Doctor Who's Poopy Dalek Story 

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personally i really love this 2 parter because of the dynamics between missy, clara and 12, one thing I wish they touched on was the fact that being put in a dalek surely would've brought up memories of oswin for clara but i get they didn't cause of time tbh i forgive anything shit in this 2 parter for the simple reason of the chaotic duo that is missy and clara

Shoutout the elderly couple walking their dog through the evacuated, UNIT-secured street during the Clara and Missy scene

"Admit it, you've all had this exact nightmare" I _do_ love that bit 😂

I think the Dalek mercy thing works here, because while we have seen Daleks say mercy before, the Doctor hasn’t, so him hearing it for the first time (to my knowledge) is an element that I liked.

The Doctor didn't hear the stone Dalek this is Moffat addressing that scene. The Dalek sewer also makes perfect sense. It continues the parallels between Time Lords and Daleks. It's essentially explaining how the Crispy Master survived. The Veil is another instance of Time Lords continuing even when they should be dead and can't regenerate and yet we have also seen Time Lords die instantly rather than face a mind probe. Same with the Daleks. Regeneration may not be be genetic. It seems to be energetic. It which case it wouldn't mess with their doctrine of purity. They eat their victims after all

On “Mercy”, the Doctor wasn’t there to witness the Dalek beg for mercy in the Big Bang so his shock is acceptable at seeing it here, and the Dalek saying it in the Big Bang is retroactively only possible because Twelve saves young Davros and instills that concept, so it’s internally consistent on that point

I feel insulted that this season is nearly 8 years old.

I do agree that this story is one of the weakest Dalek stories of New Who, but I will always defend the Davros / Doctor scenes. They're incredible, especially with the added context of the Big Finish audios like 'Davros' and the Genius for War Once and Future audio. I have no doubt that Davros was being 100% genuine when he was telling the Doctor not to lose the Time Lords again - it may have been part of a wider scheme, but if anything that makes it even more nefarious - Davros was using a moment of genuine vulnerability and sincerity to sell the greater deception, it's definitely something he would do. As for why he has eyes - Time War 4 explains that

I saw the thumbnail and thought: 'That's not really fair, it's not so much a Dalek story as a Davros story and while I agree that it's not a great Dalek story I like the episodes.' it's quite funny that you say exactly: 'It's not really a Dalek story but more of a Davros story.'

Series 9 at long last! I've always remembered the scene of Clara trapped in the Dalek best, as Missy's manipulation and Jenna's acting really sold me on the helplessness of the circumstance, as well as pushing the strength of development in Clara and the 12th Doctor's relationship thus far since Deep Breath. 🖤👏

The fact they can identify Skaro from any other quarry in Wales is astonishing. 🤣🤣

This was my first episode back into the Who fandom a few weeks ago, after YEARS of not watching and instantly hooked. I loved the interactions with Davros and the Doctor. Looking forward to more content from you!

Oh no not the stopped planes sequence where every single one is shown to be so low it would crash into a building a second later if it were flying xD

If you play the old adventure games the first one shows the Dalek Paradigm rebuilding Skaro & they I believe use some kinda time thing the time Vortex thing that drove the young master insane. They rebuilt it & tried to destroy the earth using the thing. However the end of the story the Daleks are somewhat defeated in that they have no time vortex to allow them to conquer the universe however they still must rebuild somehow & this ties into this.

I like how Missy just boops Davros' eye. This is one of my favourite 12th Doctor stories for a lot of reasons but I don't think other people will have pointed out that particular detail.

I know it becomes really explicit throughout the rest of this season, (and it’s actually one of my favourite parts about it) I that I love the doctor and Clara s relationship and the depths to which they will go for each other.

