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|caption=Tallulah performs "Heaven and Hell" in a theatre in 1930s New York. |
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|doctor=[[David Tennant]] ([[Tenth Doctor]]) |
|doctor=[[David Tennant]] ([[Tenth Doctor]]) |
Revision as of 22:28, 27 March 2008
186a – "Daleks in Manhattan" | |||
---|---|---|---|
Doctor Who episode | |||
Cast | |||
Guest
| |||
Production | |||
Directed by | James Strong | ||
Written by | Helen Raynor | ||
Script editor | Lindsey Alford | ||
Produced by | Phil Collinson | ||
Executive producer(s) | Russell T. Davies Julie Gardner | ||
Production code | 3.4 | ||
Series | Series 3 | ||
Running time | 1 of 2 episodes, 45 mins | ||
First broadcast | 21 April 2007 | ||
Chronology | |||
| |||
"Daleks in Manhattan" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 21 April 2007,[1] and is the fourth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is part one of a two-part story, concluded in "Evolution of the Daleks". According to the BARB figures this episode was seen by 6.69 million viewers and was the eighteenth most popular broadcast on British television in that week.[2]
Synopsis
In New York, 1930, in the midst of the Depression, people are disappearing: the homeless, the poor, the starving and huddled masses. Savage pig creatures hide in the sewers, and at the bottom of the Empire State Building, some of the Doctor's greatest and oldest enemies, the Daleks, are at work, preparing their most horrific plan yet...
Plot
A young man, Laszlo, gives Tallulah, a showgirl, a rosebud before her nightly performance. As she leaves to take the stage, he investigates a sound, walks into a dark room, and is attacked by a creature that resembles a humanoid pig.
The Doctor and Martha arrive at the Statue of Liberty on November 1 1930 and see the uncompleted Empire State Building, intended as a final detour before the Doctor returns Martha to her own time and place. The Doctor reads a newspaper headline 'Hooverville Mystery Deepens' about people going missing. They go to Central Park where the Hooverville is located. Solomon, leader of the Hooverville, tells them that people disappear at night. He asks the Doctor why people can build the tallest building in the world but not help the starving people of the hooverville.
At the top of the Empire State Building, Mr Diagoras, a wealthy and ruthless businessman, orders a foreman to speed up construction on the mast. When the foreman refuses, Mr Diagoras summons one of his 'Masters', Dalek Caan, accompanied by two Pig Slaves. Dalek Caan has the foreman taken away for "the final experiment" and orders Mr Diagoras to recruit more "bodies".
Mr Diagoras arrives at the hooverville to recruit workers to clear a sewer collapse. Intrigued by an admission that people sometimes fail to return, the Doctor accepts the job for $1. Martha goes with him, along with Solomon and a young man named Frank. Mr Diagoras sends them half a mile in, but they find no obstruction, just a green lump of alien flesh. The Doctor examines and pockets it. Next they come across a lone Pig Slave. As the Doctor talks to it, more Pig Slaves arrive, and chase the Doctor and friends.
Mr Diagoras orders the crew working on the Empire State Building to attach strips of metal (taken from a Dalek's 'skirt') to the base of the mast, and to complete the task that night. The workers complain about the unsafe conditions, but comply after Diagoras threatens to replace them. After they leave, Dalek Caan discusses the construction with Mr Diagoras, and mentions that his planet was destroyed in a war, while humans survive across time, building and rebuilding New York City. Mr Diagoras tells the Dalek that he fought in a war; afterwards he promised himself he would survive at any cost, and he has developed a desire to run New York. Noting that Diagoras is most like them in mentality, Dalek Sec orders him to the basement, where he is seized for use in their 'final experiment'.
The Doctor, Martha and Solomon escape the sewers through a manhole, but Frank is captured. The others emerge in the theatre, where Tallulah points a gun at them. She demands to know what they did with Laszlo, who disappeared two weeks earlier. The Doctor gets Tallulah to discard the gun (which was only a prop), and Tallulah tells them about Laszlo's disappearance. The Doctor and Solomon search for equipment the Doctor can use to examine the alien flesh, while Martha and Tallulah compare notes about Laszlo and the Doctor. Solomon confesses that he left Frank behind because he was scared. Solomon then returns to Hooverville, telling everybody about what happened to Frank, and that they must now fight.
Back at the Empire State building, the Dalekanium is finally attached to the mast. And the Daleks are ready to conduct the Final experiment, using Mr Diagoras' flesh. Dalek Sec states that, to survive, the Daleks must evolve. Daleks Thay and Jast question the results of the experiment, arguing that merging with humans (an inferior race) is directly against the Dalek philosophy. Sec counters that, after everything that has happened, there remain millions of Humans but only four Daleks. Dalek Sec intends to sacrifice himself for the survival of the Dalek race, just as Dalek Thay sacrificed the Dalekanium strips from his casing. Dalek Sec opens up his casing and uses his long tentacles to grab Diagoras. He pulls him closer and envelops him in his own body before dragging him into his casing to begin the 'evolution'.
