Doctor Who New Year’s Special Review: Eve of the Daleks
The Doctor Who New Year’s Special, “Eve of the Daleks,” wastes no time setting up a stripped-down story that delivers on its promises.
For several seasons now, Doctor Who has been missing the emotional heart of the series in favor of one-off adventures. That can be good fun, but Doctor Who really needed to strip itself back to bring us to the heart of why viewers watch.
The Scenario
“Eve of the Daleks” does that presenting us with two guest characters and a challenging scenario. The limited space gives the series nowhere to go except the facility of ELF storage and the closing time loop gives the characters a pressing situation to resolve without the story feeling too repetitive.
The time loop scenario itself is a common trope in science fiction television as is the closed room scenario, but “Eve of the Daleks” delivers performances that make the script feel new and fresh instead of putting the Doctor, Dan, and Yaz in front of a Dalek alone.
A large part of that has to do with Aisling Bea as Sarah and Adjani Salmon as Nick. The relationship and the comedy that comes from Nick’s embarrassing crush and Sarah’s irreverence present some of the best moments of the episode.
The way Salmon and Bea play off each other makes for interesting and dynamic scenes and the way they lean into the plot’s comedic motion really helps to drive the story forward.
The Daleks
When we last saw the Doctor they’d had a reckoning with time after defeating the Flux on Doctor Who: Flux Season 13 Episode 6, “Chapter 6: The Vanquishers,” and got the ominous warning that their story was coming to an end.
“Eve of the Daleks” is somewhat aware of its place in the larger plot as it starts to present the audience with the reason for why this loop is happening. Yet, it feels like a throwaway point.
The Doctor and the Daleks have always been at odds and her attempts at destroying the Dalek fleet with the Sontaran stratagem has changed nothing, it just made one side a little more vengeful.
If one of the Doctor’s enemies was going to kill them and their friends it makes sense that it would be Daleks screaming “Exterminate!” But, the frustrating part of it is that the Thirteenth Doctor’s storylines lean on Daleks for the specials. In doing so, the most formidable villain tends to lose all its power to surprise us.
The Doctor and Yaz
For many seasons now, I’ve not been a fan of Doctor/Companion romance mostly because it feels repetitive. If you’re traveling in that Tardis with a person who can traverse all of time and space and take you to amazing beaches where you can kill time, it’s possible to get swept off your feet.
So when a companion starts to let on that they are interested in the Doctor, it sounds like another Tuesday.
However, given that this is all coming to the surface during the Thirteenth Doctor’s final episodes, I worry that this is going to be read as a bury your gays moment depending on how Thirteen’s regeneration goes.
With that in mind, it’s hard to get excited about this relationship being placed front and center even if I am personally happy to see if recognized in canon.
Overall
When it comes down to it “Eve of the Daleks” is a good installment into the Doctor Who universe. It really puts the emotional core of this series front and center focusing on one storyline in a particular setting.
While there are a few concerning developments, it’s a promising stepping stone and the type of story I am hoping the rest of the Thirteenth Doctor’s adventures take.
Stray Thoughts:
- Yes, Sarah, kind-hearted weirdos are the best.
- Okay, but why did the Tardis need to be reset? Clearly, it’s to take it out of the game for a sealed-in-a-building plot.
- Nick ducking and then giving the geekiest explanation for how he avoided getting killed was a moment where I couldn’t help but laugh.
- I feel like on a rewatch of this episode I need to play a game of count the puns, because there are a lot of them and they’re great. Up there though is: “Ex. Terminated.”
- I still struggle to connect with Dan, and I think a part of it is because he’s only known the Doctor for a week. However the fact that he decides to go distract a Dalek because he owes her one is a a cool glimpse into the kind of person that he is.
What did you think of this episode of Doctor Who? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Doctor Who returns in early 2022 with “Legend of the Sea Devils.”
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Lauren Busser
Lauren Busser is an Associate Editor at Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared in Bitch Media, Popshot Quarterly, Brain Mill Press Voices, and The Hartford Courant.