Thousands of Daleks surround the Doctor. They begin to shout, in unison. “Save the Daleks!” they say. “SAVE THE DALEKS! SAVE THE DALEKS!”
“Well,” the Doctor says. “This is new.”
This iconic scene from “Asylum of the Daleks” shows The Doctor and company in the middle of the Dalek parliament. It comes from the masterful vision of writer Steven Moffat, who makes every Whovian’s dream come true: Seeing the Doctor face a Dalek army.
Doctor Who’s production quality has dramatically improved since the 2005 reboot. And now, with Series 7, the BBC sci-fi favorite finally has a near-cinematic feel closer to Sherlock. And, judging from the trailers, the rest of the season, which airs Saturdays at 9 p.m on BBC America in the U.S., will continue to have impressive stories and visuals.
The Doctor, Amy and Rory get captured by the Daleks and become prisoners in the capital Dalek ship. They are then forced to go to the Asylum of the Daleks, a prison for insane Daleks, to stop the Daleks from escaping and wreaking havoc.
“Asylum of the Daleks” probably ranks among my top four or five Doctor Who episodes (“Blink” sits comfortably on top). The witty dialogue has run rampant, Jenna-Louis Coleman as Oswin is adorable, and Matt Smith is at his best (“Am I the only one who is wondering how she gets the milk?”).
Some other great lines:
Dalek, struggling to speak: “Ex-ex-ex-ex-ex-ex-ex-ex-ex!”
Rory: “Sorry what? Eggs?”
Rory: “Oh, so this is the type of escape plan where you escape for about four seconds.”
The Doctor, to Rory: “If it gets too explodey-wodey in here you go without me okay?” That almost beats “timey-wimey.”
Finally:
Now that the Daleks have lost all memory of their number-one most wanted criminal, I wonder if the Doctor will do something horrible to them this season. You know, to reclaim his special spot in their hearts.
(Photos owned by BBC.)
tworden 