Revolution of the Daleks (TV story)

Revolution of the Daleks
Doctor:	Thirteenth Doctor
Companion(s):	Graham, Ryan, Yaz, Jack
Featuring:	Jack Robertson
Main enemy:	Defence Drones, Death Squad Daleks
Main setting:	Earth, 1 January 2021
Key crew
Writer:	Chris Chibnall
Director:	Lee Haven Jones
Producer:	Alex Mercer
Release details
Story number:	296
Premiere broadcast:	1 January 2021
Premiere network:	BBC One
Format:	1x70 minute episode
Official trailer
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Doctor Who television stories
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New Year specials
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Revolution of the Daleks was the 2021 New Year Special of Doctor Who. It featured the return of Jack Harkness, and marked the Thirteenth Doctor's reunion with her companions following the events of The Timeless Children.

The episode also saw the departure of Bradley Walsh as Graham O'Brien and Tosin Cole as Ryan Sinclair.

Continuing the Recon Dalek storyline begun in Resolution, a new line of Daleks were introduced, cloned from a remnant of the original recon scout. Their new design is a variant on the Recon Dalek's own casing.

Synopsis

As the Thirteenth Doctor marks her days in prison, elsewhere in the universe the Daleks are presented on national television. They are the new Defence Drones, designed to protect the British public.

Left behind on Earth, Yaz, Graham and Ryan need their friend more than ever. Now with Daleks on the assembly line, and a familiar face behind their production... What would the Doctor do?

Plot

367 minutes after the Doctor melted the casing of the Reconnaissance scout, a lorry driver takes the empty casing from GCHQ to Depositary 23, stopping off at a kiosk for a cup of tea. Walking back to his vehicle, he starts to breathe heavily, drops his cup, and collapses.

The woman running the kiosk drags him inside the lorry with the casing and drives it away.

Jo Patterson - the technology secretary - drives to a breakfast meeting with Leo Rugazzi and Jack Robertson to see Leo’s new defence drones.

They oversee a fake riot organised by Jack, where a defence drone effectively disperses the rioters, and Leo also shows the pair how the drones are controlled by AI and solar powered. Robertson and Jo talk in private, and Jo warns him not to tell anyone that she tipped him off about advanced technology being transported from GCHQ. Jack tells her that the drones will take around a year to develop.

In a prison located inside an asteroid, the Doctor wakes up, scratches another mark on her cell wall - the marks cover two walls - says hello to the cameras and her fellow inmates, and thinks. She tries to tell herself a bedtime story, but is interrupted by knocking from the other side of a wall.

Ryan Sinclair and Graham O’Brien walk towards the TARDIS disguised as a house. They go to knock on the door, but it opens for them. Inside the TARDIS control room they find Yasmin Khan surrounded by coloured paper and post it notes covered in writing stuck to almost every surface.

The Doctor wakes up, scratches another mark on her cell wall, says hello to the cameras and her fellow inmates, and sees Jack Harkness in the fenced square for exercise next to her. She’s shocked to see him.

More to be added.

Cast

• The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
• Graham O'Brien - Bradley Walsh
• Yasmin Khan - Mandip Gill
• Ryan Sinclair - Tosin Cole
• Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
• Jack Robertson - Chris Noth
• Jo Patterson - Harriet Walter
• Leo Rugazzi - Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
• Armen - Nathan Armarkwei-Laryea
• Rachel - Helen Anderson
• Voice of the Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
• Dalek Operator 1 - Barnaby Edwards
• Dalek Operator 2 - Nicholas Pegg
• Grace - Sharon D Clarke

Uncredited

• Emily Maitlis - Herself

Crew

to be added

References

Species

• The Doctor's fellow prisoners include a Weeping Angel, an Ood, a Sycorax, a Pting, a Silent and a Skithra.

Popular culture

• The Doctor recites the opening line of "classic" story to herself, mentioning "Mr and Mrs Dursley of 4 Privet Drive".
• Robertson gives an interview to Emily Maitlis on Newsnight.

Individuals

• Jack Harkness mentions catching up with Gwen Cooper.
• Jack mentions Rose Tyler.
• Ryan and Graham both have a vision of Grace O'Brien.

Story notes

• The opening title card ("A LONG TIME AGO... FAR, FAR AWAY...") is a reference to the famous Star Wars opening title, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...".
• This was the first televised story of the parent Doctor Who series to be originally released to a streaming service, making its debut on iPlayer around 10 minutes before its BBC One broadcast, rather than shortly afterwards or live and concurrently, as is the norm. However, Series 1 of Class had previously debuted on the same service. (Perhaps coincidentally, the episodes of Class had also debuted on the iPlayer service earlier than the time that they were advertised to be released.)

Ratings

to be added

Filming locations

to be added

Myths

Davros would return. This was proven false

Production errors

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.

to be added

Continuity

• Jack Robertson's political ambitions being ruined by a toxic waste scandal is mentioned. (TV: Arachnids in the UK)
• The Doctor is still locked in prison. (TV: The Timeless Children)
• Jack Harkness gets the Doctor's attention by knocking four times. (TV: Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars, The End of Time)
• Yaz has been studying the TARDIS the Doctor sent Team TARDIS back to Earth in. (TV: The Timeless Children)
• Jack Harkness recalls meeting the Doctor's companions and warning them about the Lone Cyberman. (TV: Fugitive of the Judoon) He is unhappy to find out that the Doctor did give him the Cyberium, (TV: The Haunting of Villa Diodati) but the Doctor claims that she resolved this, "sort of". (TV: The Timeless Children)
• The Doctor tells Ryan that Gallifrey is devoid of life after Ko Sharmus used the death particle. (TV: The Timeless Children)
• The Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller previously encountered a set of Daleks who wanted to wipe out a genetically impure Mutant Daleks created by Martez on Red Rocket Rising. (AUDIO: Blood of the Daleks)
• Jack Harkness tells the Fam how he became immortal, (TV: The Parting of the Ways) and that the person partially responsible for it is now stranded in a parallel universe. (TV: Doomsday, Journey's End)
• Ryan puts on a grey beanie, with the Doctor remembering the yellow one he was wearing when they met. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
• A Weeping Angel, (TV: Blink) an Ood, (TV: The Impossible Planet) a Sycorax, (TV: The Christmas Invasion) a Pting, (TV: The Tsuranga Conundrum) and a Silent (TV: The Impossible Astronaut) appear as the Doctor’s fellow prisoners/inmates.
• Jack Harkness reconnects with Gwen Cooper, after spending some time apart. (AUDIO: Herald of the Dawn)
• Ryan once again tries to learn how to ride a bicycle with Graham's help. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
• Jack Harkness calls Graham "Silver Fox". (TV: Fugitive of the Judoon)

Home video releases

DVD releases

to be added

Blu-ray releases

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Digital releases

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External links

• Official Revolution of the Daleks page on the Doctor Who website