20 Essential Doctor Who Stories For The "New to Who" - Part I: The Davies Era ('05 - '10)

2. Dalek (Series 1, Episode 6 - 2005)

Every hero needs an arch-villain, The Doctor just happens to have two. One of which is the titular creature in this episode, who€™s fallen to Earth after the previously mentioned Time War. The Ninth Doctor was as hard nailed and bitter as he was because this Time War wiped out his race, as well as the Dalek race. Faced with the unthinkable, The Doctor had to kill his own kind in order to prevent his enemy€™s victory. Though as we€™ll learn later, this isn€™t as clear cut of a story as we think. The beauty of this episode is that we€™re introduced to an Old School villain, but a new (and mostly more sympathetic) spin is put on this genocidal race. Even better, we see some of the darker points to the Doctor€™s psyche, as the man who abhors guns and killing has no problem letting this creature die. The Doctor is like any other hero in the respect that he can hold grudges. He can want his arch-nemesis to die and suffer while doing so, but he doesn€™t have to be proud about it. Ultimately, it€™s his companion Rose who helps hold him back from being a completely murderous maniac; a trait we€™ll soon come to see as priority one for any future companions.
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Mike Reyes may or may not be a Time Lord, but he's definitely the Doctor Who editor here at What Culture. In addition to his work at What Culture, Mr. Reyes writes for Cocktails and Movies, as well as his own personal blogs Mr. Controversy and The Bookish Kind. On top of that, he's also got a couple Short Stories and Novels in various states of completion, like any good writer worth their salt. He resides in New Jersey, and compiles his work from all publications on his Facebook page.