Martha is watching Tallulah's dance number when she notices a Pig Slave watching from the other side of the stage. She tries sneaking behind the dancers to reach him, but he runs away. Noticing that he is more human than pig, she follows him into the prop store, where he disappears down the manhole.
The Doctor studies the alien flesh, and learns its planet of origin: Skaro. He rushes to find Martha, and hears her scream as she is seized by Pig Slaves. He goes down the manhole after her. Tallulah follows him, despite the Doctor's warning. Moments later, he grabs her and hides as a Dalek glides by. The two then find the Pig Slave that Martha saw: Laszlo, who managed to escape the Dalek lab before his alteration into a Pig Slave was completed.
Back in the Dalek lab, smoke billows from Dalek Sec's casing while he shakes violently. His comrades urge him to cancel the experiment, but he refuses and asks for an injection. Dalek Jast plunges a syringe containing a "chromatin solution" into his casing.
Martha is thrust in with a parade of captives, including Frank. They are met first by Dalek Caan, and then Dalek Thay who reports that "the Dalekanium is in place." The Daleks use their manipulator arms to scan their captives' brains as the Doctor hides nearby and watches. Laszlo explains that the "low intelligence" captives become Pig Slaves, while the "high intelligence" ones are designated for 'the final experiment'. Laszlo urges Tallulah to go back without him. The Doctor joins Martha in the high intelligence group as they proceed towards 'the final experiment'. Tallulah runs through the sewers, but gets lost.
The captive party reaches the Dalek lab under the Empire State Building, where Dalek Jast attends to Dalek Sec. The Doctor tells Martha to ask what they are doing; he does not want the Daleks to notice him. Martha steps forward and demands to know what is happening. Dalek Caan tells her she will bear witness to the rebirth of the Dalek race. Dalek Sec's casing opens, and a humanoid creature emerges, with a Dalek mutant-like head and yellow hands, wearing Mr Diagoras' suit. It flexes its new limbs as everyone — including the other three Daleks — recoils in horror. "I am a Human Dalek," it tells them all. "I am your future!"
Cast notes
- Joe Montana, who appears as "Worker #1", had previously played the Commander in the Ninth Doctor episode "Dalek".
- Hero Pig is mentioned in the credits, although there is no such thing actually within the episode. Rather, this refers to the "primary" pig used when shooting, as Paul Kasey always played the pig who had the most to do.
Continuity
- Tallulah asks Martha if she has ever been on stage, to which Martha replies "Some Shakespeare", referring to the events of The Shakespeare Code.
Daleks
- When he first realises that the Daleks are present, the Doctor says, "They always survive, while I lose everything." The Daleks have survived multiple apparent extinctions, in The Daleks, The Evil of the Daleks, Remembrance of the Daleks, the Time War, "Dalek", "The Parting of the Ways" and "Doomsday".
- The members of the Cult of Skaro (Daleks Caan, Jast, Sec and Thay) are the only individual Daleks ever to become recurring characters.
- Dalek Caan states that "[his] planet was destroyed in a great war". In Remembrance of the Daleks, Skaro was destroyed when the Seventh Doctor used the Hand of Omega to cause Skaro's sun to go supernova. According to the Eighth Doctor novel War of the Daleks, which was published before the 2005 revival and thus the Time War story, Skaro was never destroyed (the Doctor blew up the wrong planet, which was part of a grand Dalek plan). While the canonical status of the novels is uncertain, Russell T. Davies has previously intimated that various Dalek stories take place as parts of the Time War, such as Genesis of the Daleks which he refers to as "the first strike".[3]
- This is the first episode of the revived series in which Skaro is explicitly mentioned as the Dalek homeworld.
- The Daleks refer to their armour as Dalekanium. This term was first used in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. The Doctor referred to it as polycarbide in both Remembrance of the Daleks (explicitly referring to the armoured shell as "bonded polycarbide") and Doomsday.
- The First Doctor and the Daleks visit the Empire State Building in the 1965 story The Chase.
- This is the first Dalek episode of the revived series which does not feature their catchphrase "Exterminate!", apart from in the preview of the next episode.
- In the Cult of Skaro's previous appearance, in Doomsday, the Doctor berated Dalek Sec for his inability, as a Dalek, to touch: "Not feeling anything. Ever. From birth to death locked inside a cold metal cage. No wonder you always scream."
Production
- All of the scenes with Martha and the Doctor in front of the Statue of Liberty actually take place in Wales. The production team found a wall that matched the base of the statue. This was mentioned in the accompanying Doctor Who Confidential.
