Asylum of the Daleks (TV story): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Story
{{ImageLinkTV}}
|name            ={{StoryTitle}}
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image          = ElevenOswinDalek.jpg
|image          = ElevenOswinDalek.jpg
|series          = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|series          = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|season number  = [[Series 7 (Doctor Who)|7]]
|season number  = Series 7 (Doctor Who 2005)
|story number    = 225
|series episode number = 1
|doctor          = [[Eleventh Doctor]]
|story number    = 226
|scripturl      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writers/documents/doctor-who-7-ep-1-post-production-tx-script-master.pdf
|doctor          = Eleventh Doctor
|companions      = [[Amy Pond|Amy]], [[Rory Williams|Rory]]
|companions      = [[Amy Pond|Amy]], [[Rory Williams|Rory]]
|enemy          = [[Dalek]]s
|featuring      = [[Oswin Oswald|Oswin]]
|setting        = The [[Dalek Asylum]]
|enemy          = [[Asylum Dalek]]s
|writer          = [[Steven Moffat]]
|setting        = [[Dalek Asylum]] and [[Parliament of the Daleks]]
|writer          = Steven Moffat
|director        = [[Nick Hurran]]
|director        = [[Nick Hurran]]
|producer        = [[Marcus Wilson]]
|producer        = [[Marcus Wilson]]
|broadcast date  = [[1 September]] [[2012]]
|broadcast date  = 1 September 2012
|network        = BBC One
|format          = 1x50 minute episode
|format          = 1x50 minute episode
|production code =
|prev            = The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (TV story)
|prev            = Pond Life (webcast)
|next            = Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (TV story)
|next            =
|made prev      = A Town Called Mercy (TV story)
|made prev      =  
|made next      = The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)
|made next      =
|bts            = Doctor Who Asylum of the Daleks - Behind the Scenes - Series 7 2012 Episode 1 - BBC One
}}'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the first episode of the [[series 7 (Doctor Who)|seventh series]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' produced by [[BBC Wales]]. It was the first television story to ''prominently'' feature the [[Dalek]]s since [[2010]]'s ''[[Victory of the Daleks (TV story)|Victory of the Daleks]]'', following their deliberate side-lining.
|bts2            = Doctor Who Asylum of the Daleks + Q&A
|trailer        = Doctor Who 'Asylum of the Daleks' trailer - Series 7 Episode 1 - Autumn 2012 - BBC One
|clip            = Eggs? - In the Asylum - Doctor Who - Asylum of the Daleks - BBC
|clip2          = Run, you clever boy! - Doctor Who - Asylum of the Daleks - BBC
}}
'''''Asylum of the Daleks''''' was the first episode of [[Series 7 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 7]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''.
 
[[Steven Moffat]]'s first script to feature the [[Dalek]]s as the main adversaries, it also served to launch the beginning of the series' major plot strands: the end of Amy and Rory's travels in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] and the beginning of the mystery surrounding [[Clara Oswald]]'s identity. The episode also saw Rory and Amy's love challenged, following on from ''[[Pond Life (webcast)|Pond Life]]'', with the issue being resolved by the end of the story. This story also had [[Asylum of the Daleks Prequel (webcast)|an online prequel]].
 
Importantly, it introduced audiences to Oswald as "[[soufflé]] girl", a moniker that would ultimately gain greater resonance in [[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|the series finale]]. Indeed, from the production team's perspective, the episode marked a major victory in Moffat's war on spoilers, in that the surprise of [[Jenna Coleman|Jenna-Louise Coleman]]'s appearance was preserved for the vast majority of the global audience. Despite several advanced screenings, no major leaks about her presence were known to have occurred in press reports or on social media. It was also an important episode for fans of Dalek design, in that several models of Dalek stretching all the way back to the 1960s were seen in the story — if only briefly.
 
With respect to the [[BBC Wales]] Dalek designs, it seemed to reverse the {{cs|Victory of the Daleks (TV story)}}' implication that the "colour-coded Daleks" would destroy any remaining bronze Daleks introduced in the first [[Russell T Davies]] era as inferior. Instead, the bronze Daleks were clearly shown to be numerically superior to the colour-coded version, and both were shown to be working together in a Moffat-introduced Dalek governmental structure called the "[[Parliament of the Daleks]]". This was in fact, the last televised appearance of the ''Victory of the Daleks'' designs, while the bronze Daleks persisted as recently as [[Chris Chibnall]]'s final story, the BBC [[Centenary Special]] {{cs|The Power of the Doctor (TV story)}}. The episode also re-introduced [[Skaro]] on television for the first time since the [[Doctor Who (TV story)|1996 TV movie]], showing it in a state of heavy ruin.
 
== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
Kidnapped by his oldest enemies, more powerful than ever, The Doctor is forced on a mission - to a place even the Daleks are scared of... the Asylum. A planetary prison confining the most terrifying and insane of their kind - The Doctor and ex-companions Amy and Rory must find a way to escape. But with Amy and Rory's marriage in meltdown, it is up to the Doctor to save his oldest enemies... and his friends' marriage.
Insane [[Dalek]]s are about to escape the [[Dalek Asylum]] where they are kept. The rest of the Daleks call on their greatest enemy, [[the Doctor]], along with his companions [[Amy Pond]] and [[Rory Williams]], to lower the defences so they can destroy the Asylum. Can the Doctor save the day, along with his companions' marriage, as easily as he can fix his [[bow-tie]]?


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
On [[Skaro]], a woman called [[Darla Von Karlsen|Darla]] meets the [[Eleventh Doctor|Doctor]] in a huge Dalek statue. She asks the Doctor to save her daughter from a Dalek prison camp, and she says she escaped before. However, the Doctor realises that this is all a trap: unbeknownst to Darla, she has actually been converted into a [[Dalek puppet|sleeper agent of the Daleks]]. Right as he says this, her programming becomes active, and she stuns the Doctor, and a [[Dalek saucer]] arrives.
On [[Skaro]], a woman called [[Darla von Karlsen|Darla]] tells of a story about a man who fought the Daleks. However, [[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|as the universe now believes him to be dead]]; Darla hopes the rumours are wrong and that this man will come to save them. Inside a huge statue of a Dalek, she is surprised by the [[Eleventh Doctor]], who asks why she has called him. Darla explains that her daughter is in a Dalek [[prison camp]], and she wants him to rescue her. The Doctor questions as to why Darla is not in the camp, to which she says was because she escaped.


On Earth, [[Amy Pond]] is posing for the camera when her secretary tells her that her husband wants to see her. She remarks that she doesn't ''have'' a husband anymore. She walks in to a makeup room, where [[Rory Williams|Rory]] asks her to sign the divorce papers. Once she has done so, he leaves as Amy's make-up artist, [[Cassandra (Asylum of the Daleks)|Cassandra]], enters. Unfortunately, it turns out ''she'' is also a Dalek puppet, and she teleports Amy away. Meanwhile, Rory gets on a [[bus]], but the [[bus driver]] turns out to be yet another puppet, who in turn teleports Rory to the Daleks.
However, the Doctor points out ''no-one'' does, before touching her face. He pulls his hand back in shock, noting she's cold. Darla wonders why that's a problem. The Doctor tells her that this is a trap, and she doesn't even know it. She asks what's a trap, to which the Doctor tells her; she's the trap and doesn't know it. At that moment, Darla convulses and sprouts a Dalek eye-stalk from her forehead; she's a [[Dalek puppet|sleeper agent of the Daleks]]. With a gunstick from her palm, she knocks out the Doctor as a [[Dalek saucer]] arrives to collect the Doctor.


He wakes up in a cell with Amy, and looks through a small window to see they are in space, with an armada of Dalek saucers accompanying them, wondering how much trouble they are in. The Doctor then enters, escorted by a pair of Daleks, saying "Out of 10? ''11''." They are then taken to the [[Parliament of the Daleks]], where the Doctor says it's finally Christmas for the Daleks because they managed to capture their greatest enemy. Much to the Time Lord's surprise, the assembled Daleks don't exterminate him. Wondering for what other reason they could have captured him, the Doctor is met with a surprise; the Daleks want the Doctor to ''save'' them.
[[File:Cassandra Asylum of the Daleks.jpg|thumb|200x200px|A [[Dalek puppet]].]]
On [[2010s]] [[Earth]], [[Amy Pond]] is posing for the [[camera]] when her [[Secretary (Asylum of the Daleks)|secretary]] tells her that her husband wants to see her. She remarks that she doesn't ''have'' a husband any more. She walks into a make-up room where [[Rory Williams|Rory]] asks her to sign the [[divorce]] papers, making a snide comment that Amy's job is just "pouting at a camera". Once she has signed the papers, he leaves as Amy's make-up artist, [[Cassandra (Asylum of the Daleks)|Cassandra]], enters. However, it turns out she is also a Dalek puppet, and she [[teleport]]s Amy away. Meanwhile, Rory gets on a [[bus]], but the [[Bus Driver (Asylum of the Daleks)|bus driver]] turns out to be yet another puppet, who in turn teleports Rory to the Daleks.


The Daleks bring them to a planet they call the Asylum; a place that the Doctor has heard of only in legend: it's a place where the Daleks dispose of those of their kind who go wrong: the insane, the battle-scarred and the uncontrollable. The Daleks kidnapped the Doctor's in-laws because their records show he is always accompanied by companions. The whole planet is automated and surrounded by an impenetrable shield, but the Daleks have detected a signal of unknown origin on the planet: The Doctor traces the signal to a woman called [[Oswin Oswald]], who has been hiding out on the remains of the crashed starliner ''[[Alaska (spaceship)|Alaska]]'' for a year.  
He wakes up in a cell with Amy and looks through a small window to see they are in space, with an armada of Dalek saucers accompanying them. Rory vocally wonders how much trouble they're in; the Doctor is escorted in by Daleks, saying "On a scale of 1 to 10, Mr Pond? 11." They are then taken to the [[Parliament of the Daleks]], where Amy tells Rory everything the Doctor is thinking based on his movements; he's even figured out the two of them are having problems because they are not close to each other. As the Daleks seemed stunned, the Doctor says it's finally [[Christmas]] for them because they managed to capture their greatest enemy. Much to the Doctor's surprise, the assembled Daleks ''don't'' try to exterminate him. Wondering for what other reason they could have captured him, the Doctor is met with a surprise; the Daleks want the Doctor to ''save'' them, to which he replies, "Well, this is new."


The Doctor realises that when the ''Alaska'' crashed, it ruptured the planet's shield, leading to the risk of the inmates escaping. A planet's worth of insane Daleks roaming free is something that scares even the Daleks, who captured the Doctor and his allies to deal with the threat. The shield is still strong enough to resist an assault from orbit, so the Doctor and his companions will be sent down to the planet to deactivate the shield so the planet can be "cleansed". The three are given protective bracelets so they will not be affected by the "Nanocloud" that surrounds the planet, and are unceremoniously sent down.
The Parliament saucer brings them to a planet the Daleks call the [[Dalek Asylum|Asylum]], a place that the Doctor has heard of only in legend. It's a place where the Daleks dispose of those of their kind who go wrong: the insane, the battle-scarred and the uncontrollable. The Doctor learns, to his disgust, that the Daleks didn't destroy their insane brethren because they find destroying their "Divine Hatred" offensive, describing it to be beautiful. The whole planet is automated and surrounded by an impenetrable shield, but the Daleks have detected a signal of unknown origin on the planet. The Daleks never considered tracing it back and trying to communicate with the source. The Doctor traces the signal to a woman called [[Clara Oswald#Oswin Oswald|Oswin Oswald]], who has been hiding out on the remains of the crashed [[starliner]] ''[[Alaska (spacecraft)|Alaska]]'' for a year.


Amy is the first to come to after landing... And sees a [[Harvey (Asylum of the Daleks)|man]] in a white coat approaching her. Panicking, she runs away, with him chasing after her. The Doctor is next to come to, finding a Dalek eye watching him; Oswin has discovered visitors. Speaking to her via the radio, the Doctor decides to look for Amy and Rory first. Eventually, he and Amy run into each other, and the man, Harvey, reveals that he was a crew member of the ''Alaska''. Reaching the ship, they discover the rest of Harvey's crew dead and decomposed; the Doctor reveals to the confused man, who claims they were alive and well not two hours ago, that they have been this way for a long time. However, matters get worse when Harvey remembers ''he'' died as well; the cold preserved his body, but the nanocloud turned him into one of the Dalek puppets charged with keeping the Asylum running. He then attacks the Doctor and Amy, but they quickly shut him into the storage unit of the ship.
[[File:Gravity beam.jpg|thumb|left|The Doctor and the Ponds are fired at the Asylum.]]
The Doctor realises that when the ''Alaska'' crashed, it ruptured the planet's shield, leading to the risk of the inmates escaping. A planet's worth of insane Daleks roaming free is something that scares even the Daleks, who captured the Doctor to deal with the threat. The Daleks explain they kidnapped Amy and Rory because their records show he is always accompanied by companions. Because the shield is still strong enough to resist an assault from orbit, the Doctor and his companions will be sent down to the planet to deactivate the shield so the planet can be "cleansed" (of all life). The three are given [[Dalek bracelet|protective bracelets]] so they will not be affected by the "Nanocloud" that surrounds the planet, and are unceremoniously sent down the [[gravity beam]].


