The Evil of the Daleks episode 3 discussion:
M: My beard’s on fire! My beard’s on fire!
Sp: “So I see you avoided the spikes… and bested my giant”
MS: And avoided my birdy.
<laughter>
Sp: Now which goblet is the poison in?
M: It’s the Vessel with the…
R: Let’s see how many movie references we can make?
Sp: “Hassan chop!”
H: Okay. So, since Mr. Mother started that way, let’s talk about this awesome recon.
M: You keep using that word. I don’t think it means…
<laughter>
M: It was deeply weird. I give them points for the effort they put into it.
Sp: Well, comeon. For every randomly placed candle flame they made up for it with spectacular escorting the damsel in distress hallway scene. Which was incredible compositing.
H: It wasn’t compositing at all. It was refilming.
Sp: Wha?
H: They went back to the house where it was filmed, they match the dress that was in the stills…
Sp: No?
H: And they used prop Daleks. That’s why we never saw her face. And why she was a few pounds heavier than Deb Watling.
Sp: I assume that she had just followed the Dalek’s instructions last week.
Everyone: <Dalek voices> EAT! EAT!
H: But yeah
Sp: I assumed that they cleverly pieced together backgrounds and footage from other sections like they’ve done other places. I didn’t realize they actually reconed.
M: You mean the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies scene? Wow there was a lot of soundtrack. Which was interesting. It’s part of what made the episode weird. It was very pastoral music that was playing. Made the whole episode kind of weird.
Sp: It totally reminded me of the 7th Guest.
K: You didn’t play as much 7th Guest as I did.
H: They really are going for that creepy old house type feeling though.
Sp: Click! Click!
H: Damn chess puzzles.
R: <Dalek voice> IT IS A CABINET. STUPID!
<general laughter. Obscure in-joke about bad point and click games and related inventory management.>
Sp: I think the only quibble I would have about the episode is I wish that the Doctor and Waterfield hadn’t made it obvious in dialog that they were manipulating Jamie. We all knew that’s what they were doing, and it was clever as it stood. Other than that this hung together very well.
K: Recon complaint, but I thought the animated swinging cabinet door was a bit silly. Animation was way faster than it should have been and stopped way to suddenly.
R: Yeah, their CG efforts.. they seem to have fairly amateur animators.
H: Well, they didn’t have a budget really. All this was done gratis as a hobby.
M: Yes, other nitpicky recon – surely they could have found a better closeup picture of Jamie than Jamie the fish they used.
H: You’d be surprised. He does that expression a lot.
Sp: So the Daleks are being awfully trusting.
K: Our awfully stupid.
M: <Tarkin accent> “You’re far too trusting. The Doctor would never willingly create a super Dalek.”
H:<Tarkin accent> “You prefer another Dalek? A military Dalek?”
Sp: <Tarkin accent> “Then name the companion!”
H: Tarkin to Peter Cushing to the movie Dr. Who <not sic> thus it all comes full circle.
SG: So, the whole test of strength scene.
H: Yeah, you were really laughing that whole time.
R: Yeah, that was an awful lot of grunting.
M: Yeah, the MST3K folks call it filler.
SG: <laughing> I’m still not sure what he broke that plank with.
Sp: <fabulous voice> “Hassan chop!” Also congrats young Turk. You’re now a white belt. Welcome to your first Tae Kwon Do class.
M: That was at least a paisley belt.
R: I actually found this episode kind of murky. The last one was this great feeling of wheels within wheels. This had more of a feeling of wheels within fish.
Sp: It was pretty clear to me. If anything it was over explaining.
SG: I don’t know… that whole bit with Toby and the guy in the barn.
M: It was a whole lot of extra.
R: “Please excuse me, the radiation from my bluetooth headset is changing my personality.”
H: Well, we have 4 episodes to go in this story. It may be just more story layered on top because we are just still getting into it.
K: It looks like he’s being possessed by an alien. I don’t know if it’s by the Daleks (doesn’t seem like their thing – not very Robomen), or some second alien involved in this madness.
Sp: <Dalek voice> DAMN. THIS HENCHMEN IS AM.
K: Hum. Maybe it’s not just about defeating the humans. Maybe there’s another alien race the Daleks are at war with that they need the “human factor” to help defeat. Or maybe I’m just thinking about a Doctor Who story from the mid-70’s.
R: I don’t know. I sort of felt like, after the chase the TARDIS from the airport, fumble your way through all of the layers to get yourself to the shop, and then discover the time traveling element, and then discover the Daleks, this is just sort of one layer too many toppings on the burrito, if you see what I mean. “Ah ha there’s a wheel within that wheel!” I feel as if we should have gotten to the end of the obfuscations by now.
Sp: What lessons are the Daleks going to be learning from Jamie?
SG: How to talk with a brogue. How to show their knees.
M: And how to be pout-y.
SG: Maybe new haircut techniques. You know… maybe they like his hair. It’s very faboo.
Sp: <Dalek voice> TO DEFEAT THE HUMANS WE MUST FIND A FEMALE AND PROTECT IT. WE MUST FIND A GATE AND AVOID IT. BIRDS MUST DIE.
<laughter>
Sp: <Dalek voice> REALLY DOCTOR, IS THIS ALL YOU HAVE? WHAT THE HELL? WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL? THE HUMAN ELEMENT IS DUMB.
M: <Doctor voice>Exactly!
<more laughter>
H: I believe we’re at final thoughts.
SG: I want a cabinet full of Daleks.
M: And inside that cabinet full of Daleks is a binder full of women. And inside that binder is a fish full of wheels.
R: The cabinet of Doctor Dalegari.
