 This story, the first of Season Thirty Three (New Searies 7), sees the spectacular return of The Doctor's oldest enemies, the Daleks.
Executive Producer Steven Moffat mentioned in 2011 that he intended to rest the Daleks and so, aside from a brief cameo in the 2011 story "The Wedding of River Song", this is the first appearance of the show’s most iconic monsters since the 2010 story "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang". The reason for the rest was because it was felt that their frequent appearances made them the ‘most reliably defeatable enemies in the universe’. With "Asylum of the Daleks" he intended to make them scary again and to remind audiences of their true intentions. He thought the best way to do this would be to show Daleks that were considered even madder than usual.
This is the first Dalek story Steven Moffat has written for the show - he stated that he ‘couldn't resist’ the opportunity.
"Asylum of the Daleks" has been described as being the biggest Dalek story ever with more Daleks on a Doctor Who set then ever before with 25 Daleks with models from ranging from 1963 to 2010. Executive Producer Caroline Skinner has said that ‘there was just a real magic and sense of history about having them’.
The production team managed to locate the remaining models of the various versions of the Daleks and shipped them to the studios in Cardiff Bay. This included a replica Dalek, owned by former Executive Producer and head writer Russell T Davies, and the Special Weapons Dalek from the 1988 Seventh Doctor story "Remembrance of the Daleks".
Actor Nicholas Briggs once again provides the voice of the Daleks, as he has done since Dalek in 2005 - while Barnaby Edwards and Nicholas Pegg once more operate the creatures themselves.
This story has been directed by Nick Hurran whose previous credits include "The Girl Who Waited" and "The God Complex".
This story was the first to feature actress Jenna-Louise Coleman, who is due to appear as The Doctor's next travelling companion in the 2012 Christmas special. In March 2012, it was announced that Jenna-Louise Coleman would replace Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill when they leave the show at the end of 2012. It was Steven Moffat's idea to have her appear in this story as the character of Oswin. Her appearance was successfully kept a secret from the general public prior to this story’s broadcast, despite the episode having several preview showings prior to broadcast. After broadcast, Jenna-Louise Coleman and Steven Moffat both issued statements thanking the press and fans for keeping her debut - months before her official first story - a secret. Whether Jenna-Louise Coleman's later character is the same as Oswin has yet to be confirmed.
This story marks the first appearance of a new title sequence. It contains the same music and time vortex animation as the sequence used for the two previous seasons, but the font of the opening credits and the style of the logo have changed. The sequence appears to have some colour adjustments as well - the vortex has hints of green, while the TARDIS itself is a slightly darker blue with vibrant yellow lighting emanating from the TARDIS windows. The footage also has less-sharp focus, casting a more dream-like atmosphere to the sequence.
This new title sequence includes a unique logo mimicking the Daleks' distinct bodywork. The production team have confirmed that the title sequence for every story in this season will have slightly different stylized versions of the Doctor Who logo.
Many of the props used in this story were built from scratch. While the snow scenes on the asylum planet were filmed during the production of "A Town Called Mercy".
The Asylum is stylistically similar to the Dalek’s city first seen in the 1963 First Doctor story "The Daleks".
There are several references to "Remembrance of the Daleks" in this story. There is no explanation as to why Skaro still exists, despite being destroyed by the Seventh Doctor tricking the Daleks into blowing Skaro up. The Daleks also have a Prime Minister - it is though unclear why the Daleks now have a democratic system and a parliament when they have been led by an Emperor since "Remembrance of the Daleks". The Special Weapons Dalek from "Remembrance of the Daleks" can also briefly be seen.
Various other models of the Daleks from different points in the show’s past are visible in the Asylum, mostly in the background. These include many of the gold, post-Time War Daleks, ("Dalek" onwards) a Supreme Dalek of the New Dalek Paradigm, ("Victory of the Daleks" onwards) a Renegade Dalek, ("Resurrection of the Daleks") several of the earlier silver Daleks, ("The Power of the Daleks" and "The Evil of the Daleks") and the grey wooden-looking Dalek models, ("Day of the Daleks" to "The Five Doctors") and a black Dalek identical to Dalek Sec. ("Army of Ghosts/Doomsday", "Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks").
The Daleks in the intensive care section of the Asylum are survivors of encounters with The Doctor on planets such as Spiridon ("Planet of the Daleks"), Kembel ("Mission to the Unknown" and "The Daleks' Master Plan"), Exxilon ("Death to the Daleks"), Aridius ("The Chase"), and Vulcan ("Power of the Daleks").
The Doctor is seen on Skaro - the original planet of the Daleks. The planet was last seen on-screen in the 1996 Seventh Doctor story "Remembrance of the Daleks"). It has also appeared more recently in the Adventure Game "City of the Daleks", in which it looks the same as it does in this story, complete with acid rain.
Dalek prison camps are mentioned, and The Doctor expresses some familiarity with them. (see the 1975 Fourth Doctor story "Genesis of the Daleks").
In her opening speech, Darla refers to The Doctor fighting in the Time War and also to The Doctor faking his death in the 2011 stories: "The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon" and "The Wedding of River Song".
