IR TV Review: DOCTOR WHO - REVOLUTION OF THE DALEKS [BBC America-S12]

Always releasing nostalgia and a blast from the blast texture, the New Year premiere of "Doctor Who" with the episode "Revolution Of The Daleks" speaks to a reflection of life but also an existential journey within its progression of death rays and phasing out phone booths. The return of the Daleks, those murderous intergalactic machines, definitely adds a bit of mayhem. The Doctor herself has been, like some of the characters in "Baron Munchausen", on a bit of a break. The initial moments of the episode are interesting, especially with the return of Captain Jack (played by John Barrowman) who definitely injects a lightness and fun into whatever scene he is in, regardless of the darkness of the scene. The issue sometimes with the Doctor's helpers in many episodes is that they take things so seriously that the only levity can come from the Doctor, who herself is not really connected to reality anyways. The baddie in the episode besides the machines is an interesting play on TV genre and , given the allusion to certain current figures, makes a lot of sense. Ultimately "Revolution Of The Daleks" is a fun ride which progresses more or less (sans some details) as one would expect while setting the stage for the next possibility. B

By Tim Wassberg