The moment I saw the hand.mine eyes...I knew it was Skaro before Davros says his name

Davros turning good in the end of his life wouldnt seem real and instigating, the awesome thing about all this dynamic between those two is the come and go of lies and truths, Moffat clearly wanted to show that even Davros could have lacks of compassion and friendship for/with the doctor, all the care he shows in the episode its real and genuine, because in the end theyre long term friends. But, as said by himself, Davros truly believes that compassion is wrong and takes advantage of that so he can prove his point, since its his final wish that the doctor understand and assume that. Like Missy, he just want to see the Doctor failing, being evil and "on the same side". That's the entire focus of the history, showing friendship blended with hatred and pushing the doctor to its borderline of goodness and evilness. Also, of course the doctor knows its a trap, he knows that davros could be up to something but he let things roll because his compassionate about the old dying friend, but always being of step ahead, like accepting to touch the cables clearly knowing what that would do. In the end what makes the episode so special and emotional its this game between them, telling lies and stories, being true and fake, friends and enemies, trusting and doubting; this dynamic makes us nervous and pleasured at the same time because yes! all that beautiful words its true! but in the end, davros still an enemy and the doc's still smart as hell.

These are two of my favourite stories, I think they are excellent and showcase DW at its best, in fact my then girlfriend thought she hated DW but found herself watching it with me and being shocked how much she enjoyed it. After these she was hooked and we watched from Eccelestone together but these pulled her in, I think that says so much about them

Mr Tardis: Good, let the hate swell within you

can't say i agree on all those points. from the beginning we see the outcome - we just dont see all of it, to keep us guessing. Obviously the Doctor saving the young Davros was a fixed moment in time, He was always going to return to help him, he just had to overcome his hatred of Davros first. The only fly in the ointment for me was Davros not knowing which side the soldier was on. He clearly didnt look anything like a Thal, and it was pretty much set in Genesis that Thals look nothing like Kaleds. Also, Davros can't live for more than a few seconds without his Life Support Chariot. vbut apart from those minor quibbles, it was a masterpeice.

I would have done this episode as a Doctor-Lite episode with Davros fighting in the war with the two-parter concluding with 12 saving Davros from the Handmine

I know they're part of Capaldi's history and ideas, but the Doctor jamming on guitar and the Sonic Sunglasses while wearing a hoodie and overcoat comes off as too Tryhard Cool Grandpa.

I'm very old, so although Genysis of the Daleks was iconic, Day of the Daleks is still my favorite. I also liked the two Peter Cushing movies

Interesting video, and great to see other opinions on it, but this is personally one of my favourite Dalek/davros stories.

before even watching: i LOVE this two parter. i genuinely like how its a davros story and not a dalek one!!

I always thought the daleks saying Mercy was a way to keep continuity, since the Doctor wasn't with River when it said it in The Big Bang.

I feel really old hearing that this series premiere premiered in 2015😢😂

I love this two parter tbh

Actually you're wrong

You know what, i liked this 2 parter

The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familiar are a perfect illustration of Steven Moffat's ignorance of the Daleks.

What? WHAT? W H A T? How can anyone dislike the story? Anyone???

I loved the tea thing.

Is the Clara Who Emoji a dig at Nerdrotic....Good. he is vile

Yah! Harbo agrees with me this story sucks. Hurrah for validation 😂. But yeah this was such a poor way to start the series for me. Thankfully i much prefer the Lake 2 Parter that followed

There's no way this is the worst New-Who Dalek story when Asylum and Victory exist

"CUM" 💀

Awful mess of a Dalek story. This is the first Dalek story of the revival I HATE and honestly I'd gladly use a time machine and sneakily swap this 2 parter for one of the missing ones. Davros opening his eyes was a bad idea too.

Sorry you got niched into doctor who content I know you wanna do other thinga

It is pretty bad

This one was so annoying because they could've done something novel but just fell back on old tropes.

Czech painter, not Austrian according to Hindemburg and other Germans

I feel bad for skipping these 2 Episodes but damn I found it boring as sin

I like seeing harbo's face

The ending doesn't create a paradox, it's a great little bit of crossed wires. The Doctor thinks Davros is remembering shamefully being left to die as a little kid. In actuality, Davros thinks the Doctor is shameful for saving him as a kid because killing him then would have meant defeating one of his greatest enemies. It show's the stark difference in mindset between the two- one would regret leaving a monster to die, the other would regret not killing a kid for the greater good.

Capaldi is deffo an actors actor. Even in episodes with weaker plots like this one if you have moments in there where Capaldi can just do his think and command the room and you allow him to act then you have created magic. He is one of those actors that when he is in thoe moments you cannot take your eyes off him and you don't want to.

