Daleks in Manhattan

186a - Daleks in Manhattan
Cast
Doctor David Tennant (Tenth Doctor)
Production
Directed by	James Strong
Written by	Helen Raynor
Script editor	Lindsey Alford
Produced by	Phil Collinson
Executive producer(s)	Russell T. Davies Julie Gardner
Production code	3.4
Running time	45 minutes
First broadcast	21 April 2007 6:35 PM
Chronology
← Preceded by Gridlock Followed by → Evolution of the Daleks

Daleks in Manhattan is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 21 April 2007, and is the fourth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is part one of a two-part story, concluded in Evolution of the Daleks.

The story is set in New York City in 1930 during the Great Depression.

Synopsis

In New York 1930 in the midst of the Depression, people are disappearing: the homeless, the poor, the starving and huddled masses. Savage pig creatures hide in the sewers, and at the bottom of the Empire State Building, some of the Doctor's greatest and oldest enemies, the Cult of Skaro, are at work, preparing their most horrific plan yet: the making of a Dalek/Human hybrid.

Plot

File:Daleks in Manhattan.jpg

"It's the Depression, sweetie. Your heart might break, but the show goes on."

Template:Spoiler A young man, Laszlo, gives Tallulah, a showgirl, a rosebud before her nightly performance. As she leaves to take the stage, he investigates a sound, and is attacked by a creature that is half man, half pig.

The Doctor and Martha arrive at the Statue of Liberty. Seeing the uncompleted Empire State Building, the Doctor estimates the date, but Martha finds a newspaper dated November 1^st 1930. The Doctor notes the headline 'Hooverville Mystery Deepens' and reads about people going missing. He then takes Martha to Central Park where a Hooverville is located. Solomon, leader of the Hooverville, tells them that people disappear at night, leaving behind their few possessions. He asks the Doctor why people would rather build the tallest building in the world than help the starving people of Hooverville.

Mr Diagoras arrives at the Hooverville to recruit workers to clear an obstruction in the sewers, offering a dollar a day. Intrigued by an admission that people sometimes fail to return, the Doctor accepts the job. Martha goes with him, along with Solomon and a young man named Frank. Mr Diagoras sends them half a mile in, but they find no obstruction, just a green lump of alien flesh. The Doctor examines and pockets it. Next they come across a lone Pig Slave. As the Doctor talks to it, more Pig Slaves arrive, and chase the Doctor and friends through the sewers.

Having already turned a foreman over to the Daleks for refusing to cooperate, Mr Diagoras orders the crew working on the Empire State Building to attach strange strips of metal (taken from a Dalek's 'skirt') to the base of the mast, and to complete the task that night. The workers complain about the unsafe conditions, but comply after Diagoras threatens to replace them. Dalek Thay discusses the construction with Mr Diagoras, and mentions that his planet was destroyed in a war, while humans survive across time, building and rebuilding New York City. Mr Diagoras tells the Dalek that he fought in a war, and that he promised himself he would survive at any cost. Noting that Diagoras is most like them in mentality, Dalek Sec orders him to the basement, where he is seized for use in their 'Final Experiment'.

The Doctor, Martha and Solomon escape the sewers through a manhole, but Frank is captured. The others emerge in the theatre, where Tallulah points a gun at them. She demands to know what they did with Laszlo, who disappeared two weeks earlier.

Dalek Secs states that to survive, the Daleks must evolve. Dalek Thay questions the results of the experiment, arguing that merging with humans (an inferior race) is directly against the Dalek philosophy. Dalek Secs states that after everything that has happened, there remain millions of Humans but only four Daleks. Dalek Secs intends to sacrifice himself for the survival of the Dalek race, just as Dalek Thay sacrificed the metal from his casing. Dalek Secs opens up his casing and uses his long tentacles to grab Mr Diagoras. He pulls him towards him and envelops him in his own body before dragging him into his casing to begin the 'evolution'.

The Doctor gets Tallulah to discard the gun (which was only a prop), and Tallulah tells them about Laszlo's disappearance. The Doctor and Solomon search for equipment the Doctor can use to examine the alien flesh, while Martha and Tallulah compare notes about Laszlo and the Doctor. Solomon confesses that he left Frank behind because he was scared. Solomon then returns to the Hooverville, telling everybody about what happened to Frank, and that they must now fight.

Back in the Dalek lab, smoke billows from Dalek Sec's casing while he shakes violently. His comrades urge him to cancel the experiment, but he refuses and asks for an injection. One of the Daleks plunges a syringe into his casing.

Martha is watching Tallulah's dance number when she notices a Pig Slave watching from the other side of the stage. She tries sneaking behind the dancers to reach him, but he runs away. Noticing that he is more human than pig, she follows him into the prop store, where he disappears down the manhole.

