An Animated Series by BBC in the Doctor Who Universe

Doctor Who – Timelord Victorious is a big cross-media event put on by BBC that I’ve somewhat slept on for whatever reason, but plan to rectify very soon. Honestly, I’m way behind on the main show, and any sort of side media due to the new direction the show is going into somewhat sapping my passion for it. I’m not an anti-woman nutjob or anything, I just don’t think Chris Chibnall was the right choice for showrunner, and I’m always a bit “meh” about his writing. That said, I watched a handful of newer episodes today and loved them as well as this little gem from Youtube – Doctor Who – Timelord Victorious – Daleks! A five part FREE Youtube animated series, Daleks! likely has a bigger impact on the main line of Timelord Victorious, but since I’m going in oblivious I couldn’t tell you. The good news is, this stands alone without particularly knowing anything else about this event, and while it doesn’t add much to the Dalek Mythos, helped make Mechanoids somewhat palatable after years of obscurity.

“The Dalek Empire comes up against a terrible force. The Daleks’ plundering of the Archive of Islos unearths something ancient and deadly. Soon Skaro is under attack and the Dalek Emperor is on the run! Can the Daleks defeat their adversaries and regain their planet, even with help from an old enemy? Will this be the end of the Daleks?

Written by James Goss and created by Salford-based animators Studio Liddell, Daleks! is a BBC Studios Digital production. “

That’s right – BBC has taken a stab at resurrecting the almost forgotten villains The Mechanoids here. The Chase, an old serial from the 60s attempts to put them on the same footing as the Daleks, even implying that they fought grand wars all the time. I assume kids thought they were lame and BBC wiped them from existence soon after. That said, the version we see here is better than anything we’ve seen before. having them move around and do things other than shoot their fire and talk is a step in the right direction, but time will tell if we see them pop up on TV again anytime soon. Having a wide assortment of villains new and old is the lifeblood of this franchise, and I feel like every once mis-used villain could have a second time to shine.

The Daleks are fairly typically Daleks here. Somehow being both ruthless and spineless at the same time, they come whining to the Mechanoid Queen to ask for help against a huge energy sucking creature that they unleashed. The question is – why would anyone trust them? Which is immediately put to the test when Daleks do Dalek things and ruin everything as one would imagine. I particularly liked some of the trash talking, for example the Mechanoid queen telling The Dalek emperor that the reason they are gaining ground on them is because they evolve, unlike the Daleks.

As you can tell with the images, this is animated, and not in a lavish expensive way. Honestly I wouldn’t have been shocked to find out that the show was much much older, as it has vibes from the famous Canadian cartoon Re:Boot at times, and that show is at least 25 years old. animations are crude and jerky, clipping occasionally, and it all just looks cheap. It’s serviceable, but I really wish they would have taken more time or invested more money in the production as I feel anyone outside of the biggest die hard fan will likely not enjoy it.

That said, my six year old walked in at one point and watched it while asking tons of questions which is somewhat baffling since this is mostly dialogue. It’s honestly because he starting using a talking Dalek toy I have as a “bad guy” in a nerf battle he routinely does, so who am I to judge? Maybe they new kids would love it.

All-in-all this was a cool bit of Doctor Who material to catch on a chilly Sunday afternoon, whetting my whistle enough to get me watching TV episodes soon after. While the animation suffers, the script and storyline are top notch and it was cool to see a sub-par villain get a bit of a redemption. If you are bored and have about an hour to kill, head on over to the official Doctor Who YouTube page, and take a look. It’s better than you likely expect it to be.