While the Doctor rambles on about how the nanocloud will transform anything living or dead not protected by one of the Dalek bracelets will become one of the "staff", Amy points out the second part of his explanation; even the DEAD are converted... Including the dead crew members surrounding them. As the decayed husks of the crew suddenly come to life, the Doctor and Amy flee to another part of the ship. However, the undead attackers grab Amy for a minute before the Doctor pulls her free and locks them out. They then notice, on the monitor, that the zombies have a bracelet; Amy's is missing. Oswin contacts them, informing them of a rope ladder leading down from the ship; it's the only way out now.
Amy is the first to come to after landing and sees a [[Harvey (Asylum of the Daleks)|man in a white coat]] approaching her. Panicking, she runs away, with him chasing after her. The Doctor is next to come to, finding a Dalek eye watching him; Oswin has discovered visitors. Speaking to her via the intercom, the Doctor decides to look for Amy and Rory first. Eventually, he and Amy run into each other, and the man, Harvey, reveals that he was a crew member of the ''Alaska''. They decide to find Rory. The Doctor tracks the reading coming to a hole in the ground; Rory is below them, in the actual facility; it seems the roof gave in when Rory landed. Because they cannot get to Rory at the moment, the Doctor and Amy decide to help Harvey.


Elsewhere, Rory awakes to find himself underground. Oswin contacts him and leads Rory through the facility, where several deactivated Daleks litter the halls. Rory accidently trips on a piece of metal, making a loud noise that awakens one of the Daleks. Oddly, it repeats "Eggs..." over and over again, making Rory think it wants the orbs that have fallen out of its casing. However, the Dalek's voice finally manages to unscramble; it's been trying to say "Exterminate." Rory runs through the room and locks himself in the teleport room on the other side. After Oswin makes a flirty joke, she tells Rory that she'll guide the Doctor and Amy to him.
[[File:Harvey_forgot_about_dying.jpg|thumb|Harvey remembers that he died.]]
Reaching the ship, they discover the rest of Harvey's crew are dead, having decomposed into skeletons. The Doctor reveals to the confused man, who claims they were alive and well not two hours ago, that they have been this way for a long time, a year at least. However, matters get much worse when Harvey remembers ''he'' died as well... The cold preserved his body, and the nanocloud turned him into one of the Dalek puppets charged with keeping the Asylum running. With his programming activating, Harvey tries attacking the Doctor and Amy. They quickly shut him into the storage unit of the ship.


In the tunnels below the ship, Amy questions the Doctor about what will happen to her, since she is missing her protective bracelet. The Doctor regretfully explains that the Nanocloud will erase her memories, "replace her love with hate", and transform her into a Dalek puppet. Memory is the first thing to be affected, and worse, it's already begun; he's told her this four times already. When Amy says she's scared, the Doctor encourages her to embrace the feeling; Daleks don't fear. They head for the exit, but the sound of the Daleks yelling "Exterminate" forces them to back away and shut the door. The Doctor converses with Oswin to learn the number of the Daleks ahead of them, not noticing Amy walking away; she sees people in the room ahead. However, the Doctor, having noticed her, informs Amy that her perception is now being affected; she's looking at Daleks. One of them advances on them and identifies the Doctor. However, its death ray is damaged beyond use, and once the Doctor taunts the Dalek for not having the firepower to kill him, it activates its self-destruct program in the hopes of taking him with it. Instead, the Doctor sends it flying in reverse, straight into the other Daleks as it explodes.
The Doctor explains that the nanocloud will transform anything, living or dead, not protected by one of the Dalek bracelets into one of the "staff". Amy points out the second part of his explanation; even the DEAD are converted... including the dead crew members surrounding them. As the decayed husks of the crew begin to come to life, the Doctor and Amy flee to another part of the ship. However, the undead attackers grab Amy for a minute before the Doctor pulls her free and locks them out. They then notice, on the monitor, that the zombies have a bracelet; Amy's is missing, meaning she's now in danger of being converted. Oswin contacts the Doctor and Amy, informing them that there's a rope ladder leading down from the ship. It's the only way out now.


Rory hears the explosion and leaves the teleport room to find several charred Dalek casings. Wondering who killed all the Daleks, Rory sees the Doctor carrying an unconscious Amy. With a smile, the Doctor rhetorically asks Rory, "Who do you think?" Once in the teleport room, the Doctor explains the situation to Rory, and discovers the teleport has enough power to get them back to the Dalek ship in orbit once the force field is down. Oswin points out that hostility, something Amy displayed by slapping Rory, is the first sign the conversion is becoming permanent. Amy jokes that it's because she's Scottish. Accepting this, Oswin asks to be taken along, but the Doctor questions her about how she keeps getting the ingredients for her soufflés.
[[File:Failure_to_COM-U-NI-CATE.jpg|thumb|left|Rory tries to placate an insane Dalek.]]
Elsewhere, Rory awakes to find himself underground. Oswin seems to him via the intercom and leads Rory through the facility, where several deactivated Daleks litter the halls. Rory accidentally trips on a piece of metal, making a loud noise that awakens one of the severely rusted Daleks. Oddly, it repeats "Eggs..." over and over again, making Rory think it wants the orbs that have fallen out of its casing; Rory offers an orb to the Dalek in confusion. However, the Dalek's voice finally manages to unscramble; it's been trying to say "Exterminate." Rory runs through the room and locks himself in the teleport room on the other side. After Oswin makes flirty jokes, she tells Rory that she'll guide the Doctor and Amy to him.


His companions tell him to put the matter aside; they need to leave the planet before they lose Amy for good. The Doctor then wonders how Oswin is not being affected by the Nanocloud, and learns that she shielded herself from it. Leaving Amy and Rory behind, the Doctor sets out to find Oswin, as she refuses to turn off the shield until they come to rescue her. Rory offers to give Amy his bracelet to keep her human longer; he claims that it would take longer for the Nanocloud to transform him into a puppet. He reasons that since it transforms love into hate, he would last longer because he always loved her more than she loved him, referencing the two thousand years he spent protecting her inside the [[Pandorica]] as an [[Rory Williams (Auton)|Auton]]. As they argue, it's revealed Amy can no longer have children because of something [[The Silence|the Silence]] did to her at [[Demons Run]]; while Rory thought that Amy suddenly left him, in truth, she knew he had always wanted children, so Amy "gave him up" so he had a better chance at having them with someone else, saying that her sacrifice in doing so was far greater than his two-thousand year vigil. They then realise the Doctor put his bracelet on Amy while she was out cold; being immune to the Nanocloud to begin with, he'd tricked them into working out their relationship problems.
In the tunnels below the ship, Amy questions the Doctor about what will happen to her. The Doctor explains the Nanocloud will erase her memories, "replace her love with hate", and transform her into a Dalek puppet. Memory is the first thing to be affected, and worse, it's already begun; he's explained this to her four times already. The Doctor encourages Amy to embrace fear to keep herself human; Daleks don't feel fear. They head for the exit, but upon hearing the Daleks outside the teleport room yelling "Exterminate", they're forced back. The Doctor asks Oswin how many Daleks ahead of them as Amy walks off; she sees people in the room ahead. However, the Doctor, having noticed her, informs Amy her perception is now being affected; she's looking at Daleks.


In the meantime, the Doctor reaches "Intensive Care"; it houses Daleks defeated in battles with his [[First Doctor|first]], [[Second Doctor|second]], and [[Third Doctor|third]] incarnations. Once the Doctor mentions they "survived" him, the Daleks (missing their guns) come back to life and corner him against the door leading to Oswin. Luckily, Oswin hacks into the Daleks' shared information network, and erases all data on him, effectively making them forget the Doctor, and making the deranged Daleks quietly go back to their cells and go back to "sleep". The Doctor says it's impossible to hack that network; even he couldn't. Oswin invites him to meet the person who did. However, once the Doctor enters her room, he discovers, to his infinite sadness, that Oswin is also a Dalek; the room she'd been seeing only exists within her imagination. The Doctor explains that the rope ladder he used to get into the facility was originally used by her when she was human; Owsin had been captured by the Daleks, and because of her genius, had been fully converted into a Dalek instead of simply made into a puppet.
[[File:Drunk_Dalek_goggles.jpg|thumb|Amy's hallucination of the Daleks.]]
A Dalek advances on them, identifying the Doctor. However, once the Doctor taunts the decaying Dalek for having a damaged death ray beyond use, it simply activates its self-destruct program in the hopes of taking him with it. The Doctor takes the dome of the Dalek and begins to sonic its casing. It says self-destruct cannot be countermanded. Smirking, the Doctor says he wasn't trying to stop the self-destruct, he was just looking for the reverse switch. And with that, the Dalek is sent screaming back into the room, where it explodes in a crowd of Daleks.


When Oswin refuses to believe him, the Doctor points out that she wouldn't have been able to get eggs and milk for her soufflés for an entire year because there'd be a limited supply. The shocking truth causes Oswin to revert to a Dalek personality, yelling "Exterminate!" The Doctor yells for Oswin to regain control of herself, seemingly working as Oswin is next heard crying. She tells the Doctor to remember her, explaining that the shield around the Asylum has been dropped. The Doctor thanks her, and - on her order - runs for his life. In the teleport room, Rory wonders how long they can wait for the Doctor. Amy says for the rest of their lives and they kiss. The Doctor arrives and, despite being annoyed that Amy and Rory pick the worst times to kiss, activates the teleport.
Rory hears the explosion and leaves the teleport room to find several charred Dalek casings. Wondering who killed all the Daleks, Rory sees the Doctor carrying an unconscious Amy. With a smile, the Doctor rhetorically asks Rory, "Who do you think?" Once in the teleport room, the Doctor lets Amy sleep and explains the situation to Rory, discovering the teleport has enough power to get them back to the Dalek ship in orbit once the force field is down. Amy wakes up and, after slapping Rory, Oswin points out that anger is the first sign the conversion is becoming permanent. Amy jokes "Someone's obviously never been to [[Scotland]]," implying she's normally hostile. Accepting this, Oswin asks to be taken back to the Dalek ship, but the Doctor questions her about how she keeps getting the ingredients for her [[soufflé]]s. His companions tell him to put the matter aside; they need to leave the planet before they lose Amy for good.


On the Dalek Parliament ship, the [[Supreme Dalek]] reports that the destruction of the Asylum has been successful. However, the alarm goes off; a teleport from the Asylum has occurred. The Doctor's voice is heard over the loudspeaker, saying that he is very good with teleports before popping his head out fo the TARDIS, calling them "suckers". They demand that he identify himself, shocking the Doctor, who tells them who he is. However, he then realises that Oswin erased ''all'' information on him, not just for the Daleks in intensive care, but for every last one, everywhere; the Dalek race no longer has any idea who the Doctor is. He leaves, dropping Amy and Rory off in Leadworth; Amy has taken Rory back.
The Doctor then wonders how Oswin is not being affected by the Nanocloud and learns that she used her intelligence to create a shield to block it. Leaving Amy and Rory behind, the Doctor sets out to find Oswin, as she refuses to turn off the shield until they come to rescue her. Rory offers to give Amy his bracelet to keep her human longer; he claims it would take longer for the Nanocloud to transform him into a puppet. He reasons since it transforms love into hate, he would last longer because he always loved her more than she loved him, referencing the 2000 years he spent protecting her inside the [[Pandorica]] as an [[Rory Williams (Auton)|Auton]]. As they argue, it is revealed Amy has been left sterile because of something [[the Silence]] did to her at [[Demons Run]]; while Rory thought Amy kicked him out after deciding she didn't love him, in truth, she knew he had always wanted children, so Amy "gave him up" so he had a better chance at having them with someone else, saying her sacrifice was far greater than his two-thousand-year vigil. They then realise the Doctor put his bracelet on Amy while she was sleeping; Amy muses that he probably doesn't need it and he'd tricked them into working out their relationship problems.


