Doctor Who/Recap/S29/E04 Daleks in Manhattan: Difference between revisions

[[File:Daleks_In_Manhattan_967.jpg|frame]]

 

'''Diagoras:''' [[Understatement|Bit further than that.]] }}

 

The episode begins with an aerial shot of 1930s New York that zooms in on the local Revue. Showgirls prepare for a performance while Tallulah, a showgirl with a Marilyn Monroe accent, makes out with her boyfriend, Laszlo. As she heads out to the stage, we see Laszlo hear oinking noises from down the corridor, luring him into a dark storeroom. He's ambushed by a pigman and the opening title rolls.

 

 

The scene cuts to the Empire State Building, where the construction is being managed by [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Mr. Diagoras]], who is demanding that his workers go faster, despite the fact that they're on schedule and utterly exhausted. After a worker pleads for him to have pity, Diagoras directs him toward his masters from "out of town". As the elevator opens to reveal who they are, we see a Dalek flanked by two Pig Slaves. Diagoras explains how the worker is refusing to work any faster, causing the Dalek to order him taken away for "the Final Experiment" by the two Pig Slaves.

The scene cuts back to the construction site in the Empire State Building where Mr. Diagoras tells his workers that they are to attach four panels, pieces of Dalek casing, to the mast of the building. Again, Diagoras demands that they work unreasonably fast. The workers say that they can't work at night for fear of losing their grip from the cold and falling to their deaths, but Diagoras simply threatens to fire them if they refuse. After the workers have climbed up to fasten the panels to the mast, the Dalek from earlier arrives to speak with Diagoras. Diagoras reassures the Dalek that the mast will be finished on schedule. As the two look out at Manhattan, the Dalek notes that despite humanity's percieved weakness, they have suceeded in building so much. After the Dalek mentions losing its planet in a great war, Diagoras mentions being a war veteran himself, how he swore he would survive, no matter what, and that he would claim the city no matter what it takes.

 

 

Doctor, Martha, Solomon, and a worker continue their search until they find a pigman sitting in a corner sadly. The Doctor promises to help him, but more violent pigslaves chase them to the surface,all but the worker making it. They emerge from a manhole in the theatre and Tallulah holds them at gunpoint. But suprise, it's just a prop, and after she explains that Lazlo is one of the people who've disapeared. The Doctor rigs a DNA scanner for the green blob, Solomon goes back to Hooverville to organize a militia, and Tallulah and Martha engage in girl talk. Martha reveals that she's attracted to the Doctor now.

To his horror, the Doctor finds that the DNA from the blob is Dalek. As Tallulah goes onstage, Martha sees a pigslave watching the performance from the shadows. She chases after it but a different pigslave captures her, so the Doctor and Tallulah goe after her into the sewers. They find the pigslave who was watching Tallulah, who turns out to be Lazlo; he may be a pigman but he escaped before the Daleks were able to destroy his mind. Doctor and friends spy on the Daleks, who separate Martha and the other prisoners: dumb ones become pig slaves, smart ones are sent to the lab. Lazlo, concerned for her safety, tells Tallulah to go home, then he and the Doctor slip in line behind Martha unnoticed. Once in the lab they witness the results of the Final Experiment: Dalek Sec has become a Dalek-Human hybrid!!! A new life form is born!!! Cue end credits.

 

 

* [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer]]

* [[Aliens Are Bastards]]:

'''Dalek''': We are ''not'' human. }}

** And from a woman whose own boyfriend works in the theater, oddly enough.

* [[Big Applesauce]]

* [[Big No]]: From the Doctor when Frank is taken by the pig-men.

* [[Captain Obvious]]:

'''The Doctor:''' Yeah, I'd noticed, thanks. }}

* [[Chorus Girls]]

* [[Dumb Blonde]]: Subverted. Tallulah both looks and sounds the part, but she's far from naive.

'''Tallulah''': ''Then that's my problem.'' }}

* [[Fetal Position Rebirth]]

* [[Foreshadowing]]: Dalek Caan's quite un-Dalek-like thoughtful musings to Diagoras that humans are prospering while Daleks were almost wiped out. While it doesn't pay off in this story, it hints at what will happen with the character next series.

* [[Half-Human Hybrid]]

* [[He Is Not My Boyfriend]]:

'''Tallulah''': Oh, come on! [[Everyone Can See It|I've seen the way you look at him, it's obvious!]]<br />

'''Martha''': Not to him. }}

** Tallulah responds by mistaking "[[Oblivious to Love]]" for "[[Unusual Euphemism|into]] [[Mistaken for Gay|musical theatre]]."

* [[Homemade Inventions]]: The Doctor's DNA scanner.

* [[Judgment of Solomon]]: Literally, which is definitely on purpose.

* [[Juggling Loaded Guns]]: "Daleks in Manhattan". Tallulah threatens Martha and the Doctor with a gun, and handles it in an appallingly cavalier way, waving it around and even briefly pointing it at her own head. The Doctor suggests she should maybe put it down, and she shrugs and tosses it aside. The Doctor and Martha both flinch--

* [[Landmarking the Hidden Base]]: Who's building the Empire State Building? The Daleks. Don't say they never do anything for us.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Solomon.

* [[Police Are Useless]]: Enough people have gone missing that it's made the papers, yet the police are nowhere to be seen. According to Solomon, they went to the police, but the cops don't care if "another deadbeat goes missing".

* [[Reckless Gun Usage]]: Subverted. While threatening the Doctor and company, Tallulah waves her gun all over the place with little to no regard for where it's pointing; turns out it's a prop.

* [[Standard Snippet]]: As per legal obligations, there's a snippet of ''Rhapsody in Blue'' when the Doctor and Martha arrive in New York.

* [[Trailers Always Spoil]]: Infamously, the ending was spoiled by featuring the human Daleks prominently on the cover of ''Radio Times'', apparently simply because it was just too awesome to pass up as a cover image.

* [[Wasteland Elder]]

 

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[[Category:Recap]]