so important. There is a bit of development from the Imperial side
when we get to visit the Imperial Dalek’s spaceship we get to see the Emperor
Dalek which was first seen in Evil of the Daleks although I use the word seen
in its loosest sense. The set doesn’t seem quite big. I don’t know how they
move around which is probably why I don’t think we do. I want to the Imperials
to win just because of their colour scheme. I know that’s not the best reason
but I like it a lot.
The girl from episode one makes another appearance in this
episode appearing in the graveyard and again does a lot without doing very
much. I am surprised with how effective a little girl can be. I do think that
credibility is stretched a bit when it’s revealed that the little girl has been
in the battle computer and Ratcliffe hadn’t noticed. The fight between the two factions hasn’t happened
really so far and they have kept out of each other’s way without firing a shot.
Quite how this has happened I don’t know but it has. I love how Ratcliffe
starts to learn the truth about his actions. He thinks that he is going to be
in charge and he is sound bought down to earth with a bump.
The sight of Daleks gliding (or wobbling in some cases)
through the streets of London is something that has surprisingly been lacking
in previous Dalek stories and so it’s quite an effective sight, but there is
one bit where a Dalek is coming to the camera and it looks like the top half is
going to come off which is a bit unfortunate.
Mike’s truth is revealed towards the end of the episode. I
think that they had waited until the right moment to use this in the story. Ace’s
reaction is what makes this work quite well as she had had a crush on him from
the very beginning.
The cliffhanger is another great one with a proper size
shuttlecraft landing in the playground. It wasn’t a dodgy CGI effect or model
but an actual 100% real prop and that is what makes the arrival so good. The
Doctor’s reaction is quite funny and it seems like this episode ended way too
quickly. It’s been another superb episode and it is perhaps one of the best
Dalek stories for quite sometime. In fact I would so far as to say that it
might be the best one since Genesis of the Daleks.
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