In the control room, the Doctor laughs to himself that the Daleks never stop  asking "[[The Question|Doctor Who?]]", repeating it himself to his own amusement.
In the meantime, the Doctor reaches "Intensive Care"; it houses Daleks defeated in particular battles - all of them battles with his [[First Doctor|first]], [[Second Doctor|second]], and [[Third Doctor|third]] incarnations. Once the Doctor mentions they "survived" him, the Daleks come back to life and corner him against the door leading to Oswin, intending to enact revenge. The Doctor yells for help, as the Daleks close in on him with their suckers. Luckily, Oswin hacks into the [[Pathweb]], and erases all data on him, effectively making them forget the Doctor. The deranged Daleks quietly go back to their cells and go back to "sleep".
 
[[File:DalekOswyn.jpg|thumb|left|Oswin is revealed to be a Dalek.]]
The Doctor says it's impossible to hack the Pathweb; even he couldn't. Oswin invites him to meet the person who did. However, once the Doctor enters her room, he tells her that they have a problem. However, Oswin thinks he is simply right outside her room. The Doctor tells Oswin that it's not real; this prompts her to ask where she is.
 
To his infinite sadness, the Doctor informs Oswin that she is a Dalek, to which she denies. However, the Doctor firmly tells her that the room only exists in her imagination. The Doctor explains the rope ladder he used to get into the facility was originally used by her when she was human. Oswin had been captured by the Daleks, and because of her genius intelligence, had been fully converted into a Dalek instead of simply made into a puppet.
 
When Oswin refuses to believe him, the Doctor points out that she wouldn't have been able to get eggs and milk for her soufflés for an entire year because there'd be a limited supply. The shocking truth causes Oswin to remember her exploration of the facility, her capture by the Daleks, and her conversion. Repeating the word "Eggs", she reverts to a Dalek personality, yelling "Exterminate!" The Doctor yells for Oswin to regain control of herself, which seemingly works as she is next heard crying. In her imaginary room, Oswin cries. Having felt the Dalek's shared opinion of the Doctor, she asks why they hate him so much. The Doctor explains that it's because he always prevents them from achieving large victories. Oswin tells him the Daleks have grown stronger out of fear of the Doctor. The Doctor admits that he knows this and has been trying to stop ever since he realised.
 
[[File:80s_Dalek.JPG|thumb|The Doctor runs back to the teleport.]]
Oswin tells the Doctor that she is lowering the shields, meaning that the Daleks will bombard the planet very soon. The Doctor asks if she's fine with dying, to which Oswin states that she fought the Daleks and died HUMAN. The Doctor thanks Oswin for her help, and - on her order - runs for his life. Watching the Doctor flee, Oswin says "Run you clever boy, and remember."
 
[[File:Amy_Rory_asylum_kiss.jpg|thumb|left|Amy and Rory reconcile as the Asylum explodes around them.]]
In the teleport room, Rory wonders how long they can wait for the Doctor. Amy says for the rest of their lives and they kiss. The Doctor arrives and tries getting their attention — "for God's sake!" Annoyed that Amy and Rory always pick the worst times to kiss, the Doctor activates the teleport as the bombardment finishes.
 
On the Dalek Parliament ship, the [[Supreme Dalek]] reports that the destruction of the Asylum has been successful. However, the alarm goes off; a teleport from the Asylum has occurred. They consider it an attack and prepare to defend. The Doctor's voice is heard over the loudspeaker, saying that he is pin-point accurate with teleports, before leaping out of the TARDIS, calling the Daleks "suckers". They demand that the Doctor identify himself, shocking him; he tells them who he is, only to be met with confusion. The lead [[Dalek puppet]], [[Darla von Karlsen]], asks "[[The Question|Doctor Who?]]", and soon the entire Parliament of Daleks begins repeating it continuously. The Doctor now realises that Oswin deleted him from the entire Pathweb — not just for the Daleks in Intensive Care, but for their entire species. He marvels at Oswin's accomplishment, and laughs: "Fellas - you're never going to stop asking."
 
Despite their demands to stay there and elaborate on his identity, the Doctor takes off. He deposits Amy and Rory back at [[Amy Pond and Rory Williams' house (The God Complex)|their house]]. Waving goodbye, Amy smiles to Rory and enters the house; she's taken him back. Rory smiles himself and whoops with joy. Rory then calms down when Amy says "I can see you." In the TARDIS control room, the Doctor is laughing to himself and saying "Doctor Who?", repeating the question himself several times, with joy, as he sets the TARDIS on course for his next adventure.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
Line 60: Line 98:
* [[Amy Pond]] - [[Karen Gillan]]
* [[Amy Pond]] - [[Karen Gillan]]
* [[Rory Williams]] - [[Arthur Darvill]]
* [[Rory Williams]] - [[Arthur Darvill]]
* [[Oswin Oswald|Oswin]] - [[Jenna-Louise Coleman]]
* [[Oswin Oswald|Oswin]] - [[Jenna Coleman|Jenna-Louise Coleman]]
* [[Darla Von Karlsen|Darla]] - [[Anamaria Marinca]]
* [[Darla von Karlsen|Darla]] - [[Anamaria Marinca]]
* [[Cassandra (Asylum of the Daleks)|Cassandra]] - [[Naomi Ryan]]
* [[Cassandra (Asylum of the Daleks)|Cassandra]] - [[Naomi Ryan]]
* [[Harvey (Asylum of the Daleks)|Harvey]] - [[David Gyasi]]
* [[Harvey (Asylum of the Daleks)|Harvey]] - [[David Gyasi]]
* Voice of the [[Dalek]]s - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* [[Dalek|Voice of the Daleks]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* [[Dalek Operator|Dalek 1]] - [[Barnaby Edwards (actor)|Barnaby Edwards]]
* [[Dalek operator|Dalek 1]] - [[Barnaby Edwards]]
* [[Dalek Operator|Dalek 2]] - [[Nicholas Pegg]]
* [[Dalek operator|Dalek 2]] - [[Nicholas Pegg]]
 
=== Uncredited cast ===
* [[Photoshoot PA]] - [[Zac Fox]]<ref>Fox was not credited for this role in this episode. ([[DWMSE 33]]) He was, however, credited for the same role in {{cs|The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)}}, where he did not appear.</ref>
* [[Dalek puppet|Skeleton]] - [[Mickey Lewis]]<ref>[http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/person.php?code=5312&detail=listing&pg=rnd Doctor Who News Guide]</ref>


== Crew ==
== Crew ==
Line 124: Line 166:
|Grip=Gary Norman
|Grip=Gary Norman
|AssistantGrip=Owen Charnley<!--new-->
|AssistantGrip=Owen Charnley<!--new-->
|CameraAsst=Meg De Koning
|CameraAsst=Meg de Koning
|CameraAsst2=Sam Smithard
|CameraAsst2=Sam Smithard
|CameraAsst3=Cai Thompson<!--new-->
|CameraAsst3=Cai Thompson<!--new-->
Line 185: Line 227:
|StandbyScenicArtist=
|StandbyScenicArtist=
|StorePerson=
|StorePerson=
|ChiefPropsMaster=
|ChiefPropMaster=
|PropsMaster=Paul Smith
|PropMaster=Paul Smith (prop master)
|PropertyMaster=
|PropertyMaster=
|AssistantPropsMaster=
|AssistantPropMaster=
|DressingChargehand=
|DressingChargehand=
|PropsChargehand=Bernie Davies
|PropsChargehand=Bernie Davies
Line 331: Line 373:
|CrouchEnd=
|CrouchEnd=
|FromIdeaBy=
|FromIdeaBy=
|Character1=Daleks
|Character1=Dalek{{!}}Daleks
|CharCreatedBy1a=Terry Nation
|CharCreatedBy1a=Terry Nation
|CharCreatedBy1b=
|CharCreatedBy1b=
Line 367: Line 409:
|Producer2=
|Producer2=
|Director=Nick Hurran
|Director=Nick Hurran
|ExecutiveProd=Caroline Skinner
|ExecutiveProd=Steven Moffat
|ExecutiveProd2=Steven Moffat
|ExecutiveProd2=Caroline Skinner
|ExecutiveProd3=
|ExecutiveProd3=
|DedicatedTo=<!--This exact credit never actually used as of April 2010; left for future use-->
|DedicatedTo=<!--This exact credit never actually used as of April 2010; left for future use-->
Line 389: Line 431:
}}
}}


== References ==
=== Uncredited crew ===
=== [[:Category:Daleks|Daleks]] ===
{{uncred list
*The Daleks have a [[Prime Minister of the Daleks|Prime Minister]].
|TheMill cite = <ref name="The Mill">{{cite web|url=http://www.milk-vfx.com/project/doctor-who-asylum-of-the-daleks/|title=Doctor Who Season 7 Episode 1: Asylum of the Daleks|accessdate=3 November 2018}}</ref>
*The Daleks refer to the Doctor as the "Predator of the Daleks".
*The Daleks have the ability to turn people into their puppets, via the use of [[Nanogene|nanogenes]]. [[Time Lords]] are immune to this technology.


=== [[:Category:The Doctor|The Doctor]] ===
|VFXExecutiveProducer=Will Cohen
*The Doctor described himself as "[[Aliases of the Doctor|the Oncoming Storm]]".
|VFXProducer=Jenna Powell
|VFXSupervisor=Murray Barber
|CompLead=James Moxon
|CGSupervisor=Matthew McKinney
|AnimationSupervisor=David Bennett
|VFXCoOrdinator=Anita Emor
|VFXProductionAssistant=Natalie Reid
|VFXEditor=Mark Bright
|VFXEditor2=Robin Hinch
|ShootSupervisorVFX=Jon Brown
|Colourist=Mark Vincent


=== [[:Category:Individuals| Individuals]] ===
|Modeller=Jeff North
|RiggerCreatureTD=David Jones
|MatchmoveLead=Amy Cuthbertson
|MatchmoveArtist=Anthony Northman
|MatchmoveArtist2=Kwai Ip
|MatchmoveArtist3=Jacob Flint
|Animator=Bob Byrne
|Animator2=Ruth Bailey
|FXTD=Nick Webber
|FXTD2=Andy Guest
|FXTD3=Dominic Carus
|FXTD4=James Reid
|LightingLead=Darren Byford
|LightingTD=Dom Alderson
|MattePaintingLead=Simon Wicker
|MattePainter=Lyndall Spagnoletti
|MattePainter2=Turlo Griffin
|MattePainter3=Serdar Sigma
|Compositor=Clement Hingrai
|Compositor2=Eleanor Sutton
|Compositor3=Frank Hanna
|Compositor4=Henning Glabbart
|Compositor5=Matthew McDougal
|Compositor6=Rosemary Chester
|Compositor7=Sarah Iduwe
|Compositor8=Theajo Nagarajan
|Compositor9=Alberto Lara
|Compositor10=Greg Spencer
|Compositor11=Patrick Altmaier
|Compositor12=Sara Bennett
|Compositor13=Shizuka Fukuda
}}
 
== Worldbuilding ==
=== Daleks ===
* The [[Dalek]]s have a [[Prime Minister of the Daleks|Prime Minister]].
* The Daleks refer to the [[Eleventh Doctor]] as the "[[Aliases of the Doctor|Predator of the Daleks]]".
* The Daleks have the ability to turn people into [[Dalek puppet|their puppets]], via the use of [[nanogene]]s. [[Time Lord]]s are immune to this technology.
* The Daleks consider hatred to be beautiful, and they find it "offensive" to destroy it.
 
=== The Doctor ===
* The Doctor describes himself as "[[Aliases of the Doctor|the Oncoming Storm]]".
 
=== Individuals ===
* Amy is now physically unable to have children due to the events on [[Demons Run]].
* Amy is now physically unable to have children due to the events on [[Demons Run]].


=== [[:Category:Foods and beverages|Foods and beverages]] ===
=== Foods and beverages ===
* Oswin says she's been surviving in her crashed ship by baking soufflés; this troubles the Doctor, as she has no access to [[Milk|milk]] or [[Egg|eggs]].
* Oswin says she's been baking [[soufflé]]s for her [[Oswin Oswald's mother|mother]] despite having no access to [[milk]] or [[egg]]s.
 
=== Music ===
* The music played by [[Clara Oswald#Oswin Oswald|Oswin Oswald]] is first "[[L'amour est un oiseau rebelle]]" then "[[Toreador, en garde!]]".
* The Doctor claims to have played the [[triangle]] for the recording of "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" that is heard in the [[Parliament of the Daleks]].
* The music playing during [[Amy Pond|Amy]]'s photo-shoot at the beginning of the episode is "[[Feel the Love]]".


