Victory of the Daleks (TV story)

Victory of the Daleks was the third episode of the fifth series of BBC Wales Doctor Who. In it, the Eleventh Doctor met for the first time both the Daleks and Winston Churchill, having met each before in past incarnations. Like Daleks in Manhattan before it, it involved the last Daleks in the universe desperately trying to rebuild the Dalek race in a famous period of Earth's recent past.

The episode was notable for its redesign of the Daleks into multi-coloured units, each with its own specific function. Writer Mark Gatiss acknowledged the controversial nature of this redesign in his in-vision commentary on the DVD box set. In conversation with principal Dalek voice artist Nicholas Briggs, and Dalek operator Barnaby Edwards, he said that the new shape of the Daleks, especially in the dorsal region, was not particularly to his liking. Briggs agreed but, with Edwards, swiftly noted that in their experience of taking the new Daleks on live exhibition to the public, British kids invariably loved the new design. The decision was revisited in DWM 431 with critics voicing their opinions on the design. A comparison was made with the RTD-era Daleks but no conclusion as to which was the better-made.

Synopsis
Receiving a call for help from his old friend Winston Churchill, The Doctor and Amy head for World War II to assist the Prime Minister. However, once there, the Doctor finds something that horrifies greatly - Daleks! But why are these survivors of the Medusa Cascade War passing themselves off as manmade weapons? And why don't they recognise the Doctor? What could these "Ironsides" have planned?

Plot
Churchill enters the Cabinet War Rooms and asks about the status of incoming enemy planes; they are out of range, ordinarily. He then advises them to roll out the secret weapon. One of them moves a figure on the board - it's miniature of a Dalek!

The TARDIS materialises in the Cabinet War Rooms in response to Winston Churchill's call for help. The Doctor is greeted by the Prime Minister, who he greets happily. Churchill is shocked, the Doctor has changed his face once again; the two are good friends. The Doctor and Amy have arrived a month after Churchill's call, leading the Doctor to explain that the newly-configured TARDIS is still inaccurate.

When a Luftwaffe squadron approaches London, Churchill takes the Doctor and Amy to the roof to show them his latest weapon. A squadron of Stukas comes into view over Blitz-torn London and are shot down by energy weapons with amazing precision; Professor Edwin Bracewell, the man in charge of the "Ironside" project, produces a camoflauged, Union Flag-wearing, obedient Dalek at the Doctor's request.

Although the Doctor insists that they are alien, the Professor explains that he invented the Ironsides. They docilely offer to help their human colleagues and serve them cups of tea. Churchill imagines the victories he will have. The Doctor asks Amy to tell Churchill about the Dalek invasion of Earth, but Amy has no memory of any planets in the sky or the Dalek invasion, disturbing him greatly.

The Doctor goes to see their "creator" to get some answers. He asks Bracewell how he came up with the idea for the Ironsides, leading Bracewell to show the Doctor other highly advanced inventions he has been planning. When the Daleks and Churchill enter the room, the Doctor strikes the Ironside Dalek with a large, heavy wrench, ordering it to attack him. He reminds them of how he defeated them, how he is their greatest enemy, and eventually declares, "I am the Doctor and you are the Daleks!" before kicking the Dalek across the room. The Dalek recovers and reverts to its true personality, agreeing with the Doctor. The Dalek transmits the "testimony" to the Dalek mothership, which is hidden behind the moon. Two soldiers run in to stop the Daleks and are promptly exterminated. The Professor yells for them to stop; one of the Daleks blasts his hand off, leaving only exposed wiring -- Bracewell is their android, and they created him, not the other way around. They teleport away. The Doctor returns to the TARDIS, ordering Amy to stay behind.

