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

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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 TARDIS materializes beneath the Statue of Liberty. The Doctor and Martha walk out and take in the view of Manhattan. The Doctor notes that the Empire State Building is still a work in progress. They find a newspaper and identify the date as 1st1 November 1930. The front cover also describes people going missing in the local Hooverville, leading the Doctor to investigate. Arriving in Central Park's Hooverville, the Doctor and Martha come across two people fighting over a loaf of bread. The fight is broken up by Solomon, the leader of the village. As if the symbolism wasn't obvious enough, [[Judgment of Solomon|he breaks the loaf in half and divides it among the two people]]. The Doctor and Martha introduce themselves to Solomon, who describes the plight of the people there in Hooverville.
 
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.
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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.
 
'''"YOU-THINK-LIKE-A-DA-LEK!"''' is the Dalek's response, whom we learn in the next scene is Dalek Caan of the Cult of Skaro. The scene cuts down to a laboratory in the basement, attended by Pig Slaves working for the Cult of Skaro, who have arrived in 1930s New York after [[Doctor Who/Recap/NS/S2S28/E13 Doomsday|their Emergency Temporal Shift during the Battle of Canary Wharf]]. Dalek Sec orders Dalek Caan upstairs to bring Diagoras down to the basement. There, Diagoras attempts to thank Dalek Sec, but Sec orders him to cease talking and has the pig slaves take him away as he protests that he's on their side.
 
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.
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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.
 
=== Tropes ===
 
* [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer]]
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