Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Campaign for Real Daleks (SPOILERS)

The Campaign for Real Daleks needs YOU!

If you have seen Doctor Who 5.3 you will know that they have rebooted Daleks in a new and somehow infinitely less frightening form. My guess is that this has been done purely for marketing purposes, so that they can sell lots of My Little Dalek models.

You are urged to take the following steps ONCE YOU HAVE SEEN THE EPISODE and experienced the full horror:

• Write or email the BBC complaining about the new Daleks Lite and requesting that they return to Classic Daleks.
• Add "Campaign for Real Daleks" to your Livejournal etc. interests
• Boycott merchandise based on the New Daleks and refuse to buy them for your kids etc. This is the one that may actually make the BBC pay attention.

And PLEASE pass this on as widely as you can.

I don't have much in the way of feelings either way for the new Daleks. Although I did wonder why they needed to be multi-coloured.

LabRat

I'm not a Whovian (is that the right term) but I have heard of Daleks. Marcus, do you think you could post a link to the old Daleks and the new Daleks? I'd like to see the difference.

I'm sure that Marcus will have better Who links for good comparison pictures than I have, but in the meantime, if you're really keen , here's a clip on You Tube from the episode, where the new daleks emerge. You can see that they are bulkier around the middle, more angular and less - streamlined, I guess.

The new master race

What this clip doesn't show is that they are also substantially larger than the 'classic' dalek.

While looking for this, I read an interesting snippet which claims that they were made larger so that the eyestalk in future encounters will be on a level with Karen Gillan's eyes. The classics were too short for her, apparently. Don't know whether that's true or not and, of course, it wouldn't explain the other changes.

LabRat

Actually that's probably the best I've seen so far - thanks for finding it. I think they look hunchbacked, and lack the menace of the earlier models.

I've watched this clip several times now and although I can't make up my mind as to whether I dislike the new version or not, I have made one observation.

I think that part of the problem is the new design around the middle. One the old dalek, those rectangular plates give the impression of armour plating. On the new dalek, the thick, angular design - to me at least - gives the impression of a dodgem car safety bumper.

You're right, Marcus - doesn't give quite the same menacing air really. Although, admittedly, the dodgem car bumper doesn't come with ray gun attachment.

LabRat

Alas, I clicked on the link, and it said it contained images from BBC, who were blocking it on copyright grounds.

You have to get in quick these days - before they spot someone's posted a clip.

ETA: Try this one - it's actually a much better clip as it includes more shots of the classic Daleks and also the shot where one of the new guys shoots one of the old, so you get a side by side comparison of the two:

New Daleks

Best be quick though! I'm sure this one will be pulled soon as Auntie's gnomes catch up to it.

LabRat

I'm not a die-hard Dr Who fan, but I have been watching. I still can't make up my mind whether I like the current incarnation, but I haven't given up yet -- mostly because, on Saturday night, there isn't much by way of competition!

I hate the new logo, which, for some reason, made me think of cardboard and edible cake decorations. I think it looks cheap. I'm not impressed by the start of the new theme tune, either. Both changes struck me as being very unnecessary when I saw the first episode, and neither have grown on me since.

For the the new Daleks I save the biggest 'Ugh!' of all, however. In design terms, they made me think of cutting-edge-1970s-style. (Are we supposed to think 'retro' here?) They also remind me very strongly of a (coincidentally 1970s) paraffin heater than my dad used to use to heat the greenhouse. They certainly don't strike me as menacing.

Maybe old style Daleks were shorter, but I actually think that somehow made them look more frightening, not less. They are alien; giving them proportions that aren't in keeping with human height reinforces that impression.

When I saw the bigger Daleks, I thought, mixed in with all my other less than positive thoughts, that at least the person inside wouldn't have to be so scrunched over and uncomfortable. And that thought jarred me out of the storyline -- not what was intended, I'm sure.

Why would Daleks care about colour, anyway. I can't see them being particularly worried about aesthetics. (Incidentally, am I alone in thinking that the interior of their spaceship was surprisingly bright and cheerful?)

Marcus, as I said, I'm not a die-hard fan, but I think I just might email the Beeb and share my thoughts with them. (I'd already considered doing so, before I saw your post.) Very much to my surprise, I find myself actually caring about this!

Krissie

I think the new daleks come off worst in that shot where the red one shoots the old dalek and you see them in the same frame. It looks dumpy and mis-shapen.

Also, the gold ones looked like they were made of metal - the new ones look terribly plastic.

LabRat