He materialises inside the Dalek ship, where he brandishes a self-destruct control (which is, in fact, a Jammy Dodger biscuit) so that the Daleks will not exterminate him. The Daleks reveal that one Dalek ship survived the destruction of the Dalek race during the invasion of Earth; it located the last Progenitor device, a genetic archive containing pure Dalek DNA. Their explanation confuses the Doctor; why would they go to the trouble of building Bracewell? When the Daleks say it was nessary, the Doctor laughs that the device doesn't see them as Daleks (as they were created from Davros's DNA). If the Daleks became part of an army, Winston Churchill would lure the Doctor in, and the Doctor would confirm them as Daleks. The Progenitor accepeted his testimony because he is the Daleks' greatest enemy, and sure to be an expert on them. The Daleks order the Doctor to leave or else they will destroy London. The Doctor refuses, so they activate a device which turns on all of London's lights, exposing the city as a target for incoming German bombers. The Progenitor completes its process, creating a new paradigm of five "pure" Daleks -- larger, more imposing, and presumably more powerful. The new Daleks promptly label their creators as inferior and (without resistence) exterminate them.

In the Cabinet War Rooms, Amy and Churchill realise that they can use Professor Bracewell's alien technology to fight the Daleks; they convince him to construct anti-gravity shields around Spitfire planes and equip them with Dalek laser cannons, which will enable them to fly into space and attack the Dalek ship, which has entered Earth's orbit. The new Daleks are not fooled by the Doctor's TARDIS self-destruct device and prepare to kill him just as the Spitfires commence their attack. The Spitfires destroy the Dalek transmitter, turning off all of the lights in London. The Daleks order the Doctor to stop the attack on their ship or they will destroy Earth with an oblivion continuum bomb they have built inside Bracewell.

The Doctor reluctantly calls off the attack and returns to Earth, leaving the Daleks free to escape and build a new race; however, the cruel Daleks still activate the bomb as they flee. Upon arrival on Earth, the Doctor reveals that the bomb is charging itself inside Bracewell. Realising that the only way to stop it from exploding is to convince Bracewell that he is human, not a bomb, he tries to remind the Professor of his memories and how much they hurt; however, the countdown continues. As the oblivion continuum approaches detonation, Amy asks him if he's ever fancied something he shouldn't; Bracewell proceeds to remember a girl called Dora Bella, recounting how beautiful she was as the countdown retreats, cancelling the detonation. The Daleks escape through a time corridor, declaring that they will return. The Doctor is distraught over the Daleks' escape, but Amy reminds him that he has just saved the entire world.

Amy bids Churchill farewell, but wonders where the Doctor has gone. The Doctor enters and explains he removed all the alien technology Bracewell had in the base. Churchill begs the Doctor to let him have the technology as it would allow them to win the war in a day, but the Doctor points out it's that very reason why he took it. The friends hug and prepare to part. However, Amy tells Churchill to give the TARDIS key back to the Doctor; it was swiped during their hug.

The Doctor and Amy go to Bracewell, who is ready to be deactivated. However, they have no intention of doing so. When their subtle hints fail, the Doctor and Amy openly say Bracewell shouldn't go looking for Dora Bella or the old post office. Finally catching on, Bracewell happily packs his belongings.

The Doctor and Amy return to the TARDIS. The Doctor is puzzled and worried that Amy did not remember the Daleks from their attack on London or the Medusa Cascade incident, but puts this aside so that they may continue with their adventures. The TARDIS dematerialises, revealing a shining crack in the wall behind where it once stood.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Winston Churchill - Ian McNeice
 * Bracewell - Bill Paterson
 * Blanche - Nina De Cosimo
 * Childers - Tim Wallers
 * Dalek 1 - Nicholas Pegg
 * Dalek 2 - Barnaby Edwards
 * Dalek Voice - Nicholas Briggs
 * Lilian - Susannah Fielding
 * Todd - James Albrecht
 * Air Raid Warden - Colin Prockter
 * Civil Servant - Jamal Nasir (uncredited)
 * Spitfire Pilot (Danny Boy) - Mark Gatiss (uncredited)