=== [[:Category:Music|Music]] ===
=== Planets ===
* The music played by [[Oswin Oswald]] is from the opera ''[[Carmen (opera)|Carmen]]''.
* [[Skaro]] is the home planet of the Daleks. It still exists, with the remains of a large Dalek-shaped building.
*The Doctor claims to have played the [[triangle]] for the recording of "[[L'amour est un oiseau rebelle]]" that is heard in the [[Parliament of the Daleks]].
* The Daleks have an [[Dalek Asylum|asylum planet]].
* The music playing during Amy's photo-shoot at the beginning of the episode is ''Feel the Love'' by Rudimental ft. John Newman.


=== [[:Category:Planets|Planets]] ===
=== Transport technology ===
*[[Skaro]] is the original planet of the Daleks, it still exists with the remains of a large Dalek-shaped building.
* The Doctor brags that he has an exceptional aim with [[teleport]]s after he teleports himself and the Ponds into [[the Doctor's TARDIS|his TARDIS]].


=== [[:Category:Transport technology|Transport technology]] ===
=== Influences ===
* The Doctor brags that he has exceptional aim with [[teleport]]s after he teleports himself and the Ponds into his [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]].
* [[Steven Moffat]] was keen to have each episode of season seven exhibit the ambition, scope and thrills of a feature film. For this episode, he was inspired by ''[[Die Hard]]''.


== Story notes ==
== Story notes ==
*The presence of Jenna-Louise Coleman in this episode was successfully kept secret, despite the episode having several preview showings prior to broadcast. After broadcast, Coleman and Moffat both issued statements thanking fans and the media for keeping Coleman's debut - months before her official first episode, the 2012 Christmas special - a secret.
* The presence of [[Jenna Coleman|Jenna-Louise Coleman]] in this episode was successfully kept secret, despite the episode having several preview showings prior to broadcast. After broadcast, Coleman and [[Steven Moffat]] both issued statements thanking fans and the media for keeping Coleman's debut — months before her official first episode, the 2012 Christmas special — a secret.
*This story premiered in Australia on the {{w|Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}'s on-demand and catch-up service {{w|ABC iView|iView}} at 5.10am AEST; immediately following the UK broadcast. This was the first time ''Doctor Who'' had debuted on Australian TV in this way. A traditional free-to-air screening on [[ABC1]] will follow on the [[8 September]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.abc.net.au/abc_tv/2012/08/the-doctor-to-premiere-on-iview.html |title=The Doctor To Premiere On iview |date of source=28 August 2012 |website name=ABC TV Blog |accessdate= 2 September 2012}}</ref>  
* This story premiered in Australia on the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]'s on-demand and catch-up service [[ABC iView|iView]] at 5.10am AEST; immediately following the UK broadcast. This was the first time ''Doctor Who'' had debuted on Australian TV in this way. A traditional free-to-air screening on [[ABC1]] was followed on the [[8 September (releases)|8 September]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.abc.net.au/abc tv/2012/08/the-doctor-to-premiere-on-iview.html|title=The Doctor To Premiere On iview|date of source=28 August 2012|website name=ABC TV Blog|accessdate= 2 September 2012}}</ref>
*This story marks the first appearance of a new title sequence. It contains the same music and time vortex animation as the sequence used for the two previous seasons, but the font of the opening credits and the style of the logo have changed. The sequence appears to have some colour adjustments as well - the vortex has hints of green, while the TARDIS itself is a slightly darker blue with vibrant yellow lighting emanating from the TARDIS windows. The footage also has less-sharp focus, casting a more dream-like atmosphere to the sequence.  
 
** The production team have confirmed that the title sequence for every episode in [[Series 7 (Doctor Who)|series 7]] will have slightly different opening titles, including stylized versions of the ''Doctor Who'' logo. For this episode the logo appeared to have a bumpy texture, as though covered in Dalek "eggs."
[[File:Asylum of the Daleks logo.jpg|thumb|The unique logo for ''Asylum of the Daleks''.]]
* A [[Prequel (Asylum of the Daleks)|prequel]] was released on [[iTunes]] shortly before the release of the episode.
 
* The two depicted survivors of the ''Alaska'' crash have the forename Harvey and the surname Oswald. ''Doctor Who'' premiered with "[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]" on 23 November 1963, the day after American President Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. The event was referenced in "[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]"<ref>In "Rose", the [[Ninth Doctor]] is shown in a still photo among the crowd in Dealey Plaza as Kennedy rode by, seconds before being shot.</ref> and "[[The Cambridge Spy (TV story)|The Cambridge Spy]]" which also references Oswald directly.<ref>A 23 November 1963 newspaper in "The Cambridge Spy" bears a headline reporting the capture of Lee Harvey Oswald.</ref>
* This story marks the first appearance of a new title sequence. It contains the same music and time vortex animation as the sequence used for the two previous seasons, but the font of the opening credits and the style of the logo have changed. The sequence appears to have some colour adjustments as well - the vortex has hints of green, while the TARDIS itself is a slightly darker blue with vibrant yellow lighting emanating from the TARDIS windows. The footage also has less-sharp focus, casting a more dream-like atmosphere to the sequence.
* A [[Asylum of the Daleks Prequel (webcast)|prequel]] was released on [[iTunes]] shortly before the release of the episode.
* This episode was shown at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in August, just as was done with {{cs|Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)}} in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/may/09/charlie-brooker-steven-moffat-edinburgh?INTCMP=SRCH|title=Charlie Brooker, Steven Moffat and Ruth Jones top bill in Edinburgh|author=John Plunkett|date of source=9 May 2012|website name=The Guardian|accessdate=23 August 2012}}</ref>
* This is the first televised Dalek story set primarily on another planet than Earth since ''[[Revelation of the Daleks (TV story)|Revelation of the Daleks]]''.
* This is the first time since {{cs|Doctor Who (TV story)}}, that the caption "written by" was included in an episode.
 
[[File:EggsStir.jpg|thumb|[[Paul Cornell]] did the "eggs" gag with the [[Seventh Doctor]] before [[Steven Moffat]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Metamorphosis (comic story)|Metamorphosis]]'')]]
 
* Although stressing that the first syllable of "Exterminate!" sounds like ''eggs'' was new to television, it was not the first time the notion appeared in licensed ''Doctor Who''. It was done about 20 years earlier by [[Paul Cornell]] in ''[[Metamorphosis (comic story)|Metamorphosis]]''. The usage is remarkably the same in that ''[[Doctor Who Yearbook]]'' comic, except that it's the [[Seventh Doctor]] who is turning into a Dalek and saying "eggs".
* This is the first season opener not set primarily on Earth since {{cs|Smith and Jones (TV story)}}.
* Oswin's theme, composed by [[Murray Gold]], resembles - but is different to - Clara Oswald's theme, later introduced in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Snowmen (TV story)}}. A brief snippet of Clara's theme is heard when she first says "Run you clever boy."
* In a 2017 interview, Jenna Coleman revealed that she burned her right hand during filming when it came in contact with a light; as a result, she says, she can be seen favouring the injured hand in some scenes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEh9GMudTYo|title=BAFTA: Jenna Coleman's Painful Introduction to Doctor Who|date of source=11 October 2017|website name=YouTube.com|accessdate= 14 October 2017}}</ref>
* Mindful of the mixed reaction which had greeted the redesigned [[New Dalek Paradigm|Paradigm Daleks]], Steven Moffat wanted to draw upon the long history of variant Dalek designs which dated back to [[1963]]. Moffat now intended to portray the Paradigm Daleks as a sort of Dalek upper echelon, while the bronze design which had been used since {{cs|Dalek (TV story)}} would be brought back into service as the rank and file.
* This episode formed Block Two of season seven, along with {{cs|The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)}}.
* The Ponds are on the verge of divorce because Steven Moffat wanted to emphasise that the normal problems and challenges of marriage were now as pertinent to them as their adventures with the Doctor.
* Originally, the Ponds' divorce was to be signposted by Rory's choice to grow a [[beard]], despite Amy's loathing of facial hair, which he would shave off at the story's conclusion. Between seasons, [[Arthur Darvill]] was appearing on stage as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mephistopheles Mephistopheles] in ''[[Doctor Faustus]]'', and [[Steven Moffat]] planned to have him keep the beard he had grown for that role. However, this plan had to be abandoned when it was decided to make the episode alongside {{cs|The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)}}
* At the start of the story, Darla originally claimed that she wanted the Doctor to take her back in time to see her late daughter, and gave herself away by referring to the age she had been when she herself had died.
* Cassandra was initially a replacement for Amy's regular make-up artist, while Rory was able to flee the bus only to be surrounded by a mob of Dalek agents.
* The Dalek Prime Minister was originally the [[Dalek Prime]].
* The Dalek Parliament was first located on a planet dubbed “Skaro 2” rather than a spaceship.
* The business of the Doctor and Amy making their way from the ''Alaska''<nowiki/>'s escape pod through the Asylum, and Amy perceiving the Daleks as people, replaced Oswin teleporting them directly to Rory.
* Oswin was originally conceived as a fan of [[Elvis Presley]], whose music would play throughout the episode and inspire the Doctor to give her the nickname “[[Blue Suede Shoes]]”. However, when the rights to use these songs proved problematic to obtain, [[Nick Hurran]] suggested the soundtrack to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Bizet Georges Bizet]'s [[1875]] [[opera]] ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen Carmen].''
* [[Steven Moffat]] realised that the Doctor would never actually see Oswin in her human form. This meant that the actress portraying Oswin and the actress cast as the new companion could be one and the same. As such, Moffat did away with a suggestion that Oswin might be a Dalek whose insanity had caused it to believe itself to be human.
* A substantial phalanx of Daleks was assembled for the production, including no fewer than thirteen new constructions. Five were revised versions of the [[New Dalek Paradigm|Paradigm Daleks]]. In part, the changes were intended to address concerns expressed by the operators, who found the Paradigm Daleks far more difficult to control than their predecessors. Most notably, the rear “hump” was removed to restore a more symmetrical appearance, and they were given a metallic sheen in contrast to the bright, plasticky look they had previously sported. Three were painted in red Drone livery, alongside a blue Strategist and a white Supreme. Eight new bronze Daleks were also built; two were given severely distressed characteristics to represent some of the more badly-damaged inmates of the Asylum. Furthermore, three bronze casings were still available from amongst those made and retained by the BBC during the previous decade. Likewise, the original white Paradigm Dalek, last seen in {{cs|The Wedding of River Song (TV story)}}, was also to appear, retaining the dilapidated state it had been given for that story.
* A number of additional Daleks were sourced from [[BBC Worldwide]]. They included two additional bronze Daleks, plus the [[Special Weapons Dalek]] from {{cs|Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)}}. This Planet Earth, a manufacturer of high-end screen-accurate Dalek props, provided a Dalek from '{{cs|Death to the Daleks (TV story)}} in silver and black livery. A charity organiser which supplied Daleks for fundraising opportunities loaned a bronze Dalek, a black Dalek in the style of [[Dalek Sec]], an [[Ironside Project|Ironsides Dalek]] from {{cs|Victory of the Daleks (TV story)}}, and a [[Renegade Dalek]] from ''Remembrance of the Daleks''. Two longtime fans also assisted the production team: an original casing from {{cs|The Daleks (TV story)}} and a Throne Room Dalek from {{cs|The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)}} came from [[Andrew Beech]], while [[Mark Barton Hill]] contributed a grey-and-black Dalek from {{cs|Resurrection of the Daleks (TV story)}}. Finally, [[Russell T Davies]] offered the use of his own prop, which resembled those from ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]''. [[Caroline Skinner]] knew Davies well and asked to borrow his replica. She stated that he was "thrilled" that it was canonised.
* When Amy hallucinates the Daleks of humans, some of them were played by the corresponding Dalek operator.
* The bronze Dalek which represented Oswin was the casing originally constructed to represent [[Dalek Caan]] in ''[[Doomsday (TV story)|Doomsday]].''
* No fewer than twenty six Dalek casings were used for the Dalek Parliament. [[Caroline Skinner]] said that "there was just a real magic and sense of history about having them".
* The Dalek Parliament set was the largest ever built for the series, surpassing the [[Silurian Ark]] from {{cs|Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (TV story)}}
* [[Steven Moffat]] recalled that the Daleks were remembered for being scary, but due to their legacy as British icons they had become "cuddly" over the years and their true menace forgotten. He intended to make them scary again, reminding the audience of their intentions. He thought the best way to do this would be to show Daleks that were considered even madder than usual. [[Karen Gillan]] admitted that she had not been scared of the Daleks before working on the episode.
* [[Jenna Coleman]]'s scenes were filmed over six days on a closed set with a [[green screen]] which she acted to.
* [[Steven Moffat]] was concerned about how all the different Daleks would look together, but was pleased once he saw them; he commented that the diversity made them look like a species, rather than identical robots.
* [[Steven Moffat]] had previously been divorced and tackled the subject in his series ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Gang Press Gang]'' and ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joking_Apart Joking Apart].'' Many viewers took issue with the Ponds' divorce being resolved by the end of the episode and never mentioned again.
* The black chair in Oswin's pod previously appeared in the pod [[Jenny (The Doctor's Daughter)|Jenny]] used at the end of {{cs|The Doctor's Daughter (TV story)}} The lever was the same one the Master pulls to shut down the bunker's defences in {{cs|Utopia (TV story)}}
* Unusually, the first filming was not the result of careful planning, but of last-minute happenstance. While filming {{cs|A Town Called Mercy (TV story)}} in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almer%C3%ADa Almería], [[Spain]], [[Marcus Wilson]] realised that the nearby [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada Sierra Nevada] mountain range was ideal to represent the surface of the Asylum planet. [[Nick Hurran]] quickly devised plans to film the relevant footage, and a minimal crew travelled to Almería's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_National_Park_(Spain) Sierra Nevada National Park].
* This is the first Dalek story where the Daleks don't actually kill anyone.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruthie_Henshall Ruthie Henshall] was originally cast as Darla.
 
