Having just sat down and watched the eleventh Doctor in Victory of the Daleks it occurred to us that the Daleks have been in Doctor Who almost as long as the Doctor himself, appearing as they did in the first Doctor’s second serial.
Which, coincidentally, as if to prove the lack of recognition given to Doctor Who by the BBC, has gone by at least three different names. Originally the serial was called The Mutants, then it was briefly known as The Dead Planet, before finally coming to be known as The Daleks. It makes sense that the BBC would want it known as The Daleks given their cash cow status.
This underlines the way the Daleks have come to be used, an entire serial can have its name changed to highlight their part in it. Forget the plot, forget The Doctor, forget anything to do with exciting storytelling, no, just slap the word Dalek in the title and the kids will come running.
Nowhere has this tired use of IP been more obvious than in the revived Doctor Who, I had hoped that Moffat would have moved away from the crass recycling of the Daleks perpetrated by Davies before him. Sadly, like Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant before him, it didn’t take Matt Smith’s Doctor long to meet the Daleks.
Albeit in a toy friendly range of colours. Ahem.
When are we going to see some original new creatures? Something with a bit of genuine menace would be nice, please.
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