Into the Dalek
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Brian Minchin
| 243 – "Into the Dalek" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor Who episode | |||
| Cast | |||
Others
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| Production | |||
| Directed by | Ben Wheatley | ||
| Written by | Phil Ford and Steven Moffat | ||
| Produced by | Nikki Wilson | ||
| Executive producers | Steven Moffat Brian Minchin | ||
| Music by | Murray Gold | ||
| Series | Series 8 | ||
| Running time | 45 minutes | ||
| First broadcast | 30 August 2014 | ||
| Chronology | |||
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"Into the Dalek" is the second episode of the eighth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It was written by Phil Ford and Steven Moffat, and directed by Ben Wheatley, and first broadcast on BBC One on 30 August 2014.
In the episode, the alien time traveller the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and his companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) enter the body of a damaged Dalek captured by rebels to determine what is making the usually-hate-filled creature "good".
It was watched by 5.2 million viewers in the UK on its initial transmission, according to unofficial overnight figures, taking a 24.7 per cent share of the entire TV audience and making it the second-highest rated programme of the evening,[1] with the final numbers giving a total of 7.29 million viewers,[2] and received positive reviews, with the characterisation of the Dalek being acclaimed.
Continuity
Danny Pink, a former soldier emotionally scarred from his experiences, begins teaching Mathematics at Coal Hill School in the present. Clara, an English teacher at the school, invites him out for a drink. He agrees. Back at her office, Clara is briefed by the Twelfth Doctor about a damaged Dalek taken aboard the human rebel ship Aristotle in the future that declares his own race must be destroyed. Clara agrees to assist his efforts to help the "good" Dalek, despite the Doctor's contention that Daleks cannot be turned good.
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The Doctor, Clara, and three rebel soldiers are miniaturised so they can enter the Dalek—nicknamed "Rusty" by the Doctor—to determine what is making him good. Entering Rusty, they come upon his "cortex vault", which the Doctor describes as Dalek technology designed to suppress any developing compassion within the living mutant inside the shell, as well as store all of his memories. Rusty, speaking to the Doctor, relates the beauty he had witnessed in the galaxy, including the creation of a star. Rusty drew from this that Daleks must be destroyed for wanting to destroy that beauty. The Doctor repairs Rusty's power cell. This unintentionally erases Rusty's memories and reverts him to his normal thinking pattern.
Rusty contacts the Dalek mothership, which sends other Daleks to destroy the rebel ship. Inside Rusty, Clara convinces the Doctor to reconsider his conviction that Daleks are irreversibly "evil". Inside the cortex vault, Clara awakens Rusty's memory of seeing a star's creation. The Doctor then links his mind to Rusty's consciousness, showing him the beauty of the universe. However, Rusty also assimilates the Doctor's own deep-rooted hatred towards the Daleks. Rusty exterminates his fellow Daleks to stop them from destroying the rebel ship, then sends a retreat signal to the Dalek mothership, causing it to believe the Aristotle has self-destructed. The Doctor, disturbed that Rusty saw only hatred within him, becomes distraught that he had failed to create a "good" Dalek. Though Rusty acknowledges that he himself is not a good Dalek, he reassures the Doctor that he is a good Dalek. Rusty then departs to continue his crusade against other Daleks.
The Doctor turns down the surviving soldier Journey's offer to travel with him, telling her that he wishes that she was not a soldier, hence re-iterating his non-violent stance. The Doctor returns Clara to her office moments after she left. On leaving, she bumps into Danny, who is glad his being an ex-soldier does not put her off dating him.
Scenes from "Dalek" (2005) and "Journey's End" (2008) can be seen in the background as the Doctor 'merges' with Rusty's mind.[3] The Doctor refers to his first encounter with the Daleks on Skaro in The Daleks (1963–64).[3]
Production
Co-writer and executive producer Steven Moffat conceived the idea while discussing possible concepts for a Doctor Who computer game.[4]
The read-through for the episode took place on 17 December 2013, the same day as "Deep Breath". Filming began on 25 January 2014, and took place at the Uskmouth power station, which had previously served as a location for the 2011 Christmas special, "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe".[5] Filming also took place in St Athan, Newport, and a hangar outside Cardiff.[4][5] Regular filming concluded on 18 February 2014. The last scene to be filmed was the one featuring Gretchen (Laura dos Santos) and Missy (Michelle Gomez), which was filmed concurrently with the similar scene with Half-Face Man from "Deep Breath" on 23 May 2014.[5] Since Wheatley was unavailable on the date, an uncredited Rachel Talalay directed both scenes; she consulted Wheatley and attempted to incorporate his ideas.[6]