=== Ratings ===
=== Ratings ===
* This story was initially seen by 6.4 million people in the UK.
The episode was preview screened at BFI Southbank on 14 August 2012, and at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival during 23–25 August. On 25 August it was also screened in New York City and Toronto. The episode was broadcast to the public on 1 September on BBC One in the United Kingdom, BBC America in the United States, and on Space in Canada, and on 2 September on the ABC iView service. It premiered on 8 September 2012 on ABC1 in Australia, and on 13 September on Prime TV in New Zealand.
* It was watched by 1.555 million people in America, and become the most watched item on BBC America.
 
* In Canada, a total of 620,000 people watched the episode on Space, and was the second most watched item on the cable.
Overnight viewing figures for the UK showed that the episode was watched by 6.4 million viewers, the lowest overnight figure for a premiere episode of the revived series; however, viewing patterns indicate that fewer people watch Doctor Who live and it won its timeslot. The final consolidated rating was 8.33 million viewers, ranking third for the week on BBC One.<ref>[http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&type=date Doctor Who Ratings - UK final]</ref> It was also the most-viewed episode on [[BBC iPlayer]] the day that it aired, and ended September in the number one spot, with 2.2 million requests. "Asylum of the Daleks" achieved an Appreciation Index of 89, the highest for a series opener of Doctor Who.
 
Viewing figures in the US on BBC America showed that the episode was watched by 1.555 million viewers. It was the #1 cable program in its timeslot, and the most-watched telecast in the history of the network. The episode also garnered a 0.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic. "Asylum of the Daleks" also was viewed 75,000 times on ABC's iView in Australia, a record audience, and 620,000 watched the premiere on Space in Canada, Doctor Who's second-best ratings for the channel. On Prime in New Zealand, the episode attracted 171,690 viewers, Doctor Who's second-highest rating on the channel and the highest rated show on the channel that day.


=== Filming locations ===
=== Filming locations ===
''to be added''
* The scenes on the Asylum surface were filmed during production of episode three, {{cs|A Town Called Mercy (TV story)}}, in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Spain.


=== Production errors ===
=== Production errors ===
* The first Dalek Rory approaches inside the asylum has indicators on both sides from his perspective, but when the camera is behind the Dalek the light on the right hand side is missing.
{{discontinuity}}
* The first Dalek Rory approaches inside the asylum has indicators on both sides from his perspective, but when the camera is behind the Dalek the light on the right-hand side is missing.
* The Doctor has a plaster on his finger that keeps disappearing and reappearing.
* The Doctor has a plaster on his finger that keeps disappearing and reappearing.
* In the ending scene where The Doctor is in the TARDIS, you can see the overhead camera reflected in the glass floor next to the console.
* In the ending scene where the Doctor is in the TARDIS, you can see the overhead camera reflected in the glass floor next to the console.
* When the Doctor, Amy and Rory are in the Dalek Holding Cell, the circular platform they are standing on lifts. on one shot, it shows them and the Daleks looking all around them - the Doctor is looking towards 'us' - but in the next shot, the Doctor is looking upwards into the Dalek Parliament.
* When the Doctor, Amy and Rory are in the Dalek Holding Cell, the circular platform they are standing on lifts. On one shot, it shows them and the Daleks looking all around them — the Doctor is looking towards the audience — but in the next shot, the Doctor is looking upward into the Dalek Parliament.
* When the Doctor says "It's Christmas!" in the Dalek Parliament, the shot shows bronze RTD era Daleks and a few Paradigm Daleks. Except the shot has been reversed and the suckers are where the guns should be, and the guns are where the suckers should be.
* When the Doctor says, "It's Christmas!" in the Dalek Parliament, the shot has been "mirrored", as indicated by the flipped positioning of the manipulator arms and gunsticks.
* The wide shots of the Dalek Parliament do not match the close-up shots.
* The wide shots of the Dalek Parliament do not match the close-up shots.
*When Oswin runs to the screen to talk to the Doctor for the first time, the flower in her hair falls to the floor. Once she reaches the screen it is in her hair again.
* When Rory is being sent to the Asylum, upside down, he yells, "Wrong way up!" twice. His mouth only moves to him saying, "wrong way!"
*When Rory is being sent to the Asylum, upside down, he yells "Wrong way up!" twice. His mouth only moves to him saying "wrong way!"
* While talking to the Doctor, Oswin's hair keeps moving between being over her forehead and behind her ear several times in one dialogue.
* On Oswin's screen it shows real colour despite being converted into a bronze Dalek which have blue vision.
* At 10:52, all of the Daleks' eye-stalks follow the Doctor's movements, except one which is instead looking up towards the ceiling.
* At 11:15 when the Doctor says, "Yes reading you loud and clear!" the same Dalek has its eyestalk in an upright position looking up, but there is also a Dalek with its headpiece not secured right in the same scene.
* When the Doctor says, "A small taskforce could sneak through the forcefield, send in a couple of Daleks," the same Dalek is there with its eyestalk in an upright position. There are multiple Daleks in this scene with obscure eyestalks, one to the right is looking down and one is looking slightly above the Doctor.
* In the same scene as above, the Dalek that looks slightly above the Doctor seems to twirl its eyestalk for a while, after that the blue light at the end of it goes out.
* When Rory escapes the awakening Daleks, the direction the [[Special Weapons Dalek]] is facing changes; in the next shot, it is back to its original position.
* When Oswin makes her "You'll put someone's eye out" joke about the Doctor's chin, there is a close-up of Amy stifling a laugh. Then it cuts to a wide shot with Amy out of focus in the background, and she is seen repeating the act of stifling the laugh.
* When the TARDIS leaves the Dalek parliament, it dematerialises with the right door still open.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* The Asylum is stylistically similar to the city in [[DW]]: ''[[The Daleks]]''.
* The Asylum stylistically resembles [[Dalek City|the city]] in which the [[First Doctor]] first met the Daleks. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Daleks (TV story)}})
* The Doctor's death is public knowledge across the Universe. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song]]'')
* The Doctor's "death" is public knowledge across the Universe. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Wedding of River Song (TV story)}})
* Rory mentions waiting outside a [[Pandorica|box]] for [[Rory Williams (Auton)|two thousand years]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Big Bang]]'')
* The Doctor has previously met an individual whose mind entered a fugue state. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Next Doctor (TV story)}})
* On the [[Dalek Asylum]], [[Nanogene]]s turn people both living and dead into Daleks. The Doctor has come across nanogenes which altered humans into hostile creatures before. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Empty Child]]'', ''[[The Doctor Dances]]'')
* The Doctor closes his eyes, holds out his arms, and waits to be shot, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Parting of the Ways (TV story)}}, {{cs|Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)}}) only to scrunch his face and peek at why he's still alive. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Wedding of River Song (TV story)}})
* Rory mentions waiting outside a [[Pandorica|box]] for [[Rory Williams (Auton)|two thousand years]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Big Bang (TV story)}})
* On the [[Dalek Asylum]], [[Nanogene]]s turn people both living and dead into Daleks. The Doctor has previously come across nanogenes which altered humans into hostile creatures. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Empty Child (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Doctor Dances (TV story)}})
[[File:Special_Weapons_Dalek_2012.JPG|thumb|A special weapons Dalek.]]
[[File:Special_Weapons_Dalek_2012.JPG|thumb|A special weapons Dalek.]]
* Various models of the Daleks from different points in the series are visible in the Asylum. These include many of the bronze, post-Time War Daleks, ([[DW]]: ''[[Dalek (TV story)|Dalek]]'' onwards) one [[Strategist Dalek]] and one or more [[Supreme Dalek (New Dalek Paradigm)|Supreme Daleks of the New Dalek Paradigm]], ([[DW]]: ''[[Victory of the Daleks (TV story)|Victory of the Daleks]]'' onwards) a [[Special Weapons Dalek]], ([[DW]]: ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks]]'') several [[Renegade Dalek]]s, ([[DW]]: ''[[Resurrection of the Daleks (TV story)|Resurrection of the Daleks]]'', ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)|Remembrance of the Daleks]]'') several of the earlier silver Daleks, ([[DW]]: ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'', ''[[The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)|The Evil of the Daleks]]'') the grey wooden-looking Dalek models, ([[DW]]: ''[[Day of the Daleks (TV story)|Day of the Daleks]]'' to [[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'') and a black Dalek identical to [[Dalek Sec]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doomsday (TV story)|Doomsday]]'', ''[[Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)|Daleks in Manhattan]]'', ''[[Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)|Evolution of the Daleks]]'')
* Several models of Daleks from different points in history appear. Many of the bronze Daleks the [[Ninth Doctor|Ninth]] and [[Tenth Doctor]] met appear ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dalek (TV story)}} et. al), one [[Strategist Dalek]] and one or more [[Supreme Dalek (New Dalek Paradigm)|Supreme Daleks]] of the [[New Dalek Paradigm]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Victory of the Daleks (TV story)}} onward), the [[Dalek (The Wedding of River Song)|damaged Supreme]] from which the Doctor took the [[data core]] and [[eyestalk]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Wedding of River Song (TV story)}}) a [[Special Weapons Dalek]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)}}) several [[Renegade Dalek]]s, ([[TV]]: {{cs|Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)}}) a few of the [[Skaro City Dalek|early]] [[silver Dalek]]s ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Daleks (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)}}), the gunmetal-[[grey Dalek]] models ([[TV]]: {{cs|Day of the Daleks (TV story)}} to [[TV]]: {{cs|The Five Doctors (TV story)}}), at least one [[Ironside Project|Ironside Dalek]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Victory of the Daleks (TV story)}}) a cobweb-covered white-and-black Dalek, ([[TV]]: '{{cs|Death to the Daleks (TV story)}}) a [[Emperor's Personal Guard|black-domed Dalek]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)}}) and a [[black Dalek]] identical to [[Dalek Sec]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Doomsday (TV story)}}, {{cs|Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)}}, {{cs|Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)}})
* The Daleks in the intensive care section of the Asylum are survivors of encounters with the Doctor on planets such as [[Spiridon]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Planet of the Daleks]]''), [[Kembel]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan]]''), [[Aridius]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Chase]]''), [[Vulcan]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks]]''), and [[Exxilon]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Death to the Daleks]]'').
* The Daleks in the Intensive Care section of the Asylum are survivors of encounters with the Doctor on planets such as [[Spiridon]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Planet of the Daleks (TV story)}}) [[Kembel]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'') [[Aridius]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]'') [[Vulcan (The Power of the Daleks)|Vulcan]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (TV story)|The Power of the Daleks]]'') and [[Exxilon]]. ([[TV]]: '{{cs|Death to the Daleks (TV story)}})
* The Doctor is seen on Skaro. The planet was last seen on-screen in ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'' (despite its destruction in [[DW]]: ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks]]''). It has also appeared more recently in the [[Doctor Who: The Adventure Games|Adventure Game]] ''[[City of the Daleks (video game)|City of the Daleks]]'', in which it looks the same as it does in this episode, complete with acid rain.
* The Daleks have successfully captured the Doctor's TARDIS before, ([[TV]]: {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}) as have others. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Blink (TV story)}}, {{cs|Utopia (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Poison Sky (TV story)}}, {{cs|Amy's Choice (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Doctor's Wife (TV story)}})
* The Doctor says that when the force field is taken down, the entire planet will get "explodey-wodey." ([[DW]]: ''[[Blink (TV story)|Blink]]'', ''[[The Doctor's Wife (TV story)|The Doctor's Wife]]'', ''[[The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (TV story)|The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe]]'')
* The Doctor says that when the force field is taken down, the entire planet will get "explodey-wodey". This is similar to the Doctor referring to things as "timey-wimey", ([[TV]]: {{cs|Blink (TV story)}}) "spacey-wacey", ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Doctor's Wife (TV story)}}) or "humany-wumany". ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (TV story)}})
* The Doctor brags that he has exceptional aim with teleports after he teleports himself and the Ponds into the TARDIS. [[Rose Tyler]] had previously remarked that the Doctor was "good with teleports." ([[DW]]: ''[[Boom Town (TV story)|Boom Town]]'')
* The Doctor brags that he has an exceptional aim with teleports after he teleports himself and the Ponds into the TARDIS. [[Rose Tyler]] had previously remarked that the Doctor was "good with teleports." ([[TV]]: {{cs|Boom Town (TV story)}})
* The chair Oswin sits in appears to be identical to the chair in [[Jenny (The Doctor's Daughter)|Jenny]]'s spaceship. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Doctor's Daughter (TV story)|The Doctor's Daughter]]'')
* [[Dalek camp|Dalek prison camps]] are mentioned, and the Doctor expresses some familiarity with them. ([[TV]]: ''[[Destiny of the Daleks (TV story)|Destiny of the Daleks]]'')
* The closing scene mirrors that of [[DW]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song]]''.
* The Doctor's taunt to the Dalek about it being useless without a gun echoes a similar line said by the [[Ninth Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dalek (TV story)}})
* Dalek prison camps are mentioned, and the Doctor expresses some familiarity with them. ([[DW]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'')
* The Daleks have requested help from their most bitter enemy before. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)}}, [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Juggernauts (audio story)|The Juggernauts]]'')
* The Doctor's taunt to the Dalek about it being useless without a gun as being echos a similar line said by the [[Ninth Doctor]] in [[DW]]: ''[[Dalek (TV story)|Dalek]]''.
* The Eleventh Doctor's chin is once more the subject of amusement. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Doctor's Wife (TV story)}})
* This is not the first time that the Daleks request help from their most bitter enemy. ([[BFA]]: ''[[The Juggernauts (audio story)|The Juggernauts]]'')
* Once again the Doctor openly expresses to the Daleks his extreme disgust and hatred for them. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dalek (TV story)}}, {{cs|Victory of the Daleks (TV story)}})
* When Amy is hallucinating she sees a classic Dalek as a ballerina. This is a reference to the Dalek base originally being inspired by a ballerina's skirt.{{Fact}}
* The Daleks previously converted humans into Daleks on the planet [[Necros]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Revelation of the Daleks (TV story)|Revelation of the Daleks]]'') and after the [[Dalek Emperor]] escaped from the Time War. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Parting of the Ways (TV story)}})
** The Daleks also at one point planned to create human Dalek hybrids, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)}}) while the [[Cult of Skaro]] later succeeded to an extent in doing something similar. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)}}/{{cs|Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)}})
* Rory carried a small torch before. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Vampires of Venice (TV story)|The Vampires of Venice]]'')
* The [[Ninth Doctor]] once gave a disk to [[Mickey Smith]] that would erase all data of him from the [[Internet]], in a similar way that Oswin deleted all memory of him from the Dalek Pathweb. ([[TV]]: {{cs|World War Three (TV story)}})
* This is the first interaction with a time echo of later companion [[Clara Oswald]] that the Doctor actually remembers, having previously been in proximity to similar echoes in his previous incarnations. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Name of the Doctor (TV story)}})
* The scenes immediately preceding the Doctor's arrival on the asylum are similar to the First Doctor's arrival on [[Mira (planet)|Mira]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'')
* The Doctor retrieves Oswin whilst leaving Amy and Rory with a means of escaping if he is delayed. Similarly, the First Doctor ordered [[Bret Vyon]] to leave him on [[Kembel]] if he is delayed returning the [[Taranium]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'')
* Both humans and [[Silent]]s are converted into Dalek puppets during the [[Siege of Trenzalore|siege]] on [[Trenzalore]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Time of the Doctor (TV story)}})
* The Daleks would later regain their information of the Doctor after they attacked the [[Papal Mainframe]] at the [[Siege of Trenzalore]], where they converted the Mother Superious, [[Tasha Lem]] into a Dalek puppet and harvested her memories of the Doctor. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Time of the Doctor (TV story)}})