The Doctor studies the alien flesh, and learns its planet of origin: Skaro. He rushes to find Martha, and hears her scream as she is seized by Pig Slaves. He goes down the manhole after her. Tallulah follows him, despite the Doctor's warning. Moments later, he grabs her and hides as a Dalek glides by. The two then find the Pig Slave that Martha saw: Laszlo, who managed to escape the Dalek lab before his alteration into a Pig Slave was completed.

Martha is thrust in with a parade of captives, including Frank. They are met first by Dalek Caan, and then Dalek Thay who reports that "the Dalekanium is in place." The Daleks use their plunger arms to scan their captives' brains as the Doctor hides nearby and watches. Laszlo explains that the "low intelligence" captives become Pig Slaves, while the "high intelligence" ones are designated for 'the final experiment'. Laszlo urges Tallulah to go back without him. The Doctor joins Martha in the high intelligence group as they proceed towards 'the final experiment'. Tallulah runs through the sewers, but gets lost.

The captive party reaches the Dalek lab under the Empire State Building, where Dalek Jast attends to Dalek Sec. The Doctor tells Martha to ask what they are doing; he does not want the Daleks to notice him. Martha steps forward and demands to know what is happening. The Daleks tell her she will bear witness to the rebirth of the Dalek race. Dalek Sec's casing opens, and a humanoid creature emerges, with a Dalek mutant-like head and a green flesh-covered body, wearing Mr. Diagoras' suit. It flexes its new limbs as the other three Daleks recoil from it. "I am a Human Dalek," it tells them all, "I am your future..."

Cast

• The Doctor — David Tennant
• Martha Jones — Freema Agyeman
• Tallulah — Miranda Raison
• Laszlo — Ryan Carnes
• Solomon — Hugh Quarshie
• Frank — Andrew Garfield
• Mr Diagoras — Eric Loren
• Myrna — Flik Swan
• Lois — Alexis Caley
• Man #1 — Earl Perkins
• Man #2 — Peter Brooke
• Foreman — Ian Porter
• Worker #1 — Joe Montana
• Worker #2 — Stewart Alexander
• Dock Worker — Mel Taylor
• Dalek Operators — Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas Pegg, Anthony Spargo, David Hankinson
• Dalek Voices — Nicholas Briggs
• Hero Pig — Paul Kasey