Story notes

 * This episode had the working titles of The Dalek Project and The Dalek Tea Party.
 * In this episode, each Dalek was given a different title which corresponded with its armour colour, namely, "Scientist" (orange), "Strategist" (blue), "Drone" (red), "Eternal" (yellow) and "Supreme" (white). In Doctor Who Confidential, Mofatt and Gatiss both admit they don't know what the title "Eternal" means yet ("but it sounds cool").
 * The red, blue and yellow Daleks were first revealed in the Radio Times and the colours were used to symbolise the different colours of the three major British political parties: Labour (red), Conservative (blue) and Liberal Democrats (yellow).
 * This was the first Dalek story since DW: Dalek, back in 2005, not to feature David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, as well as the first Dalek story since then to not be a multi-parter.
 * Colin Prockter previously appeared as the Head Chef in DW: The Long Game.
 * Like DW: The Unquiet Dead in Series 1, this episode is the third in the series, is a pseudo-historical, is penned by Mark Gatiss, and is both preceded and followed by two episodes by the head writer.
 * Ian McNeice previously portrayed Winston Churchill in the Royal National Theatre's 2008 production of Never So Good.
 * This is the second Dalek episode in the new series to use the infamous "...of the Daleks" title scheme, the first being DW: Evolution of the Daleks.
 * Mark Gatiss said in the Radio Times: "They're bigger than they've ever been; and in technicolour!" This would show that the new Daleks shall be different colours like the 'classic' Daleks of the earlier eras.
 * This is the third time in the new series that the Daleks have been featured mid-way in the series, following DW: Dalek in series one and then in the series three two part story DW: Daleks in Manhattan and DW: Evolution of the Daleks.
 * The Daleks seen since series 1 were designed so that the eye stalk lined up with Billie Piper's eyes. The new Daleks are designed to match Karen Gillan's height.
 * For narrative and filming purposes, the Cabinet War Rooms in the episodes are far larger than the real ones and have an RAF "spotter" table that was not really present.
 * The Dalek model on the "spotter" table appears to be a Character Options Dalek toy painted grey, likely the "mutant reveal" Dalek figurine with the removal front given the visible separation lines on the front of the model.
 * This episode holds the record for the most non-CGI Dalek models used in a single story, with no less than eight Dalek models on-screen at the same time.
 * The Doctor mentions how the Daleks always manage to recognise him despite his regenerations, as they first did in DW: The Power of the Daleks with his second incarnation. However, this has not always been the case: in DW: Revelation of the Daleks, only Davros' Daleks recognised his sixth incarnation, with the other faction disbelieving that he was the Doctor. Furthermore, in DW: Doomsday, the Cult of Skaro failed to recognise the Tenth Doctor but acknowledged that he registered as an enemy.
 * It is not clarified whether these Daleks were part of the half-human faction from Parting of the Ways or members of the New Dalek Empire from Journey's End. They are implied to be from the latter but it is never stated. The Progenitor won't recognise the gold Daleks, the ones seen thus far in the series, because (according to the Doctor) it doesn't recognise their DNA as Dalek. This could mean that these Daleks are part of the fleet developed by the Dalek Emperor from human DNA or part of Davros' Medusa Cascade fleet developed from his own Kaled cells. The latter seems more likely, as Rose, empowered by the Time Vortex, wiped out the Emperor's fleet in an instant, making it extremely unlikely that one saucer would be able to escape. The Dalek Handbook also states they are Daleks who survived the War in the Medusa Cascade.
 * Amy refers to the Daleks as the Doctor's "archenemies".
 * This episode aired on the same day the K9 episode Jaws of Orthrus was first broadcast on Disney XD in Britain. It also aired on the same day that The Korven was first broadcast on Network Ten in Australia.
 * Although Terry Nation originally based the Daleks on the Nazis, this the first time the race has appeared in World War II - ironically, helping the British fight against the Nazis.
 * This is the first Dalek episode of the new series to not show any Daleks in flight.
 * "Jammie dodgers" are added to the Doctor's list of favourite foods, as he'll ask for them later. (DW: Night Terrors)

Ratings
6.2 million - First broadcast

7.82 million - Final BARB ratings

Filming locations
to be added

Rumours

 * Adolf Hitler was rumoured to make a brief appearance. He was mentioned, but not seen.
 * Fans speculated that the Daleks had been digitally re-coloured for the Radio times election special covers, and the Daleks featured in the episode would be uniformly coloured. This was proven false, and Daleks coloured red, blue and yellow were seen in the episode alongside others.