The Daleks have the ability to turn people both living and dead into human Daleks, via the use of nanogenes. Time Lords are immune to this technology. The nanogenes' behaviour in rewriting biology and ability to alter humans into hostile creatures is similar to those introduced in the 2009 Ninth Doctor story "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances".
The Daleks refer to The Doctor as the ‘Predator of the Daleks’.
The final question of ‘Doctor who?’, besides being a call back to the programme's title, is ‘the question that must not be answered’ that Dorium asks at the end of "The Wedding of River Song".
In the closing exchange in the Parliament, The Doctor also refers to one of his nicknames as being ‘the Oncoming Storm’. This was introduced in the novelisation of "Remembrance of the Daleks" and was first mentioned in the 2009 Ninth Doctor story "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways".
A section of the "Habanera" from the Georges Bizet opera Carmen is heard with The Doctor claiming he was responsible for playing the triangle in the recording. "Feel the Love" by Rudimental is also heard.
The chair Oswin sits in appears to be identical to the chair Jenny sits on in the spaceship in the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "The Doctor's Daughter".
Oswin is heard to say that she has been surviving in her crashed spaceship by baking soufflés. This statement though troubles The Doctor as she has no access to milk or eggs – Something he deduces is important.
It is revealed that Amy can no longer have children due to what happened on Demons Run.
At the beginning of this story Amy and Rory sign divorce papers. The divorce papers confirm that their house since the end of "The God Complex" is in southwest London, not Leadworth.
When Amy and Rory make up Rory mentions waiting outside a box for two thousand years ("The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang").
The two depicted survivors of the Alaska crash have the forename Harvey and the surname Oswald. Doctor Who premiered with "An Unearthly Child" on 23rd November 1963, the day after American President Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. The event was referenced in the 2009 Ninth Doctor story "Rose" - which also referenced Oswald directly.
The Doctor brags that he has exceptional aim with teleports after he teleports himself and his two travelling companions into the TARDIS. Rose Tyler had previously remarked that The Doctor was ‘good with teleports’ in the 2009 story "Boom Town".
The Doctor says that when the force field is taken down, the entire planet will get ‘explodey-wodey’. A statement he has used in "Blink", "The Doctor's Wife" and "The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe".
The closing scene, when Amy and Rory are back home, is similar to that seen in "The Wedding of River Song".
This story contains a number of errors. Namely: When The Doctor, Amy and Rory are in the Dalek Holding Cell, the circular platform they are standing on lifts. On one shot, it shows them and the Daleks looking all around them - The Doctor is looking towards the camera - but in the next shot, The Doctor is looking upwards into the Dalek Parliament; The wide shots of the Dalek Parliament do not match the close-up shots; When The Doctor says ‘It's Christmas!’ in the Dalek Parliament, the shot shows a large number of gold Daleks and a few Paradigm Daleks. Except the shot has been reversed and the suckers are where the guns should be, and the guns are where the suckers should be; When Oswin runs to the screen to talk to The Doctor for the first time, the flower in her hair falls to the floor. Once she reaches the screen it is in her hair again; When Rory is being sent to the Asylum, upside down, he yells ‘Wrong way up!’ twice. His mouth though only moves to him saying ‘wrong way’; The first Dalek Rory approaches inside the asylum has indicators on both sides from his perspective, but when the camera is behind the Dalek the light on the right hand side is missing; The Doctor has a plaster on his finger that keeps disappearing and reappearing; In the final scene where The Doctor is in the TARDIS, you can see the overhead camera reflected in the glass floor next to the console.
A preview of this story was screened at BFI Southbank on the 14th August 2012 and at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival during 23rd – 25th August 2012. On the 25th August 2012 it was also screened in New York City and Toronto.
This story was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on the 1st September 2012. It also premiered in Australia on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's on-demand and catch-up service iView immediately following the UK broadcast. This was the first time Doctor Who had debuted on Australian television in this way. A traditional free-to-air screening on ABC1 followed on the 8th September 2012.
A prequel to this story was released on iTunes, Zune, and Amazon Instant Video on 2nd September 2012 for US and UK subscribers to the series. This short sequence has The Doctor taking tea when a hooded messenger informs him that a woman, Darla von Karlsen, requests his help in freeing her daughter. The messenger provides space-time coordinates to the planet Skaro.
A five-part mini story prequel called "Pond Life" was released online in the week leading up to the first broadcast of this story. It was then shown as an omnibus version on the Red Button an hour before "Asylum of the Daleks" started. The fifth part hints at Amy and Rory's divorce.
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The Firsts:
The first story of Season Thirty Three (New Series 7).
The first Dalek story Steven Moffat has written for the show.
The first Dalek story since the 2010 story "Victory of the Daleks".
The first appearance of the Special Weapons Dalek from the 1988 Seventh Doctor story "Remembrance of the Daleks".
The introduction of companion Clara 'Oswin' Oswald played by Jenna-Louise Coleman.
First appearance of a new title sequence.
The first Doctor Who story that has debuted on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's on-demand and catch-up service immediately following the UK broadcast.
Howard Burden's first involvement in the show as Costume Designer.
Denise Paul's first involvement in the show as Script Producer.
Steve Walker's first involvement in the show as Script Supervisor.
John Phillips' first involvement in the show as Script Editor.
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(Position = 2 out of 5)
(Position = 49 out of 241)