Continuity

• Although various Dalek Emperors and Dalek Supremes have featured over the years, and the Dalek creator Davros appeared frequently throughout the classic series, Dalek Secs is the first individual Dalek leader to become a recurring character. The other members of the Cult of Skaro also return and with Dalek Secs are the only recurring Daleks so far.
• When he first realises that the Daleks are present, the Doctor says "they always survive, while I lose everything". The Daleks have survived multiple apparent extinctions, in The Evil of the Daleks, Remembrance of the Daleks, the Time War, Dalek, The Parting of the Ways and Doomsday. Losses suffered by the Doctor due to the Daleks are many, and include the departures of First Doctor's companions Susan Foreman (The Dalek Invasion of Earth), Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright (The Chase), as well as the deaths of Katarina and Sara Kingdom (The Dalek Masterplan). The Doctor's companion, Tegan Jovanka also decided to leave the TARDIS crew after the violent events inspired by the Daleks in Resurrection of the Daleks (1984). The Doctor even lamented on the loss of Tegan at the end of the story by first blaming himself and then, at the beginning of the following story Planet of Fire (1984), by blaming the Daleks. The Doctor also lost his friend, scientist Arthur Stengos, in Revelation of the Daleks (1985). The Time Lord race is believed to have perished in the Time War with the Daleks. In The Parting of the Ways the Doctor's companion Jack Harkness is killed by the Daleks, only to be brought back to life and rendered immortal by Rose Tyler and left abandonned. In the episode Doomsday, when humanity is caught in the crossfire as the Cybermen and the Daleks wage war against each, Rose, her mother Jackie and boyfriend Mickey Smith are forced to flee to a parallel Earth.
• The Pig Slaves resemble the pig-creature created by the Slitheen in Aliens of London, although there does not appear to be a connection.
• The Torchwood Institute website states that 1930s New York suffered an infestation similar to the Weevil infestation of Cardiff in the late 2000s, and that it was covered up by rumours of sewer crocodiles. This may refer to the pig-men sewer infestation.
• The Big Finish audio play Invaders from Mars features an alien invasion of 1930s New York, under cover of Orson Welles's The War of the Worlds broadcast; however, the aliens were not Daleks.
• This episode includes the first location filming outside of the United Kingdom since Doctor Who's return in 2005. Several classic Doctor Who stories included location filming outside of the UK: City of Death (1979) included filming in Paris, Arc of Infinity (1983) included filming in Amsterdam, Planet of Fire (1984) included filming in Lanzarote, and The Two Doctors (1985) included filming in and near Seville. Also, the entirety of the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie was filmed in Vancouver, apart from some stock footage of San Francisco and world capitals.
• Several other Doctor Who stories have featured Daleks and human beings being combined in different ways. These include:
  • The Evil of the Daleks: humans are infused with the "Dalek Factor", and Daleks infused with the "Human Factor"
  • Revelation of the Daleks: human beings kept in suspended animation pending the discovery of disease cures are instead converted into Daleks
  • Dalek: a Dalek extracts human DNA to regenerate itself, and is altered in the process
  • The Parting of the Ways: the Daleks in this story are all created from human cells by the Dalek Emperor
  • The Doctor Who Quick Reads book I am a Dalek: The Dalek Factor is added to humans in the Roman era
  • Humans are converted into Daleks in the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audio dramas The Time of the Daleks and Terror Firma.
• In the Radio Times, Russell T Davies revealed that this episode will feature "1930s New York, Pig Men, sewers, showgirls and the Empire State Building". He also tells viewers to "be prepared to see the Daleks as you've never seen them before."
• The Doctor and the Daleks previously visited New York, if only fleetingly, when they made a stop on the Empire State Building during The Chase. In this episode's following episode of Doctor Who Confidential, Russell T. Davies mentioned that he likes to think that the Empire State Building was stored in the Dalek memory banks during this visit, and that Dalek Secs intentionally shifted there at the end of Doomsday.
• Martha references New New York which she visited in Gridlock.
• Tallulah asks Martha if she's ever been on stage, to which Martha replies "Shakespeare", referencing the events of The Shakespeare Code.
• Dalek Caan states that "my planet was destroyed in a great war". Skaro was in fact destroyed when the Seventh Doctor used the Hand of Omega to cause Skaro's sun to go supernova. (Remembrance of the Daleks). According to the Eighth Doctor novel War of the Daleks, which was published before the 2005 revival and thus the Time War story, Skaro was never destroyed (the Doctor blew up the wrong planet, which was part of a grand Dalek plan). The canonical status of the novels is uncertain, but Russell T. Davies has previously intimated that various Dalek stories take place as parts of the Time War, such as Genesis of the Daleks which he refers to as "the first strike".
• The Daleks refer to their armour as Dalekenium. This is using Dortmun's term, rather than that from Day of the Daleks, where it is an unstable element used against the Daleks. The Doctor referred to it as polycarbide in Doomsday. It is likely that Dalekenium is simply the Dalek word for polycarbide. Or, Dalekenium is the metal of the shell while polycarbide maybe the skin of the mutants.
• As with other non-contemporary stories there is no reference to Mr. Saxon in this episode.
• Although not stated in this episode, writer Helen Raynor said in the Confidential accompliment that this is Martha's last trip before the Doctor takes her home, implying that this episode is a direct continuation from Gridlock.

Production

• Helen Raynor is the first woman ever to write a televised Dalek story, and the first woman to write a story for the revived series.
• Some filming for this story was done in New York for plates of the city, including images of Central Park, the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty. However, on the online episode commentary for Gridlock, David Tennant, when asked if he filmed in New York, replied, "I didn't, everybody else did!" The Confidential episode shows that The Mill also used the shoot for elements of the Majestic Theater.
• The dance scene was rehearsed in London but shot in the Park & Dare theatre, in Treorchy, South Wales.
• All the scenes in Hooverville were shot in four days due to the seasonal change.
• The episode aired at 6:35 PM instead of the usual 7:00 PM.
• The presence of the Daleks in this story was reported by the News of the World on November 12, and confirmed by the BBC in late December. An interview with David Tennant in TV Times indicates there will also be 'Art Deco Daleks'.

• The cover for the Radio Times for the week from 21-27 April shows a picture of the Dalek/Human hybrid played by Eric Loren. It features a how-they-made-it and a small section on a half-man half-pig played by Ryan Carnes. The decision to show the hybrid on the cover caused some controversy, with some fans considering it a major spoiler.

• This episode along with Evolution of the Daleks and The Lazarus Experiment will be released as a 'vanilla' DVD (i.e. with no special features).

• In the scene where the Doctor and Martha arrive in New York, the incidental music is Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin.

Outside references

• Tallulah is based on Jodie Foster's character, also named Tallulah, in Bugsy Malone.
• The Island of Doctor Moreau, Frankenstein and The Phantom of the Opera were amongst the horror novels and films that served as inspiration for this story.
• Characters refer to having fought in the Great War.
• The Hooverville in Central Park was real, but was never more than a handful of shacks.
• The Empire State Building's superstructure up to the 85th floor was completed by October 1930, with masonry cladding finished in November, but the mast was not fully erected until March 1931.
• The Statue of Liberty is shown with the gold-plated torch that was added during a 1980s renovation.
• Critical reception has likened the story-revealing title of the episode to the cult film Snakes on a Plane.