Production errors

 * In the scene where the Doctor and Amy are discussing Bracewell's possible deactivation, editor John Richards fails to match the frontals of the Doctor with the reverses looking at Bracewell. In the frontals, Matt Smith clearly has his hands in his pockets or clasped together in front of him. On the reverses, his right hand is seen dangling rather lifelessly at his side.
 * At the end, when Churchill is talking to the Doctor and Amy, he bends down to light a cigar, and puts it in his mouth. When he gets up, it is no longer anywhere to be seen.
 * When the Doctor was talking to the Dalek Supreme on the "actual" shot he was further away from the Dalek but on the screen provided by Bracewell the plunger is nearly touching him. The Supreme Dalek was also seen moving towards the Doctor after the 'cleansing' of the old Daleks, but immediately after seen starting to move, it is back in its original position and immobile.
 * There were numerous points in the episode where the 'earlights' of the Daleks did not light when a Dalek was speaking.
 * Before the Doctor arrived, a Dalek states, "Commencing stage two!", but its earlights aren't on. The next Dalek that speaks uses another's voice instead of its own.
 * Before the new Daleks emerged, an old Dalek states that they had succeeded, but none of their earlights were on.
 * The Supreme Dalek had numerous incidents: when it ordered the extermination of the Doctor and stated that the Daleks would return, its earlights weren't on.
 * The Scientist Dalek's earlights didn't turn on when it was monitoring the energy pulse and the shields. Also notable is that its earlights were on, when it wasn't speaking, when the Supreme Dalek ordered the Doctor to 'explain'.
 * The cockpits of the spitfire pilots glow green when firing their lasers, but they fired red lasers.
 * When the TARDIS dematerialises and causes wind to blow against Churchill and Amy their clothes are affected but the cigar smoke in the air is unaffected and actually drifts towards the TARDIS.
 * In many scenes, the Doctor will see a Dalek in one room, and then more in the next room. This is impossible, because there are only three Daleks that survived the backfire of the Reality Bomb in Journey's End, and they are not fast enough to move that quickly from one room to the next.

Continuity

 * The Doctor mentions sending the Daleks back into the Void (DW: Doomsday) and saving all of reality from them. He further states that Amy should have remembered them from when there were "planets in the sky", (DW: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End) and is concerned that she doesn't remember.
 * Subservient Daleks is also the theme of the first Second Doctor adventure. (DW: The Power of the Daleks)
 * White Daleks appeared in (DW: Revelation of the Daleks) and (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks).
 * The end of DW: The Beast Below directly leads into this story.
 * The Dalek Saucer seen in the dogfight with the Spitfires is similar to those from DW: Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways and DW: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End.
 * The Doctor has had a group of soldiers point weapons at him shortly after or while exiting the TARDIS before, in the Torchwood Tower and in Albion Hospital. (DW: Army of Ghosts, Aliens of London) It will later happen again in DW: A Good Man Goes to War.
 * The Doctor mentions that his TARDIS is a Type 40 TARDIS. (DW: The Ribos Operation)
 * The new Daleks use a time corridor to depart from the era. The last time a time corridor was used on-screen was in DW: Resurrection of the Daleks.
 * Another one of the cracks can be seen on the wall of the Cabinet War Room after the TARDIS dematerialises.
 * In Doctor Who Confidential, Gatiss confirms that the brightly coloured restored Daleks are a nod to the 1960s Amicus films.
 * Churchill remarks that the Doctor has changed his face again, implying that he has encountered at least two other incarnations of his. The Doctor had already met Churchill in his sixth incarnation in PDA: The Shadow in the Glass and both his second and sixth incarnations encountered him in PDA: Players and The Shadow in the Glass.
 * The Dalek saucer is hidden on the dark side of the Moon. The Cybermen hid a craft there in DW: The Invasion.
 * The Spitfire Pilot known as Danny Boy later appears in Series 6 as one of many who owe a debt to the Doctor. He takes part in the Battle of Demon's Run where he destroys their communication array. (DW: A Good Man Goes to War)
 * The Doctor exclaims to the new Daleks that it is the final end - something that he had said at the end of DW: The Evil of the Daleks.

Timeline

 * This story occurs after DW: The Beast Below.
 * This story occurs before NSA: Apollo 23.

Home video releases
BBC Video - Doctor Who Series Five - Volume One was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 7 June 2010 (UK only), featuring The Eleventh Hour, The Beast Below, Victory of the Daleks and the featurette The Monster Files. This episode is also featured on Disc 2 of The Complete Fifth Series Box Set.