2020 Festive Special: Revolution of the Daleks (spoilers)

Captain Jack's back!!

I can see the logic of re-using the rather ugly junkyard/A-Team Dalek from Resolution if this is a repeat of Victory of the Daleks as the trailer suggests.  Humans find the shell from Resolution and try to build an army of Daleks.  Guess what, the Dalek army turns against the humans and tries to conquer Earth.  We'll see if they find something new to do with this formula.

However it looks like the new producers are really in love with the junkyard Dalek shape which I find equally as unappealing as the humpback Paradigm Daleks that Moffat tried to introduce.  It's got hemispheres and a gun/plunger pair, but none of the proportions of the classic/bronze Time War Dalek design.  I hope they didn't sink a lot of money into new props as I'm going to be fine if we never see this shape Dalek again.  I thought Moffat finally relented and had a half dozen new Time War Dalek props built by the end of his run for future productions.  Go crazy and repaint the bronze Daleks if you want something new, but this seems a case of "it aint broken and all the fixes are unappealing".

And how that one Dalek mutant was cut into tiny pieces, buried across Earth for thousands of years, was able to teleport itself back together, then destroyed at the end of Resolution, has managed to survive yet again to become a whole invading army is really out of whack with the way Dalek mutants have been portrayed in the past.  If they are really this powerful/immortal then they shouldn't have been losing to the Doctor these past 57 years.  Or at least we can imagine that 10 minutes after the Doctor left planet xx that the Daleks all resurrected themselves and wiped out the people that the Doctor just thought saved.

I think I'd also be unsatisfied if these turn out to be just Dalek shell robots with no mutants inside. That would rob the Daleks of their biological evil which is what makes them so truly scary. All the hate they have for all other life.

Can you see that I had some issues with the treatment of Daleks featured in Resolution?

Well, Ryan and Graham got a decent exit and the ugly new Daleks were wiped out. I hope those new props stay gone.

But otherwise it wasn't a terribly exciting or clever episode. I kind of expected the old Daleks to wipe out the genetic upstarts so I really can't say there were any surprises. And they reinforced that the Doctor is angry about the child thing, but it really doesn't mean anything. A search for the Doctor's true home for Series 13? Most of the time when they explore the Doctor's mysterious past it doesn't go so well.

Overall it was basically fine. I still find the billionaire American Jack Robertson rather irritating and a bit too much of a caricature than a "real" person. Not sure how he convinced the Earth that he was the one that drove off the Daleks. There will be clear records that he built Daleks and no real evidence that he "defeated them" unless Graham and Ryan somehow lied for him. Why would the family of thousands of victims ever believe that he saved the Earth and not want justice from him? The most likely outcome for Jack Robertson would be investigation and incarceration. I could see Ryan saying that he wanted to stay to hold Robertson accountable, but instead they have him ride off into the sunset to fight some vague gravel monsters. So not quite as life changing an experience as the episode wants us to believe Ryan has had. And Graham is still a bit insecure so not much change there at all. Really, Ryan and Graham didn't get such a good send off after all when you think about it. Better than staying to marry the captain of the Chancellery Guard, but not great either.

"Written by Chris Chibnall" kinda sums it up really. Meh.

I dunno, guys.  I really liked it.

It kept my attention, was exciting, it wasn't overly confused and convoluted (or overly "clever"...like Moffett frequently and now Chibnall occasionally like to be...), and it had some nice quiet character moments.  Was it somewhat predictable?  Maybe...but after 57 years of Dalek stories, what else are you gonna do?  I personally thought that how the story developed on screen was great in how it unfolded and built up.  As far as the quiet moments go,  it was nice that the Doctor and the fam took time to stop and TALK about their personal feelings and situations.  The current run of the show (since 2005) has always been run...run...run...with no real time to stop and TALK.  Too many times the action has run roughshod over the humanity of the characters.  Which brings me to Graham and Ryan's departures.  This could be the BEST and most satisfying companion departure since Turlough finally found his own people.  It certainly is the best since the show's return.  I never understood WHYYYYYYY the companion departures since the return HAD to ALWAYS be tragic.

Anyway.  I really liked the episode.  I don't have any nits to pick.

Yaz was the right companion to stay. Maybe they can develop her character more.
I've always liked her. Just thought she had not been used enough.

SeaDevil wrote:

I dunno, guys.  I really liked it.

It kept my attention, was exciting, it wasn't overly confused and convoluted (or overly "clever"...like Moffett frequently and now Chibnall occasionally like to be...), and it had some nice quiet character moments.  Was it somewhat predictable?  Maybe...but after 57 years of Dalek stories, what else are you gonna do?  I personally thought that how the story developed on screen was great in how it unfolded and built up.  As far as the quiet moments go,  it was nice that the Doctor and the fam took time to stop and TALK about their personal feelings and situations.  The current run of the show (since 2005) has always been run...run...run...with no real time to stop and TALK.  Too many times the action has run roughshod over the humanity of the characters.  Which brings me to Graham and Ryan's departures.  This could be the BEST and most satisfying companion departure since Turlough finally found his own people.  It certainly is the best since the show's return.  I never understood WHYYYYYYY the companion departures since the return HAD to ALWAYS be tragic.

Anyway.  I really liked the episode.  I don't have any nits to pick.

I did like Ryan's departure (although keeping an eye out on Robertson seemed the obvious answer), but did you like Graham's? Graham still didn't seem confident that he had finally won Ryan's trust and family love and that Graham only stayed behind because because he still had to "prove his love" to his grandkid. Ryan didn't seem to be joking when he said that he hoped to have the house to himself with Graham gone. Sometimes they're sly and smirking, but this time Ryan actually seemed a little annoyed that Graham was going to stay with him. I guess that was my big dissatisfaction with the exits.

The two of them did seem to be getting along better with the bicycle scene. However Ryan would be just fine taking care of his mates rather than going off Sarah Jane style to protect the Earth. I think the writers did miss an opportunity during these rough times to stress the importance of everyday service to your local community. Maybe I liked the cinematics more than the actual message I got from the scene?

No fault if you did like it, but while it was okay I thought it could have been more meaningful. Chasing after rock monsters in South Korea isn't where I saw Ryan's destiny.