Davros and The Doctor’s dynamic is the best it’s ever been. Michelle Gomez got to do so much more and some of her best material as a villainy protagonist here.

As a Dalek story it’s kinda bland but not bad but yh as a story to deepen the relationship between davros and the doctor it’s quite good the dialogue between the 2 characters is realy heartfelt at moments showing they were once friends and even know they are enemies the doctor still cares that davros is dying

Two of the finest episodes in my opinion. Every narrative beat hits me like it's supposed to, even the nonsensical ones. Clara inside a dalek shakes me deep in my brain and in my bones. Missy's so naughty!

The thing about the Dalek begging for mercy in The Big Bang is that *the Doctor* didn't hear that line, so of course he still wouldn't know that the Daleks knew the word.

I personally quite enjoy this story it brought back davros and also the 12th doctor and davros dynamic is amazing

For all we know, Davros might be a name like John, in human society. That lad could have been literally _anyone_ !

I love this story, it has an amazing dynamic story between Davros and The Doctor. I think the issue is that people call it a Dalek Story. It isn't one, it is a Davarous story.

The Dalek casing saying mercy in front of The Doctor actually does makes sense character wise. Yes, we did hear it in a previous finale, but that was in front of River, the Daleks have never once said mercy outside of those two instances, so it makes sense why the Doctor is shocked about that over us being shocked about it.

I personally loved this two part story for what it did, especially Davros and the doctor's banter, and I also don't feel that the fact we are shown Davros is scheming takes away from it. In fact the way I see it, it rather enhanced it, as this is Davros's last ditched plan, so he is still being genuine and honest when he speaks to the doctor. As... if his plan fails, then he is going to die, so he may as well lay everything out now so that theres something left behind of him for the man he respects most of all to remember. Even the way the doctor knew he was being tricked adds ti this, they've been enemies for so long, that they know eachother just that well. It reads less as them really hating eachother, and more a almost mutual respect and understanding of eachother. So, I have to disagree with your point about the whole, being spoiled to Davros's plan as... well, if anything knowing he was still scheming just shows how he really was dying. (edit) I do agree however, that the idea of the Daleks being the real villain, once again, would have been just as compelling. It fits with their problem of constantly betraying their creator before then bringing him back out of a nescessity. But remember, Davros made the daleks in order to save his people, so of course he'll do anything to ensure they survive.

You know man? The more time goes on the more i begin to realise that you and I have pretty much the exact opposite taste when it comes to 2010 onwards Moffat stories. I'll always listen to what you have to say on them ofc, I just found it funny.

I recently went back and started watching the Classic Who serials, and in the first Dalek serial, one of the companions gets into a Dalek casing as a disguise. He never encounters the same difficulties of being unable to speak properly that Clara did, and when watching I found it strange that Moffat had done that in the episode. Like, had he not watched the first ever Dalek serial? Or did he just not remember? I dunno, it was just weird to think about.

I love that Missy's ultimate ambition in this story is that she thinks of herself as the Doctor's greatest adversary and wants to prove herself superior to all the Doctor's other enemies. Ultimately amounting to her poking Davros in the eye in the most hilariously petty way possible.

There are people who didn't like this episode??? Who?? Also, glad to see the series reviews back, I was really looking forward to series 9 and 10 reviews as they're some of my favourites in New Who

I will not stand for any magicians apprentice/witches familiar slander, Harbo, I declare war on you because i cant handle opinions! GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! AND IM NOT EVEN GONNA WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO HEHEHEHE!!!! SO IM GOING OFF THE TITLE AND ASSUMING THE WORST! VILLAIN! MURDERER!!!!!

My ADHD brain loves this episode because there's so much to focus on

Man, Maybe davros wasnt the hero we all thought he was

If Kaled names are common, like human names, the young boy named Davros could have just been a random kid, making the Doctor's abandonment of him quite amusing.

It's just a fun 2 parter with some great characterisation for all the main players. I think sometimes we can over analyse stuff and in doing that we can ruin the act of simply enjoying it for what it is. Just my opinion...

