Doctor Who: 10 Best NuWho Episodes
6. Dalek
The first story in the revival era to reintroduce the iconic Daleks to a new, modern audience, this episode sees Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor and Billie Piper’s Rose travel to an underground museum in Utah, 2012 and come face to face with the monster.
Even after years of Dalek-centred stories preceding this Robert Shearman-helmed screenplay, Dalek still manages to hold up as one of the best for its thought-provoking introspection on The Doctor’s most hated rival.
After years of parodies mocking the classic Who monster, this episode finally made the Daleks scary again! With a sleek upgrade and exceptional voicework from Nicholas Briggs, the lone Dalek makes a sound impression when it breaks free of its prison and goes on a killer rampage throughout the base.
What elevates this story above others is how it manages to do the impossible: it makes us both fear and sympathise with the genetically modified creature inside the hardened outer shell. After absorbing Rose’s DNA, it comes to question its own existence and purpose in life, leading to some dramatic head to head moments with The Doctor.
Eccleston delivers one of his most powerful performances from his series, his fury and loathing for the Dalek juxtaposed by his intense sorrow and guilt over the fallout of the Time War.
A fairly self-contained story with a much smaller scale to Dalek episodes following this, the introspective nature of Dalek and its perfect introduction to the classic monster for new audiences is what makes this episode a special gem in the Russel T Davies era.