Doctor Who: 6 Biggest Dalek Triumphs Of The New Series

By the time the Series 5 finale rolled around, the Daleks had begun to feel completely unthreatening again as a villain. Whether this was a result of overfamiliarity (given they'd been used in all finales bar one) or a couple of appearances where they'd been undermined or underwhelming is up for debate. However, the appearance of the Stone Dalek (a fan name since it's not actually called that in-episode) changed that onto a different path.

The Stone Dalek was a Supreme Dalek from the New Paradigm, fossilised by time going haywire as a result of the universe exploding and kept in a museum. However, as the Doctor and friends tried to put everything right, it woke up, gradually following them as a lurking threat. Not even at full power, it managed to show the menace of an individual Dalek by landing a direct hit on the Doctor himself. It wasn't enough to kill the Time Lord, but still showed the Dalek as an effective enemy.

Admittedly, it could be argued that it's death - begging River Song to spare it - undermined it, as a human took it out with one hit. However, the moment wasn't a bad one either, adding to River's mystique. All in all, the Stone Dalek managed to be another occasion that the New Series used the Daleks well.