== Home video releases ==
== Home video releases ==
[[File:Series7DVDcover.jpg|thumb|Series 7, part 1 DVD cover.]]


=== DVD releases ===
=== DVD & Blu-ray releases ===
''to be added''
 
=== Blu-ray releases ===
* ''Asylum of the Daleks'', along with the rest of the first half of the series (episodes one through to five) was released as Series 7 Part One on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1/A on [[13 November (releases)|13 November]] [[2012 (releases)|2012]], in region 2/B on [[29 October (releases)|29 October]] 2012 and in region 4/B on [[14 November (releases)|14 November]] 2012.
''to be added''
* Also, this episode was released as part of the Complete Seventh Series boxset on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1/A on [[24 September (releases)|24 September]] [[2013 (releases)|2013]], in region 2/B on [[28 October (releases)|28 October]] 2013 and in region 4/B on [[30 October (releases)|30 October]] 2013.
 
=== Digital releases ===
 
* In the United Kingdom, this story is available on [[BBC iPlayer]].


== External links ==
== External links ==
''to be added''
* {{locguide|asylumofthedaleks|Asylum of the Daleks}}
{{dwrefguide|who_tv70.htm|Asylum of the Daleks}}


==Footnotes==
== Footnotes ==
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{{Dalek stories}}
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[[es:Asylum of the Daleks]]
{{cat|Doctor Who (2005) television stories}}
[[fr:Asylum of the Daleks]]
{{Dalek stories}}
[[he:מקלטם של הדאלקים]]
[[ru:Прибежище Далеков (ТВ история)]]


[[es:Asylum of the Daleks (historia de TV)]]
[[Category:Eleventh Doctor television stories]]
[[Category:Dalek television stories]]
[[Category:Series 7 (Doctor Who) stories]]
[[Category:Eleventh Doctor television stories]]
[[Category:Dalek television stories]]
[[Category:Series 7 (Doctor Who) stories]]
[[Category:Stories set on Skaro]]
[[Category:Eleventh Doctor television stories]]
[[Category:Dalek television stories]]
[[Category:Series 7 (Doctor Who) stories]]
[[Category:Eleventh Doctor television stories]]
[[Category:Dalek television stories]]
[[Category:Dalek television stories]]
[[Category:Series 7 (Doctor Who) stories]]
[[Category:Series 7 (Doctor Who) stories]]
[[Category:Stories set on Skaro]]
[[Category:Television stories set on Skaro]]
[[Category:2012 television stories]]
[[Category:2012 television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 21st century]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 21st century]]
[[Category:Doctor Who (2005) television stories]]
[[Category:BFI-exhibited television stories]]
[[Category:Stories with unique variations of the Doctor Who opening titles]]
[[Category:Television stories that use Murray Gold's 3rd main theme]]
[[Category:The Monster Collection: The Daleks stories]]

Latest revision as of 17:47, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

Asylum of the Daleks was the first episode of series 7 of Doctor Who.

Steven Moffat's first script to feature the Daleks as the main adversaries, it also served to launch the beginning of the series' major plot strands: the end of Amy and Rory's travels in the TARDIS and the beginning of the mystery surrounding Clara Oswald's identity. The episode also saw Rory and Amy's love challenged, following on from Pond Life, with the issue being resolved by the end of the story. This story also had an online prequel.

Importantly, it introduced audiences to Oswald as "soufflé girl", a moniker that would ultimately gain greater resonance in the series finale. Indeed, from the production team's perspective, the episode marked a major victory in Moffat's war on spoilers, in that the surprise of Jenna-Louise Coleman's appearance was preserved for the vast majority of the global audience. Despite several advanced screenings, no major leaks about her presence were known to have occurred in press reports or on social media. It was also an important episode for fans of Dalek design, in that several models of Dalek stretching all the way back to the 1960s were seen in the story — if only briefly.

With respect to the BBC Wales Dalek designs, it seemed to reverse the Victory of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Victory of the Daleks (TV story)"]' implication that the "colour-coded Daleks" would destroy any remaining bronze Daleks introduced in the first Russell T Davies era as inferior. Instead, the bronze Daleks were clearly shown to be numerically superior to the colour-coded version, and both were shown to be working together in a Moffat-introduced Dalek governmental structure called the "Parliament of the Daleks". This was in fact, the last televised appearance of the Victory of the Daleks designs, while the bronze Daleks persisted as recently as Chris Chibnall's final story, the BBC Centenary Special The Power of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Power of the Doctor (TV story)"]. The episode also re-introduced Skaro on television for the first time since the 1996 TV movie, showing it in a state of heavy ruin.

Synopsis[[edit]]

Insane Daleks are about to escape the Dalek Asylum where they are kept. The rest of the Daleks call on their greatest enemy, the Doctor, along with his companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams, to lower the defences so they can destroy the Asylum. Can the Doctor save the day, along with his companions' marriage, as easily as he can fix his bow-tie?

Plot[[edit]]

On Skaro, a woman called Darla tells of a story about a man who fought the Daleks. However, as the universe now believes him to be dead; Darla hopes the rumours are wrong and that this man will come to save them. Inside a huge statue of a Dalek, she is surprised by the Eleventh Doctor, who asks why she has called him. Darla explains that her daughter is in a Dalek prison camp, and she wants him to rescue her. The Doctor questions as to why Darla is not in the camp, to which she says was because she escaped.

However, the Doctor points out no-one does, before touching her face. He pulls his hand back in shock, noting she's cold. Darla wonders why that's a problem. The Doctor tells her that this is a trap, and she doesn't even know it. She asks what's a trap, to which the Doctor tells her; she's the trap and doesn't know it. At that moment, Darla convulses and sprouts a Dalek eye-stalk from her forehead; she's a sleeper agent of the Daleks. With a gunstick from her palm, she knocks out the Doctor as a Dalek saucer arrives to collect the Doctor.

A Dalek puppet.

On 2010s Earth, Amy Pond is posing for the camera when her secretary tells her that her husband wants to see her. She remarks that she doesn't have a husband any more. She walks into a make-up room where Rory asks her to sign the divorce papers, making a snide comment that Amy's job is just "pouting at a camera". Once she has signed the papers, he leaves as Amy's make-up artist, Cassandra, enters. However, it turns out she is also a Dalek puppet, and she teleports Amy away. Meanwhile, Rory gets on a bus, but the bus driver turns out to be yet another puppet, who in turn teleports Rory to the Daleks.

He wakes up in a cell with Amy and looks through a small window to see they are in space, with an armada of Dalek saucers accompanying them. Rory vocally wonders how much trouble they're in; the Doctor is escorted in by Daleks, saying "On a scale of 1 to 10, Mr Pond? 11." They are then taken to the Parliament of the Daleks, where Amy tells Rory everything the Doctor is thinking based on his movements; he's even figured out the two of them are having problems because they are not close to each other. As the Daleks seemed stunned, the Doctor says it's finally Christmas for them because they managed to capture their greatest enemy. Much to the Doctor's surprise, the assembled Daleks don't try to exterminate him. Wondering for what other reason they could have captured him, the Doctor is met with a surprise; the Daleks want the Doctor to save them, to which he replies, "Well, this is new."

The Parliament saucer brings them to a planet the Daleks call the Asylum, a place that the Doctor has heard of only in legend. It's a place where the Daleks dispose of those of their kind who go wrong: the insane, the battle-scarred and the uncontrollable. The Doctor learns, to his disgust, that the Daleks didn't destroy their insane brethren because they find destroying their "Divine Hatred" offensive, describing it to be beautiful. The whole planet is automated and surrounded by an impenetrable shield, but the Daleks have detected a signal of unknown origin on the planet. The Daleks never considered tracing it back and trying to communicate with the source. The Doctor traces the signal to a woman called Oswin Oswald, who has been hiding out on the remains of the crashed starliner Alaska for a year.

The Doctor and the Ponds are fired at the Asylum.

The Doctor realises that when the Alaska crashed, it ruptured the planet's shield, leading to the risk of the inmates escaping. A planet's worth of insane Daleks roaming free is something that scares even the Daleks, who captured the Doctor to deal with the threat. The Daleks explain they kidnapped Amy and Rory because their records show he is always accompanied by companions. Because the shield is still strong enough to resist an assault from orbit, the Doctor and his companions will be sent down to the planet to deactivate the shield so the planet can be "cleansed" (of all life). The three are given protective bracelets so they will not be affected by the "Nanocloud" that surrounds the planet, and are unceremoniously sent down the gravity beam.