Sp: <Dalek voice> THIS WEEK ON THE NEW YANKEE WORKSHOP THE HUMAN WILL REPAIR THIS CABINET. HE WILL USE AUTHENTIC TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES. THERE WILL BE NO BOB VILA. HE HAS BEEN EXTERMINATED! ONLY NORM REMAINS! NORM IS THE HUMAN ELEMENT. ABRAMS REIGNS SUPREME! <end repeats several times>
M: “And remember, for a $200 donations.”
Sp: <Dalek voice> ALL HUMANS WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE PLEDGE DRIVE!
K: You get this fine Doctor Who scarf. And a tote bag.
<applause>
H: All of us who watched Doctor Who on PBS in the 80’s represent!
K: I saw the scarf and tote bag in 2004 on KCTS.
H: Anyway… moving on.
M: I’m next?
H: Yes.
M: Well, coming in after missing the first two episodes of the story, I feel like I get what’s going on pretty quickly. But still my overall impression of this episode was just weird. Part of it was certainly the goofy candle tricks from the recon. Part of it was slow pacing. I’m not saying it was bad. It was weird and I like weird. So, yeah. Wait and see attitude.
Sp: You should all thank me.
R: You’re welcome. Wait? Huh?
Sp: I restrained myself mightily. After every single background horse from saying “Blucher!”
The Young Frankenstein reference just pulled me out of it. But apart from my previous points, this continued being just as good as last week, and I liked the little flourishes in the recon. Like the candle lights and people in skirts and computer animated swinging doors. And it sounds really lame when you list it out like that. But it looked great. And I still think the Daleks are being stupid. Because the Doctor could very easily pick and choose all sorts of daffy things to represent the human element. You would think they would just get a straight recording and figure it out themselves.
M: That’s the fun part. The idea that the Doctor will be picking and choosing the parts of Jamie’s personality to make the super Dalek, just let your mind run with that.
Sp: I did about five jokes ago. And I agree.
K: But the Daleks are still dumb.
H: It’s not Jamie’s personality, it’s his reactions.
M: I know, but still. Daleks falling down things all over the place.
SG: Daleks trying to pick up women in airports.
H: Daleks succeeding in picking up women in airports.
M: It’s not picking on Jamie. If you just picked the goofy aspects of him you’d have the Keystone Daleks.
MS: The second episode that I’ve seen of the Daleks in a long time.
Sp: Did you like these Daleks?
MS: Of course! I liked it when the Daleks were like “You are just being moved. You are not being Exterminated.” They don’t act like that. They do not say that. They mean that “Get out. Some time later we will destroy you. And that will be sometime later.”
H: So you think the Daleks are up to something.
MS: Yeah. I remember the Doctor saying something like super Dalek. And I’m picturing in my mind a super Dalek. A Dalek with actual legs, and in human form. But instead of a nose and mouth there would be a Dalek shooter. But there would be normal eyes and ears. So that the Daleks couldn’t hear the others just clanking over there because the could just make all the noise they want sneaking up on the Daleks. Because the Daleks can’t hear. They can only hear the electric waves on the other Daleks. They can’t actually hear other sounds. They can only hear other people talking. They can’t hear the sound of footsteps. They can only hear if you’re talking.
K: Wow! My mind is blown!
Sp: I’m pretty sure that’s what I sound like when I’m high.
H: So, Mini-Spoo, you really liked the episode?
MS: Yeah-ya!
H: Cool.
R: “But.. but.. why don’t you send me for the test instead?” “BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT A FREAKING HUMAN!”
Sp: Actually, that hasn’t been stated yet.
R: I’m pretty sure it has.
K: Yeah, it totally has. Susan said they were from another planet!
H: They were from another planet and from another time, but that doesn’t mean they’re not human. It just means they’re not from earth. And actually the Doctor has referred to himself as human.
R: Yeah, and after we find out he has two hearts he’s said he’s human. The 1996 movie?
K: That so doesn’t count! Apocrypha on you!
Sp: Well see, the Daleks knew that if they based themselves off him, he would find a clever way to screw it up from the inside somehow. So now they’re manipulating him to… screw it up.. from the inside.
SG: If the Daleks based the element on the Doctor they’d just be losing their ships all over the place.
K: They’d never be able to pilot them.
R: Admittedly these were the guys who last plan was “We will put a rocket inside your planet and careen off into space.”
R: The episode was fine. Like I said, I think the burrito is a bit top heavy. We’ll see how it plays out next week.
K: Or over the next few weeks. Anyway, I’m enjoying this one. Despite flaming beards, the recon is really well done. I’m enjoying the story. I now want to see the shining night rescue the princess. And Jamie doing something cool too. And I’m sure the Doctor has something clever up his sleeve.
M: I think that Maxtible will substitute his beard hair in the recording. And they’ll just get bearded Daleks.
MS: I’ve got something to say. Well, I hope that they don’t get rid of the Daleks soon. And I hope that they put in a Dalek that’s like… he can just zap somebody and then they turn into a Dalek. It’s like an infection Dalek. <whisper> Awesome.
H: You need to write to Steven Moffat. That’s awesome. Anyway, I love this story but I don’t want to say too much about it, I don’t want to give anything away. So I’ll talk about the recon. I’d been so looking forward to watching this recon because I’ve been hearing about it for the last couple of years. And I’m impressed. It does not disappoint. I’m excited to see the rest of it. To see what else they do. To see how much more refilming. All the CG.
Sp: HOOP SKIRT! HOOP SKIRT!
H: I just think it looks fantastic, and it’s just really exciting. Not as exciting as if they found more episodes, but really exciting.
R: Tune in next week for another exciting episode of Dalek Abbey!
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