- Helen Raynor is the first woman to write a televised Dalek story, and the first woman to write a story for the revived series.
- Some filming for this story was done in New York for plates of the city, including images of Central Park, the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty.[4] However, on the online episode commentary for "Gridlock", David Tennant, when asked if he filmed in New York, replied, "I didn't, everybody else did!" The Confidential episode shows that The Mill also used the shoot for elements of the Majestic Theater.
- This episode includes the first location filming outside of the United Kingdom since Doctor Who's return in 2005. Several original Doctor Who stories included location filming outside of the UK: City of Death (1979) included filming in Paris, Arc of Infinity (1983) included filming in Amsterdam, Planet of Fire (1984) included filming in Lanzarote, and The Two Doctors (1985) included filming in and near Seville. Also, the entirety of the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie was filmed in Vancouver, apart from some stock footage of San Francisco and world capitals.
- The dance scene was rehearsed in London but shot in the Parc and Dare Hall, in Treorchy, South Wales.[5]
- The presence of the Daleks in this story was reported by the News of the World on November 12, 2006[6] and confirmed by the BBC in late December.[7][8] An interview with David Tennant in TV Times indicates there will also be 'Art Deco Daleks'.[9] However, they did not appear in either this episode or the second part, "Evolution of the Daleks".
- The cover for the Radio Times for the week from 21–27 April consists of a photograph of the Dalek/human hybrid and names it as such: "Half-Dalek, half-human total monster? The Daleks are back!" It is played by Eric Loren who also plays Mr Diagoras, and this, too, is revealed within the magazine, which contains a how-they-made-it feature and also a small section on the half-man/half-pig Laszlo played by Ryan Carnes. The decision to reveal the hybrid on the cover caused controversy, with some fans considering it a major spoiler as the creature's appearance and nature as a mutated combination of Dalek Sec and Diagoras is the episode's big cliff-hanger reveal.[10]
- This episode along with "Evolution of the Daleks", "The Lazarus Experiment", and "42" will be released as a 'vanilla' DVD (i.e. with no special features).[11]
- In the scene where the Doctor and Martha arrive in New York, the incidental music is "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin, as famously used in the Woody Allen film Manhattan.
Cultural references
- In Central Park, New York City, a Hooverville existed between 1931 and 1933 in the former Lower Reservoir of the city water supply system, which was being emptied and landscaped into the Great Lawn and Turtle Pond.
- Tallulah is based on Jodie Foster's character, also named Tallulah, in Bugsy Malone. It may in turn be a reference to the actress Talullah Bankhead.[12]
- The Island of Doctor Moreau, Frankenstein and The Phantom of the Opera were amongst the horror novels and films that served as inspiration for this story.[12]
- On arrival, the Doctor extemporizes on the name, "New York, New York: Well, there's the genuine article. So good they named it twice. Mind you, it was New Amsterdam originally. Harder to say twice, no wonder it didn't catch on. New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam." This is a humorous reference to the city's location within New York State, as popularised in the song "New York, New York (So Good They Named It Twice)". New Amsterdam was the original name of the Dutch colony that became New York City.
- The 2007 episode guide on the Doctor Who site has the caption for this episode as "Sec's in the City",[13] referencing the popular sitcom Sex and the City, also set in New York.
References
- ^ "Doctor Who UK airdate announced". News. Dreamwatch. February 27, 2007.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Daleks in Manhattan - Final Ratings". Outpost Gallifrey News Page. Source: BARB. 2007-05-02. Retrieved 2007-06-03.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Doctor Who Annual 2006
- ^ Davies, Russell T. (2007-12-03 cover date). "Production Notes: 12 Facts a-Facting!". Doctor Who Magazine (377): 66.
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ignored (help) - ^ Phil Collinson, James Strong (2007-04-21). "Daleks in Manhattan: 21 Apr 2007". BBC.co.uk (Podcast). BBC. Retrieved 04-23.
{{cite podcast}}
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ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ Richardson, Rachel (November 12, 2006). "Dalek return". News of the World. p. 31.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Doctor battles Daleks in New York". BBC News. BBC. 2006-12-27. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Script Doctors: Helen Raynor". Doctor Who Magazine #379. Panini. 28 February 2007.
- ^ Hollingworth, David (10–16 February, 2007 (cover date)). "Who's a busy boy!". TV Times. 201 (7). IPC Media: 4.
{{cite journal}}
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(help) - ^ "BBC MAGAZINES MUST BE EXTERMINATED"
- ^ Shaun Lyon (2007-05-17). "Series 3 Volume 2 DVD". Outpost Gallifrey.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Fact File". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- ^ "BBC - Doctor Who - Episodes - 2007". Retrieved 2007-04-26.
External links
- "they always survive"-episode trailer