Early Adventures 5.1: The Dalek Occupation of Winter

Good heavens. You know, I'm always surprised by how writers always find new ways to innovate with the shrieking terrors and The Dalek Occupation of Winter is no exception. It takes a bunch of ideas we've already seen in one form or another (the assembly lines, Dalek-occupied worlds, et al.) and whittles them down to their logical conclusion. There's no new secret weapon, no devious master plan, it's just an examination of the hard, Orwellian grind of a world occupied by the Daleks. The scenes in "The Blood of the Young" feel like the final culmination of all we've heard about Dalek labour forces. It's brutal, it's ugly, it's dehumanising and they're only in the hatchery for one day.

I particularly liked the uncertainty of the climax. The revolution seems almost a footnote and there's a lot of doubt cast over whether the TARDIS crew's actions really made any difference. It prefigures the Doctor's powerlessness in The Myth Makers and The Massacre rather strongly. Maybe Winter was just one of those worlds where they arrived at the wrong time; the whole serial feels halfway between a future historical and the dystopian atmosphere of somewhere like Oceania. I just can picture the grey overalls and soulless utilitarian walls.

A very strong outing and a rare insight into a Dalek encounter with a far bleaker outlook than first expected (and given their track record that's saying something).