1st January, 2021.
Right … ?
It’s just gone six on a Saturday night: and some silly quiz is on the TV, right now.
Frankly?
It’s noise: at least, as far as I’m concerned.
Its replacement … ?
Is a celebrity version of The Weakest Link: hosted by Romesh Ranganathan.
Which is a bit more watchable: even if I don’t recognise the celebrities.
At any rate … ?
I’ve got these on, as I’m waiting for the first of three Dr Who specials for 2022: Eve of the Daleks.
Eve of The Daleks opens just outside ELF Storage: showing us the storage company’s boss — Sarah (Aisling Bea) — feeling especially harassed.
Her one employee, Jeff, has phoned in, as he’s unable to get to work.
To make matters worse?
Her one regular customer, Nick (Adjani Salmon) has turned up at the usual last minute: wanting to put one last thing into storage.
Only to find a strange robot standing in front of him as he leaves his storage unit: that kills him, as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile … ?
The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) is filling in details for Yaz and Dan (Mandip Gill and John Bishop).
She is setting up the system needed to reset the TARDIS: so that she can clear it of junk left over from the Flux.
The only issue? Is a safety one.
She, Yaz, and Dan, will need to be out of the ship, as the process starts in seven minutes time: they can’t be in the TARDIS whilst it resets.
Typically for the Doctor?
She’s promised her companions a brief trip to the intergalactic beauty spot, San Munrohvar.
It’s when they get out of the door, Yaz and Dan find what many of the Doctor’s companions have found before.
They’re not in a beauty spot.
The place has a lot of corridors.
That dead body, over there … ? Looks like it’s been shot by a Dalek.
It’s only then all three are shot by a heavily armed Dalek, and revived minutes later?
That they realise that they — and Sarah and Nick — are trapped in a time loop.
One that’s going to take a while to get out of …
~≈📺≈~
Now … what did I make of Eve of the Daleks?
Have I seen a good, bad or indifferent episode?
Is there anything new, here … ?
Hmmm … let’s start with the absolute very end of the episode, first, shall we?
The next episode’s title has been announced: it’s called Legend of the Sea Devils, it’s apparently set in Ancient China, and has no more specific release date than Spring!
I’m looking forward to that: we’ve seen the Silurians in modern Doctor Who, but not their marine cousins.
But let’s look at the Eve of The Daleks, shall we … ?
Have I seen a good, bad or indifferent episode?
I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed Eve of The Daleks: it’s an episode that — with its time looped structure — is something that had me sat on the edge of my seat, glued to a plot that saw changes in each repeat of the loop … whilst silently urging on our heroes not to make the same mistakes as previous loops.
I’ve seen at least one other time loop episode: a Star Trek: The Next Generation story called Cause and Effect.
But where Cause and Effect is quite cerebral?
Eve of the Daleks is far more action packed: and has a lot more running down corridors*.
Given I’ve been watching Evil of The Daleks, recently, paying attention to how detailed the animated Daleks look?
I was also paying attention to the Exterminator Daleks featured in this episode: complete with a grabber-like replacement for the usual sink plunger, and a rotary Gatling gun style laser gun?
I have to saw, the Exterminators look pretty much like the ‘standard,’ new series Daleks: just with easily replaced gun and manipulator arms.
Easily … and presumably cheaply, from a production viewpoint.
Action and Daleks aside? Eve of The Daleks still has its character moments.
As I recall … ? I mentioned — in one or two of my reviews of the various episode of Dr Who Flux — that Yaz and Dan worked well together as a team: and that this seemed to me to be a reflection of Gill and Bishop working well together in the various promotional material I’d seen float past on YouTube.
I think that’s helped in this episode.
There’s at least one scene where the pair discuss Yaz’s feelings for the Doctor: certainly a scene that has … implications, I think.
No … I don’t think we’ll get lesbian kissing in an episode of Doctor Who: but that does look like it’s a plot thread that’s possibly going to be explored in Whittaker’s last few episodes.
~≈📺≈~
We’ll possibly have to find out: over the next few episodes.
Either way?
I’ve come away from an action-packed episode: that has moments of charm, and pathos, and leave us with questions that will hopefully be resolved in the rest of this years specials.
Specials I am looking forward to.
Right at the moment, though … ?
I’m going to be hitting the sack: I’ve had what — for me — are comparatively lat night, and I’d like to get some sleep.
With that said?
I’ll be watching — and reviewing — Legend of the Sea Devils when it’s out in spring.
I’ll be watching — and reviewing — the next episode of Evil of the Daleks on Friday, 7th January.
I hope you’d care to join me for both.
Happy New Year.
* Lenny Henry’s first brush with Dr Who was in a parody he did back in the mid-80s: running from a Cyberman, down lots of corridors …
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