Doctor Who: Every Tenth Doctor Episode Ranked From Worst To Best

29. Daleks In Manhattan/Evolution Of The Daleks

Doctor Who The End of Time
BBC Studios

The idea of the Daleks invading America seems like a terrific concept, but this two-parter manages to feel extraordinarily flat.

Maybe the Daleks are too intrinsically British to appear in 1930s New York. See the Human-Dalek hybrid, which spoke with a toe-curling American accent which just felt plain wrong. The story also feels stretched across 90 minutes, and the Daleks themselves were not utilised in a very interesting way.

Negatives aside, one element that saves Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks is the appearance of future Oscar-nominee Andrew Garfield, who gives an immensely likeable performance as Frank. Plus, David Tennant and Freema Agyeman are on top form, as ever.

Steven Moffat was originally supposed to pen this two-parter, and you can't help but feel like they'd have been much better if he had. It's a good job he didn't though, or else we'd never have got Blink!

Contributor

An avid cinephile, love Trainspotting (the film, not the hobby), like watching bad films ironically (The Room, Cats) and hate my over-reliance on brackets (they’re handy for a quick aside though).