10.19: Daleks in Manhattan
In which we go from the sublime to the ridiculous. With pigs.
Broadcast: April 2007
Watched: August 2021
The first thing to say: that is a really annoying name. Obviously there was a decision to show the Daleks before the pre-credits, and they were in last week’s trailer, so they’re not worried about treating the villains as a twist, but... The Daleks Take Manhattan is *right there*. I like that this obviously annoyed Moffat, too, so he corrected it with Angels.
The other weird thing is... if you’re watching back to back the Daleks have only been away four episodes, which is nothing. Weird.
Anyway. Obviously it’s not very good – worst Dalek story since, what, 1984? Actually, there’s at least some argument that, in 2007, it was the worst ever, now I think about it – but it’s hard to work out why. It’s packed with stuff, it glimpses at themes (Diagoras is a union breaker; the Daleks use him as he used his underlings – is the villain capitalism?). There are some good bits – Dalek Sec expressing awe at humanity’’s survival, mirroring the Doctor’s views of the Daleks, and also going on about how cool New York is...
...but it just doesn’t come together. There are too many things getting in the way. The pig men are ridiculous (what is it with RTD and humanoid pigs?); even the real accents (e.g. Mr Diagoras) sound fake, and some of the fake ones, like Miranda Raison’s, should have resulted in prosecutions. And halfway through there’s a dreadful musical number for no reason at all.
And while the idea of Dalek evolution is good, the human/Dalek hybrid is both gross and silly. And didn’t they blow that twist on the Radio Times cover, too?
I can’t pinpoint why it sucks, but it does. I didn’t hate it this time, only find it boring, but I think that’s just because enough time has passed.
Other things:
One possible explanation for why it sucks is it just lacks craft. For example, the didactic bit about Hooverville has all the political subtlety of an explainer on The Canary. Also not convinced it would have been that anti-racist in 1930, if I’m honest.
That park is obviously in the UK somewhere.
It is absolutely hilarious that they shipped over a handsome young American actor and immediately turned him into a pig. Also, Tallulah not recognising Lazslo from his voice but doing so from his pig face is very weird, as well as a cyberbride level of drama.
At one point the Doctor says “Basically, run”. It is a sign of how little this episode lives in my mind that I honestly didn’t realise the Eleventh Hour version was a lift.
Okay, something positive: there’s one very nice bit of direction in the sewer sequence, when the light from a grille forms a cone like a Dalek.
“Well you can kiss me later” the Doctor is an appalling bloody tease to poor Martha.
"(what is it with RTD and humanoid pigs?)"
This was one of RTD's big things - either he mentioned it in The Writer's Tale or his Production Notes in DWM, I forget - he wanted all the characters/monsters/etc to be easily drawn by young children (as a keen illustrator himself). Hence the Judoon also being rhinos etc.
It did make for some of the creatures feeling a little *lacking* visually, but on the other hand it did mean his creations avoided looking Boilerplate Sci-Fi in the way the Chibnall era does.