10 Modern Doctor Who Stories That Waste Great Ideas
The Doctor has had good and bad episodes, but there are many that were so close to being fantastic.
Doctor Who first appeared on our TV's back in 1963, and since then we've watched The Doctor go on more adventures that probably any other fictional character. Many Doctor Who episodes are fantastically written and explore some really cool Sci-Fi themes. The modern series has continued this streak, swapping the serials for a monster of the week format. Some episodes such as 'Blink,' are able to tell a great story that's actually quite disconnected from The Doctor themselves and is able to stand on its own two feet.
However for every great idea that is executed flawlessly, there is a brilliant idea that just doesn't get the love it deserves. The reasons for this can vary drastically, from production issues due to a tight turnaround to the writing just not carrying the plot well enough. It's a shame, because there are some fantastic ideas at play in some of these episodes, but the momentum is lost as soon as we get into it.
It can be extremely frustrating as you're drawn into the opening scene of the episode only for the idea to be wasted. Here are ten episodes that have amazing ideas behind them, but didn't quite hit the mark.
10. Evolution of the Daleks
Evolution of the Daleks is often cited as being Russel T. Davies' worst Dalek story, and it's easy to see why. For a start, the other Dalek stories he wrote were much better, but Evolution of the Daleks just doesn't quite nail the landing on what it's going for, which is a shame, because it proposes some really interesting questions.
Dalek Sec coming to the realisation that the current Dalek way of life just isn't working was really great to watch. And he makes a good point, for the supposedly most superior race in the universe, they don't seem to win a lot. This itself creates factions within the Dalek group, something the audience haven't seen since the classic series. Sadly, the actual evolution Dalek Sec goes under isn't quite what fans expected.
The Human-Dalek Hybrid is a controversial addition, with people loving and hating it. Past this, the actual setting feels wasted too. Stories set in New York aren't all that common, but Evolution feels like it was set in New York just for the hell of it. The resolution with The Doctor's DNA going into the Dalek-Human hybrids also just seems a bit convenint.