Amy is the first to come to after landing and sees a man in a white coat approaching her. Panicking, she runs away, with him chasing after her. The Doctor is next to come to, finding a Dalek eye watching him; Oswin has discovered visitors. Speaking to her via the intercom, the Doctor decides to look for Amy and Rory first. Eventually, he and Amy run into each other, and the man, Harvey, reveals that he was a crew member of the Alaska. They decide to find Rory. The Doctor tracks the reading coming to a hole in the ground; Rory is below them, in the actual facility; it seems the roof gave in when Rory landed. Because they cannot get to Rory at the moment, the Doctor and Amy decide to help Harvey.

Harvey remembers that he died.

Reaching the ship, they discover the rest of Harvey's crew are dead, having decomposed into skeletons. The Doctor reveals to the confused man, who claims they were alive and well not two hours ago, that they have been this way for a long time, a year at least. However, matters get much worse when Harvey remembers he died as well... The cold preserved his body, and the nanocloud turned him into one of the Dalek puppets charged with keeping the Asylum running. With his programming activating, Harvey tries attacking the Doctor and Amy. They quickly shut him into the storage unit of the ship.

The Doctor explains that the nanocloud will transform anything, living or dead, not protected by one of the Dalek bracelets into one of the "staff". Amy points out the second part of his explanation; even the DEAD are converted... including the dead crew members surrounding them. As the decayed husks of the crew begin to come to life, the Doctor and Amy flee to another part of the ship. However, the undead attackers grab Amy for a minute before the Doctor pulls her free and locks them out. They then notice, on the monitor, that the zombies have a bracelet; Amy's is missing, meaning she's now in danger of being converted. Oswin contacts the Doctor and Amy, informing them that there's a rope ladder leading down from the ship. It's the only way out now.

Rory tries to placate an insane Dalek.

Elsewhere, Rory awakes to find himself underground. Oswin seems to him via the intercom and leads Rory through the facility, where several deactivated Daleks litter the halls. Rory accidentally trips on a piece of metal, making a loud noise that awakens one of the severely rusted Daleks. Oddly, it repeats "Eggs..." over and over again, making Rory think it wants the orbs that have fallen out of its casing; Rory offers an orb to the Dalek in confusion. However, the Dalek's voice finally manages to unscramble; it's been trying to say "Exterminate." Rory runs through the room and locks himself in the teleport room on the other side. After Oswin makes flirty jokes, she tells Rory that she'll guide the Doctor and Amy to him.

In the tunnels below the ship, Amy questions the Doctor about what will happen to her. The Doctor explains the Nanocloud will erase her memories, "replace her love with hate", and transform her into a Dalek puppet. Memory is the first thing to be affected, and worse, it's already begun; he's explained this to her four times already. The Doctor encourages Amy to embrace fear to keep herself human; Daleks don't feel fear. They head for the exit, but upon hearing the Daleks outside the teleport room yelling "Exterminate", they're forced back. The Doctor asks Oswin how many Daleks ahead of them as Amy walks off; she sees people in the room ahead. However, the Doctor, having noticed her, informs Amy her perception is now being affected; she's looking at Daleks.

Amy's hallucination of the Daleks.

A Dalek advances on them, identifying the Doctor. However, once the Doctor taunts the decaying Dalek for having a damaged death ray beyond use, it simply activates its self-destruct program in the hopes of taking him with it. The Doctor takes the dome of the Dalek and begins to sonic its casing. It says self-destruct cannot be countermanded. Smirking, the Doctor says he wasn't trying to stop the self-destruct, he was just looking for the reverse switch. And with that, the Dalek is sent screaming back into the room, where it explodes in a crowd of Daleks.

Rory hears the explosion and leaves the teleport room to find several charred Dalek casings. Wondering who killed all the Daleks, Rory sees the Doctor carrying an unconscious Amy. With a smile, the Doctor rhetorically asks Rory, "Who do you think?" Once in the teleport room, the Doctor lets Amy sleep and explains the situation to Rory, discovering the teleport has enough power to get them back to the Dalek ship in orbit once the force field is down. Amy wakes up and, after slapping Rory, Oswin points out that anger is the first sign the conversion is becoming permanent. Amy jokes "Someone's obviously never been to Scotland," implying she's normally hostile. Accepting this, Oswin asks to be taken back to the Dalek ship, but the Doctor questions her about how she keeps getting the ingredients for her soufflés. His companions tell him to put the matter aside; they need to leave the planet before they lose Amy for good.

The Doctor then wonders how Oswin is not being affected by the Nanocloud and learns that she used her intelligence to create a shield to block it. Leaving Amy and Rory behind, the Doctor sets out to find Oswin, as she refuses to turn off the shield until they come to rescue her. Rory offers to give Amy his bracelet to keep her human longer; he claims it would take longer for the Nanocloud to transform him into a puppet. He reasons since it transforms love into hate, he would last longer because he always loved her more than she loved him, referencing the 2000 years he spent protecting her inside the Pandorica as an Auton. As they argue, it is revealed Amy has been left sterile because of something the Silence did to her at Demons Run; while Rory thought Amy kicked him out after deciding she didn't love him, in truth, she knew he had always wanted children, so Amy "gave him up" so he had a better chance at having them with someone else, saying her sacrifice was far greater than his two-thousand-year vigil. They then realise the Doctor put his bracelet on Amy while she was sleeping; Amy muses that he probably doesn't need it and he'd tricked them into working out their relationship problems.

In the meantime, the Doctor reaches "Intensive Care"; it houses Daleks defeated in particular battles - all of them battles with his first, second, and third incarnations. Once the Doctor mentions they "survived" him, the Daleks come back to life and corner him against the door leading to Oswin, intending to enact revenge. The Doctor yells for help, as the Daleks close in on him with their suckers. Luckily, Oswin hacks into the Pathweb, and erases all data on him, effectively making them forget the Doctor. The deranged Daleks quietly go back to their cells and go back to "sleep".

Oswin is revealed to be a Dalek.

The Doctor says it's impossible to hack the Pathweb; even he couldn't. Oswin invites him to meet the person who did. However, once the Doctor enters her room, he tells her that they have a problem. However, Oswin thinks he is simply right outside her room. The Doctor tells Oswin that it's not real; this prompts her to ask where she is.

To his infinite sadness, the Doctor informs Oswin that she is a Dalek, to which she denies. However, the Doctor firmly tells her that the room only exists in her imagination. The Doctor explains the rope ladder he used to get into the facility was originally used by her when she was human. Oswin had been captured by the Daleks, and because of her genius intelligence, had been fully converted into a Dalek instead of simply made into a puppet.

When Oswin refuses to believe him, the Doctor points out that she wouldn't have been able to get eggs and milk for her soufflés for an entire year because there'd be a limited supply. The shocking truth causes Oswin to remember her exploration of the facility, her capture by the Daleks, and her conversion. Repeating the word "Eggs", she reverts to a Dalek personality, yelling "Exterminate!" The Doctor yells for Oswin to regain control of herself, which seemingly works as she is next heard crying. In her imaginary room, Oswin cries. Having felt the Dalek's shared opinion of the Doctor, she asks why they hate him so much. The Doctor explains that it's because he always prevents them from achieving large victories. Oswin tells him the Daleks have grown stronger out of fear of the Doctor. The Doctor admits that he knows this and has been trying to stop ever since he realised.

The Doctor runs back to the teleport.

Oswin tells the Doctor that she is lowering the shields, meaning that the Daleks will bombard the planet very soon. The Doctor asks if she's fine with dying, to which Oswin states that she fought the Daleks and died HUMAN. The Doctor thanks Oswin for her help, and - on her order - runs for his life. Watching the Doctor flee, Oswin says "Run you clever boy, and remember."

Amy and Rory reconcile as the Asylum explodes around them.

In the teleport room, Rory wonders how long they can wait for the Doctor. Amy says for the rest of their lives and they kiss. The Doctor arrives and tries getting their attention — "for God's sake!" Annoyed that Amy and Rory always pick the worst times to kiss, the Doctor activates the teleport as the bombardment finishes.

On the Dalek Parliament ship, the Supreme Dalek reports that the destruction of the Asylum has been successful. However, the alarm goes off; a teleport from the Asylum has occurred. They consider it an attack and prepare to defend. The Doctor's voice is heard over the loudspeaker, saying that he is pin-point accurate with teleports, before leaping out of the TARDIS, calling the Daleks "suckers". They demand that the Doctor identify himself, shocking him; he tells them who he is, only to be met with confusion. The lead Dalek puppet, Darla von Karlsen, asks "Doctor Who?", and soon the entire Parliament of Daleks begins repeating it continuously. The Doctor now realises that Oswin deleted him from the entire Pathweb — not just for the Daleks in Intensive Care, but for their entire species. He marvels at Oswin's accomplishment, and laughs: "Fellas - you're never going to stop asking."

Despite their demands to stay there and elaborate on his identity, the Doctor takes off. He deposits Amy and Rory back at their house. Waving goodbye, Amy smiles to Rory and enters the house; she's taken him back. Rory smiles himself and whoops with joy. Rory then calms down when Amy says "I can see you." In the TARDIS control room, the Doctor is laughing to himself and saying "Doctor Who?", repeating the question himself several times, with joy, as he sets the TARDIS on course for his next adventure.

Cast[[edit]]

Uncredited cast[[edit]]

Crew[[edit]]

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Movement

Casting

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound



Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.


Uncredited crew[[edit]]

Worldbuilding[[edit]]

Daleks[[edit]]

The Doctor[[edit]]

Individuals[[edit]]

  • Amy is now physically unable to have children due to the events on Demons Run.

Foods and beverages[[edit]]

Music[[edit]]

Planets[[edit]]

  • Skaro is the home planet of the Daleks. It still exists, with the remains of a large Dalek-shaped building.
  • The Daleks have an asylum planet.

Transport technology[[edit]]

  • The Doctor brags that he has an exceptional aim with teleports after he teleports himself and the Ponds into his TARDIS.

Influences[[edit]]

  • Steven Moffat was keen to have each episode of season seven exhibit the ambition, scope and thrills of a feature film. For this episode, he was inspired by Die Hard.

Story notes[[edit]]

