Dalek (Doctor Who episode)

The episode is set in Utah in the year 2012, in the underground bunker owned by Henry van Statten (Corey Johnson), a rich collector of alien artefacts.

This episode's mention of the Series wide arc of "Bad Wolf" comes in the form of Henry van Statten's Helicopter call sign, which is "BadWolf1".

Rose takes pity on the weakened creature and touches its casing; the Dalek promptly absorbs her DNA extrapolating the biomass of a time traveller, and is able to re-energise itself.

[N 1] It escapes its bonds, kills several guards, repairs its casing, and connects to the Internet where it learns of the fate of the Daleks and realises it is the last surviving member of its race.

The adventure changed the setting from the alternate Earth in Jubilee to 2012 Utah, with the lone Dalek featured being held captive by businessman Henry Van Statten, a caricature of Microsoft's chairman Bill Gates.

The changed story contained an alien akin to a child who kills for pleasure, which eventually evolved into the Toclafane from "The Sound of Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords".

[7] Before the broadcast, media watchdog organisation Mediawatch-uk complained about certain elements of the episode, characterising Van Statten's chaining and invasive scan of the Doctor as a "sado-masochistic" torture scene.

[8] When it was released on DVD, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) gave the episode a 12 rating, because of the scenes where the Doctor is seen to torture the Dalek.

The Guardian commented that "Shearman's script bamboozles expectations", and the episode "should hopefully show 2005's kids what was always so wonderful about the iconic tin-rotters."

The London Evening Standard found the lack of surprise (namely, calling the episode "Dalek") the only disappointment, and Daily Mirror simply stated that "for 30 pant-shittingly wonderful minutes, BBC1's new Doctor Who was the best thing on telly.

[15] A novelisation of this story written by Robert Shearman was released in paperback and digital formats on 11 March 2021 as part of the Target Collection.