When I first watched these two, the very obvious hints that Davros will betray the Doctor and that shot of Colony pretending to be a cable actually made me not expect the betrayal. With so many hints I thought, surely the twist is that there isn't one and Davros was completely sincere, especially at the point where he opened his eyes, I really thought they would go that way but, alas, no.

Thought this would be about the roawn Atkinson comic relief special. That's a poopy dalek story

Time for my favorite season, yay!! Super excited to see your thoughts :) I really like this episode, all because of the great character interactions. Personally, the relationships and character interactions are what really makes or breaks a good episode for me. I think that's why I enjoy episodes like this, while certain other eras (*cough* Chibnall *cough*) ring hollow for me

Witch’s Familiar is the episode that made me stop watching Doctor Who until my most recent catch up when I pushed through it. And when I revisited it…yeah. Yeah, I can see why it made me stop.

The Sonic Shades should have been a Sonic Guitar instead. A Sonic Guitar would have been far more interesting and visual.

I know this story isn't very good but there's something eminently rewatchable about it. So many good individual scenes like the opening and Capaldi's arrival in the tank and the heart to heart with Davros. Highly entertaining 90 minutes.

Yeah, this is fair and balanced. I loved and hated pretty much the same things you did. I would say that stealing Time Lord energy is not the same as stealing Gallifreyan genes. Stealing Artron power is the same as stealing any other technology, which the pepper pots have no problem doing, so I don't think the Dalek purity BS they believe would be an issue. Even if it raised an eyestalk, it can be justified by it just being a tech steal, not a gene steal.

When I was a child in 1966, my family visited Italy and England for a summer. Whilst we were in England, the second Peter Cushing 'Doctor Who' feature film _Dalek Invasion Earth 2150 AD_ was released. Thankfully both my parents loved science fiction, and as we weren't sure whether it would be released in America theaters, we went and see it in a cinema there (I'm not entirely sure whether we saw it in Birmingham, or Bournemouth). Understandably, up till then we were used to alien monsters being men in rubber suits, so it all but blew our minds to see these metallic pepper pots with the most awesome voices. A few years later I did find out it was a TV program in England, based on some photos in Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. In the late 1970s, WOR-TV out of New York began showing the Tom Baker serials, starting with _Robot._ We weren't exactly given a proper explanation as to Time Lord regeneration, but background articles began to pop up so we began to understand the mythos. But the Daleks still intrigued me. I loved (and prefer) the TV series TARDIS, and was thrilled when _Genesis of the Daleks_ first aired on American television. So while I didn't mind RTD having Daleks be able to "climb" stairs, established in the terrible _Resurrection of the Daleks,_ I was _not_ thrilled they suddenly were simply able to fly (and be bullet proof). I was aware of Dalek flight via hover platforms established in the 1966 Dalek Annual, a copy of which we got while in England, what with Dalekmania being at its height at the time. Moffat implying Daleks have "always" been "immortal" irks me no end (even more than the stupid looking "Paradigm Daleks").

In hindsight, this story felt like Doctor Who was trying to relaunch the 12th Doctor into this pseudo 11th mockup. With a couple of tweeks, it could've made a decent season finale.

i love these episodes entirely because of 12 and davro's conversation, also if davros would have died that wouldn't prevent them from bringing him back in the future whenever they wanted to seeing as the Doctor is a time traveler? we could just meet davros from another point in time lol

The first part is really great. Its the With’s Familiar back half where things go wrong.

I kinda miss Davros. Hes only ever appeared in new who era twice

Definitely not the best dalek story or episode of series 9 for that matter but to call it "poopy" is a horrible description, far from the truth lol. But that's just my opinion.

This is such an interesting season, imo, really looking forward to these reviews. On the whole, I quite like this opener. I like that it's messy and chaotic and unpredictable. Sometimes when episodes hang together too well you know where they're going and just want them to get on with it, but this one kept me guessing.

Davros comes back and most people like and dislike this story

idk the "mercy" thing really only seems to be an explanation for why/how daleks could even know to say/understand the word mercy

Davros has died so many times. Killing him again is more predictable than what we got.