  • The presence of Jenna-Louise Coleman in this episode was successfully kept secret, despite the episode having several preview showings prior to broadcast. After broadcast, Coleman and Steven Moffat both issued statements thanking fans and the media for keeping Coleman's debut — months before her official first episode, the 2012 Christmas special — a secret.
  • This story premiered in Australia on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's on-demand and catch-up service iView at 5.10am AEST; immediately following the UK broadcast. This was the first time Doctor Who had debuted on Australian TV in this way. A traditional free-to-air screening on ABC1 was followed on the 8 September.[4]
The unique logo for Asylum of the Daleks.
  • This story marks the first appearance of a new title sequence. It contains the same music and time vortex animation as the sequence used for the two previous seasons, but the font of the opening credits and the style of the logo have changed. The sequence appears to have some colour adjustments as well - the vortex has hints of green, while the TARDIS itself is a slightly darker blue with vibrant yellow lighting emanating from the TARDIS windows. The footage also has less-sharp focus, casting a more dream-like atmosphere to the sequence.
  • A prequel was released on iTunes shortly before the release of the episode.
  • This episode was shown at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in August, just as was done with Let's Kill Hitler [+]Loading...["Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)"] in 2011.[5]
  • This is the first televised Dalek story set primarily on another planet than Earth since Revelation of the Daleks.
  • This is the first time since Doctor Who [+]Loading...["Doctor Who (TV story)"], that the caption "written by" was included in an episode.
Paul Cornell did the "eggs" gag with the Seventh Doctor before Steven Moffat. (COMIC: Metamorphosis)
  • Although stressing that the first syllable of "Exterminate!" sounds like eggs was new to television, it was not the first time the notion appeared in licensed Doctor Who. It was done about 20 years earlier by Paul Cornell in Metamorphosis. The usage is remarkably the same in that Doctor Who Yearbook comic, except that it's the Seventh Doctor who is turning into a Dalek and saying "eggs".
  • This is the first season opener not set primarily on Earth since Smith and Jones [+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"].
  • Oswin's theme, composed by Murray Gold, resembles - but is different to - Clara Oswald's theme, later introduced in TV: The Snowmen [+]Loading...["The Snowmen (TV story)"]. A brief snippet of Clara's theme is heard when she first says "Run you clever boy."
  • In a 2017 interview, Jenna Coleman revealed that she burned her right hand during filming when it came in contact with a light; as a result, she says, she can be seen favouring the injured hand in some scenes.[6]
  • Mindful of the mixed reaction which had greeted the redesigned Paradigm Daleks, Steven Moffat wanted to draw upon the long history of variant Dalek designs which dated back to 1963. Moffat now intended to portray the Paradigm Daleks as a sort of Dalek upper echelon, while the bronze design which had been used since Dalek [+]Loading...["Dalek (TV story)"] would be brought back into service as the rank and file.
  • This episode formed Block Two of season seven, along with The Angels Take Manhattan [+]Loading...["The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)"].
  • The Ponds are on the verge of divorce because Steven Moffat wanted to emphasise that the normal problems and challenges of marriage were now as pertinent to them as their adventures with the Doctor.
  • Originally, the Ponds' divorce was to be signposted by Rory's choice to grow a beard, despite Amy's loathing of facial hair, which he would shave off at the story's conclusion. Between seasons, Arthur Darvill was appearing on stage as Mephistopheles in Doctor Faustus, and Steven Moffat planned to have him keep the beard he had grown for that role. However, this plan had to be abandoned when it was decided to make the episode alongside The Angels Take Manhattan [+]Loading...["The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)"]
  • At the start of the story, Darla originally claimed that she wanted the Doctor to take her back in time to see her late daughter, and gave herself away by referring to the age she had been when she herself had died.
  • Cassandra was initially a replacement for Amy's regular make-up artist, while Rory was able to flee the bus only to be surrounded by a mob of Dalek agents.
  • The Dalek Prime Minister was originally the Dalek Prime.
  • The Dalek Parliament was first located on a planet dubbed “Skaro 2” rather than a spaceship.
  • The business of the Doctor and Amy making their way from the Alaska's escape pod through the Asylum, and Amy perceiving the Daleks as people, replaced Oswin teleporting them directly to Rory.
  • Oswin was originally conceived as a fan of Elvis Presley, whose music would play throughout the episode and inspire the Doctor to give her the nickname “Blue Suede Shoes”. However, when the rights to use these songs proved problematic to obtain, Nick Hurran suggested the soundtrack to Georges Bizet's 1875 opera Carmen.
  • Steven Moffat realised that the Doctor would never actually see Oswin in her human form. This meant that the actress portraying Oswin and the actress cast as the new companion could be one and the same. As such, Moffat did away with a suggestion that Oswin might be a Dalek whose insanity had caused it to believe itself to be human.
  • A substantial phalanx of Daleks was assembled for the production, including no fewer than thirteen new constructions. Five were revised versions of the Paradigm Daleks. In part, the changes were intended to address concerns expressed by the operators, who found the Paradigm Daleks far more difficult to control than their predecessors. Most notably, the rear “hump” was removed to restore a more symmetrical appearance, and they were given a metallic sheen in contrast to the bright, plasticky look they had previously sported. Three were painted in red Drone livery, alongside a blue Strategist and a white Supreme. Eight new bronze Daleks were also built; two were given severely distressed characteristics to represent some of the more badly-damaged inmates of the Asylum. Furthermore, three bronze casings were still available from amongst those made and retained by the BBC during the previous decade. Likewise, the original white Paradigm Dalek, last seen in The Wedding of River Song [+]Loading...["The Wedding of River Song (TV story)"], was also to appear, retaining the dilapidated state it had been given for that story.
  • A number of additional Daleks were sourced from BBC Worldwide. They included two additional bronze Daleks, plus the Special Weapons Dalek from Remembrance of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)"]. This Planet Earth, a manufacturer of high-end screen-accurate Dalek props, provided a Dalek from 'Death to the Daleks [+]Loading...["Death to the Daleks (TV story)"] in silver and black livery. A charity organiser which supplied Daleks for fundraising opportunities loaned a bronze Dalek, a black Dalek in the style of Dalek Sec, an Ironsides Dalek from Victory of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Victory of the Daleks (TV story)"], and a Renegade Dalek from Remembrance of the Daleks. Two longtime fans also assisted the production team: an original casing from The Daleks [+]Loading...["The Daleks (TV story)"] and a Throne Room Dalek from The Evil of the Daleks [+]Loading...["The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)"] came from Andrew Beech, while Mark Barton Hill contributed a grey-and-black Dalek from Resurrection of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Resurrection of the Daleks (TV story)"]. Finally, Russell T Davies offered the use of his own prop, which resembled those from Genesis of the Daleks. Caroline Skinner knew Davies well and asked to borrow his replica. She stated that he was "thrilled" that it was canonised.
  • When Amy hallucinates the Daleks of humans, some of them were played by the corresponding Dalek operator.
  • The bronze Dalek which represented Oswin was the casing originally constructed to represent Dalek Caan in Doomsday.
  • No fewer than twenty six Dalek casings were used for the Dalek Parliament. Caroline Skinner said that "there was just a real magic and sense of history about having them".
  • The Dalek Parliament set was the largest ever built for the series, surpassing the Silurian Ark from Dinosaurs on a Spaceship [+]Loading...["Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (TV story)"]
  • Steven Moffat recalled that the Daleks were remembered for being scary, but due to their legacy as British icons they had become "cuddly" over the years and their true menace forgotten. He intended to make them scary again, reminding the audience of their intentions. He thought the best way to do this would be to show Daleks that were considered even madder than usual. Karen Gillan admitted that she had not been scared of the Daleks before working on the episode.
  • Jenna Coleman's scenes were filmed over six days on a closed set with a green screen which she acted to.
  • Steven Moffat was concerned about how all the different Daleks would look together, but was pleased once he saw them; he commented that the diversity made them look like a species, rather than identical robots.
  • Steven Moffat had previously been divorced and tackled the subject in his series Press Gang and Joking Apart. Many viewers took issue with the Ponds' divorce being resolved by the end of the episode and never mentioned again.
  • The black chair in Oswin's pod previously appeared in the pod Jenny used at the end of The Doctor's Daughter [+]Loading...["The Doctor's Daughter (TV story)"] The lever was the same one the Master pulls to shut down the bunker's defences in Utopia [+]Loading...["Utopia (TV story)"]
  • Unusually, the first filming was not the result of careful planning, but of last-minute happenstance. While filming A Town Called Mercy [+]Loading...["A Town Called Mercy (TV story)"] in Almería, Spain, Marcus Wilson realised that the nearby Sierra Nevada mountain range was ideal to represent the surface of the Asylum planet. Nick Hurran quickly devised plans to film the relevant footage, and a minimal crew travelled to Almería's Sierra Nevada National Park.
  • This is the first Dalek story where the Daleks don't actually kill anyone.
  • Ruthie Henshall was originally cast as Darla.

Ratings[[edit]]

The episode was preview screened at BFI Southbank on 14 August 2012, and at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival during 23–25 August. On 25 August it was also screened in New York City and Toronto. The episode was broadcast to the public on 1 September on BBC One in the United Kingdom, BBC America in the United States, and on Space in Canada, and on 2 September on the ABC iView service. It premiered on 8 September 2012 on ABC1 in Australia, and on 13 September on Prime TV in New Zealand.

Overnight viewing figures for the UK showed that the episode was watched by 6.4 million viewers, the lowest overnight figure for a premiere episode of the revived series; however, viewing patterns indicate that fewer people watch Doctor Who live and it won its timeslot. The final consolidated rating was 8.33 million viewers, ranking third for the week on BBC One.[7] It was also the most-viewed episode on BBC iPlayer the day that it aired, and ended September in the number one spot, with 2.2 million requests. "Asylum of the Daleks" achieved an Appreciation Index of 89, the highest for a series opener of Doctor Who.

Viewing figures in the US on BBC America showed that the episode was watched by 1.555 million viewers. It was the #1 cable program in its timeslot, and the most-watched telecast in the history of the network. The episode also garnered a 0.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic. "Asylum of the Daleks" also was viewed 75,000 times on ABC's iView in Australia, a record audience, and 620,000 watched the premiere on Space in Canada, Doctor Who's second-best ratings for the channel. On Prime in New Zealand, the episode attracted 171,690 viewers, Doctor Who's second-highest rating on the channel and the highest rated show on the channel that day.

Filming locations[[edit]]

  • The scenes on the Asylum surface were filmed during production of episode three, A Town Called Mercy [+]Loading...["A Town Called Mercy (TV story)"], in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Spain.

Production errors[[edit]]

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • The first Dalek Rory approaches inside the asylum has indicators on both sides from his perspective, but when the camera is behind the Dalek the light on the right-hand side is missing.
  • The Doctor has a plaster on his finger that keeps disappearing and reappearing.
  • In the ending scene where the Doctor is in the TARDIS, you can see the overhead camera reflected in the glass floor next to the console.
  • When the Doctor, Amy and Rory are in the Dalek Holding Cell, the circular platform they are standing on lifts. On one shot, it shows them and the Daleks looking all around them — the Doctor is looking towards the audience — but in the next shot, the Doctor is looking upward into the Dalek Parliament.
  • When the Doctor says, "It's Christmas!" in the Dalek Parliament, the shot has been "mirrored", as indicated by the flipped positioning of the manipulator arms and gunsticks.
  • The wide shots of the Dalek Parliament do not match the close-up shots.
  • When Rory is being sent to the Asylum, upside down, he yells, "Wrong way up!" twice. His mouth only moves to him saying, "wrong way!"
  • While talking to the Doctor, Oswin's hair keeps moving between being over her forehead and behind her ear several times in one dialogue.
  • At 10:52, all of the Daleks' eye-stalks follow the Doctor's movements, except one which is instead looking up towards the ceiling.
  • At 11:15 when the Doctor says, "Yes reading you loud and clear!" the same Dalek has its eyestalk in an upright position looking up, but there is also a Dalek with its headpiece not secured right in the same scene.
  • When the Doctor says, "A small taskforce could sneak through the forcefield, send in a couple of Daleks," the same Dalek is there with its eyestalk in an upright position. There are multiple Daleks in this scene with obscure eyestalks, one to the right is looking down and one is looking slightly above the Doctor.
  • In the same scene as above, the Dalek that looks slightly above the Doctor seems to twirl its eyestalk for a while, after that the blue light at the end of it goes out.
  • When Rory escapes the awakening Daleks, the direction the Special Weapons Dalek is facing changes; in the next shot, it is back to its original position.
  • When Oswin makes her "You'll put someone's eye out" joke about the Doctor's chin, there is a close-up of Amy stifling a laugh. Then it cuts to a wide shot with Amy out of focus in the background, and she is seen repeating the act of stifling the laugh.
  • When the TARDIS leaves the Dalek parliament, it dematerialises with the right door still open.

Continuity[[edit]]

A special weapons Dalek.

Home video releases[[edit]]

Series 7, part 1 DVD cover.

DVD & Blu-ray releases[[edit]]

  • Asylum of the Daleks, along with the rest of the first half of the series (episodes one through to five) was released as Series 7 Part One on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1/A on 13 November 2012, in region 2/B on 29 October 2012 and in region 4/B on 14 November 2012.
  • Also, this episode was released as part of the Complete Seventh Series boxset on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1/A on 24 September 2013, in region 2/B on 28 October 2013 and in region 4/B on 30 October 2013.

Digital releases[[edit]]

  • In the United Kingdom, this story is available on BBC iPlayer.

External links[[edit]]

Footnotes[[edit]]

  1. ↑ Fox was not credited for this role in this episode. (DWMSE 33) He was, however, credited for the same role in The Angels Take Manhattan [+]Loading...["The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)"], where he did not appear.
  2. ↑ Doctor Who News Guide
  3. ↑ Doctor Who Season 7 Episode 1: Asylum of the Daleks. Retrieved on 3 November 2018.
  4. ↑ tv/2012/08/the-doctor-to-premiere-on-iview.html The Doctor To Premiere On iview. ABC TV Blog (28 August 2012). Retrieved on 2 September 2012.
  5. ↑ John Plunkett (9 May 2012). Charlie Brooker, Steven Moffat and Ruth Jones top bill in Edinburgh. The Guardian. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  6. ↑ BAFTA: Jenna Coleman's Painful Introduction to Doctor Who. YouTube.com (11 October 2017). Retrieved on 14 October 2017.
  7. ↑ Doctor Who Ratings - UK final
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For the purposes of this list, a "Dalek story" is one in which one living, authentic Dalek plays a part within the confines of the story, outside of flashbacks to previous stories and cliffhangers that lead into the following story. For this reason, stories such as The Space Museum are not counted due to the Daleks' appearance being defined by their importance to following stories, while stories such as The Wheel in Space and The Waters of Mars are absent due to the Daleks' only contribution being references to past Dalek stories. Stories like The Wedding of River Song, Hell Bent, Once, Upon Time and The Vanquishers are also not included due to the Daleks' appearance being restricted to a single scene of no consequence to the plot of the story, while the TV movie is also absent due to the Daleks only being heard from off-screen.
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