I also like that the handmines are evocative of Daleks outside their casings in appearance

With regard to The Daleks being able to say "mercy," even though this was established during Matt Smith's first season finale, The Doctor wasn't there to witness it. It was just River and The Dalek, so this story is literally the first time The Doctor hears a "Dalek" beg for mercy.

Sorry, but any episode with Missy is an automatic A+ by default.

When I watched this episode I completely missed cable sarf so I thought Davros was being sincere

I don’t mind the Dalek stuff in this episode. Particularly with the machinery stuff. They’re still mutants genetically altered to hatred but the casing adds further fuel in case they develop a conscience.

It's not a dalek story.

My problem that totally ruined this 2-parter is the scene with Clara in the Dalek saying 'mercy, mercy' to prove she isn't a Dalek to the Doctor. What an interesting concept! But, the Daleks _can_ say 'mercy'. In fact, the very first Dalek in New Who all the way back with Doc #9 begged the Doctor for 'mercy'. And this is not a one-off. The Daleks say 'mercy' often before #12 roles around. Granted, one of these times is with River Song at the opening of the Pandorica with #11 absent. That scene pulled me out of the show entirely and it added yet again to me already misliking seasons 8 and 9 which is disappointing since Peter Capaldi's Doctor is really good. It's the stories and side characters that are less great unfortunately. Oh and the scene where the Doctor decides to leave child Davros for what he will do in the future also pulls me away as there was an 11 Christmas special where 11 visited Dumbledore actor's character each Christmas in hopes of changing future Dumbledore. Why can't 12 do the same thing with Davros?

The reason I don't like Magician's Apprentice/Witch's Familar is honestly very simple and petty. I don't reallyl ike Doctor Who stories where the Doctor is revealed to have been in control the entire time. Yeah, the Doctor's an absolute genius and he can probably beat anyone in a battle of wits, but stories where the reveal is basically just "oh, the doctor was on top of everything the whole time and no one was ever in any danger." make me roll my eyes. And that's what hurts about Moffat. I don't think I've ever seen a writer who's obvious talents are used in the name of concepts I like less than with Moffat. It sucks because stuff like "Where did I get the cup of tea? I'm the doctor deal with it." sticks out in my head more than the really good Davros/Doctor stuff because it needles me so bad. It's like it was deliberately written to annoy me.

Is it a great Dalek story? No. But it's a great Doctor story, and Missy is always wonderful.

The best scene from this story has got to be when Davros and the Doctor get to have a good laugh together before Davros looks close to dying. Much like Spider-Man and Doctor Octavious (if you read Superior Spider-Man comics) or Sonic and Eggman, both the Doctor and Davros have come a long way since their initial encounter and even though they were on opposite sides they still had their moments together, like two sides of the same coin.

This is a brilliant story

The story responsible for RTD's "wheelchair" assertion?!? First thing that came to mind and I'm not the only one. Also it was always my view that Skaro was full of White Supremacists so this representation of Skaro doesn't hold up either. And baby Davros looks like the singer from Keane if you ask me...

I'd been a fan since the weekend PBS showings back in the 70's and 80's when there were only 4 channels. I was occasionally riducled for watching it because of the horrid special effects. Funny that, of course then it was all 4th doctor but still serialized, looking forward to each week. They eventually started showing the Pertwee Era and although 4 was amazing Pertwee was my guy. When Capaldi appeared and I saw the red lining in his coat, the eyebrows, well this was the doctor to me....

To me, having the Daleks in THAT early felt wrong. Back then, Daleks were a real threat and usually saved for finales. This 2 parter felt small and condense in one area. Don't get me wrong, it's classic Who-fashion, but it felt like it was too isolated

I remember watching this during my "doctor who is only good when it's scary" era (I was 10 years old). But it hindsight I just see it as 'eh fine enough'

Lots of Stevie boy wonder fans in the comment section. Oh boy. Many hearing what they want to hear. But that's bar the course for Modern Doctor Who fans and to extent in general.

What annoyed me about this story is how hodgepodge the daleks are, it's like a random amount of daleks from any time period were slapped on Skaro to roam about like on the dalek mod on Minecraft 😂 no visible command structure or government which is so sad because to see the dalek city return I'd have loved to see some expanded media city daleks etc but moffat loves just showing off old daleks and not settling down on a period to work with