Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)

Daleks in Manhattan was the fifth episode in series three of Doctor Who. It marked the reappearance of the Cult of Skaro and the Doctor's second visit to the Empire State Building.

	Tenth Doctor
	Martha Jones
	Cult of Skaro Mr Diagoras
	New York City, 1930
	Helen Raynor
	James Strong
	Phil Collinson
	182a
	21 April 2007
	BBC One
	1 45-minute episode
	3.4
	[[confidential::A New York Story|A New York Story]]
Doctor Who television stories
← Previous	Gridlock
Next →	Evolution of the Daleks
Production order
← Previous	The Lazarus Experiment
Next →	Evolution of the Daleks

Synopsis

1930s New York, and on top of the Empire State Building, the Doctor's oldest enemies are at work.

Plot

At the Majestic Theater in Midtown Manhattan, showgirl Tallulah is speaking to her boyfriend, Laszlo, one of the theatre's stagehands, before her nightly performance. She promises to come and see Laszlo's mother soon, and in turn, he gives her a rosebud for good luck. Suddenly, something runs past the door, oinking. Laszlo follows the sound into a storage room. Suddenly, a pig slave leaps out of the shadows and attacks him.

The Tenth Doctor and Martha arrive at the Statue of Liberty, the Doctor having decided to take Martha on a quick detour before taking her home. Seeing the uncompleted Empire State Building, the Doctor estimates the date, while Martha finds a newspaper dated 1 November 1930. The Doctor notes the headline 'Hooverville Mystery Deepens' and reads about regular disappearances from the Hooverville community in Central Park. They travel to the Hooverville to question Solomon, the leader of the community. As the Doctor and Martha arrive, a fight breaks out between two of the men over a loaf of bread. Solomon breaks up the fight and tells the people of Hooverville about how thirteen years ago, he fought in World War I, and he and the others only survived by staying together. He tells them that the people disappear at night, leaving behind their few possessions. He asks the Doctor why people can build the Empire State Building, which will be the tallest building in the world when completed, when there are people starving in the heart of Manhattan.

At the top of the Empire State Building, Mr Diagoras orders the construction foreman to speed up construction on the mast, telling him that there is extra work that must be completed by tonight. When the foreman refuses, Mr. Diagoras pushes the elevator's call button. The foreman asks him about his new 'masters,' but Diagoras is very vague about them, only saying that they are from out of town and beyond the human imagination. The elevator arrives, and out emerge Dalek Caan and two pig men. As the foreman backs away in shock, Diagoras tells Caan that the man is refusing to complete the work. Dalek Caan has the luckless foreman taken away for 'the final experiment'. The pig slaves hustle the foreman into the elevator. Caan then orders Diagoras to recruit more 'bodies' for the final experiment.

Diagoras arrives in Hooverville later that day to recruit workers to clear a sewer collapse for a dollar a day. Intrigued by an admission that people sometimes fail to come back, the Doctor accepts the job. Martha goes with him, along with Solomon and a young man from Tennessee named Frank. Mr. Diagoras sends them half a mile in, but they find no obstruction -- just a green lump of alien flesh. The Doctor examines and pockets it. Further on, they come across a lone pig slave. As the Doctor talks to it, more pig slaves arrive, and chase the Doctor and friends through the sewers.

Mr. Diagoras orders the crew working on the Empire State Building to attach strange strips of metal (taken from a Dalek's 'skirt') to the base of the mast, and to complete the task that night. The workers complain about the unsafe conditions, but comply. Diagoras warns them that if they do not work, he can replace them in a flash. After they leave, Dalek Caan discusses the construction with Diagoras, and mentions that his planet was destroyed in a war, while he is somewhat impressed about the fact humans survive across time, building and rebuilding New York City. Diagoras tells the Dalek that he fought in a war (World War I), and that he promised himself he would survive at any cost. Noting that Diagoras is most like them in mentality, Dalek Sec orders him to the basement, where he is seized for use in their 'final experiment'.

The Doctor, Martha and Solomon escape the sewers through a manhole, but Frank is captured. The others emerge in the theatre, where Tallulah points a gun at them. She demands to know what they did with Laszlo, who disappeared two weeks earlier. The Doctor gets Tallulah to discard the gun (which was only a prop), and Tallulah tells them about Laszlo's disappearance. The Doctor and Solomon search for equipment the Doctor can use to examine the alien flesh, while Martha and Tallulah compare notes about Laszlo and the Doctor. Solomon confesses that he left Frank behind because he was scared. Solomon then returns to Hooverville, telling everybody about what happened to Frank, and that they must now fight.

Dalek Sec states that, to survive, the Daleks must evolve. Dalek Thay questions the results of the experiment, arguing that merging with humans (an inferior race) is directly against Dalek philosophy; Dalek Sec counters that after everything that has happened, there remain millions of humans but only four Daleks. Dalek Sec intends to sacrifice himself for the survival of the Dalek race, just as Dalek Thay sacrificed the metal from his casing. Dalek Sec opens up his casing and uses his long tentacles to grab Mr. Diagoras. He pulls him closer and envelops him in his own body before dragging him into his casing to begin the 'evolution'.

Martha is watching Tallulah's dance number when she notices a pig slave watching from the other side of the stage. She tries sneaking behind the dancers to reach him, but he runs away. Noticing that he is more human than pig, she follows him into the prop store, where he disappears down the manhole.

The Doctor studies the alien matter found in the sewer, and learns its planet of origin: Skaro. He rushes to find Martha, and hears her scream as she is seized by pig slaves. He goes down the manhole after her. Tallulah follows him, despite the Doctor's warning. Moments later, he grabs her and hides as a Dalek glides by. The two then find the pig slave that Martha saw. It's not any pig slave: it's Laszlo, who is in a state that is halfway between that of a pig slave and a human. He had somehow managed to escape the Dalek lab before he could be completely converted.

Back in the Dalek lab, smoke billows from Dalek Sec's casing while he shakes violently. His comrades urge him to cancel the experiment, but he refuses and asks for an injection. Dalek Jast plunges a syringe containing a chromatin solution into his casing.

Martha is thrust in with a parade of captives taken from Hooverville, including Frank. They are met first by Dalek Caan, and then Dalek Thay who reports that "the Dalekanium is in place." The Daleks use their plunger arms to scan their captives' brains as the Doctor hides nearby and watches. Laszlo explains that the "low intelligence" captives (which would include many of the people from Hooverville) become pig slaves, while the "high intelligence" ones are destined to become part of 'the final experiment'. Laszlo urges Tallulah to go back without him. The Doctor joins Martha in the high intelligence group as they proceed towards 'the final experiment'. Tallulah runs through the sewers, but gets lost.

The captive party reaches the Daleks' Transgenic Laboratory under the Empire State Building, where Dalek Jast attends to Dalek Sec. The Doctor tells Martha to ask what they are doing; he does not want the Daleks to notice him. Martha steps forward and demands to know what is happening. The Daleks tell her she will bear witness to the rebirth of the Dalek race. Dalek Sec's casing opens, and a humanoid creature emerges, with a Dalek mutant-like head and brown hands, wearing Mr. Diagoras' suit. It flexes its new limbs as the other three Daleks recoil from it. "I am a human Dalek," it tells them all, "I am your future..."

Cast

• The Doctor - David Tennant
• Martha Jones - Freema Agyeman
• Tallulah - Miranda Raison
• Laszlo - Ryan Carnes
• Solomon - Hugh Quarshie
• Frank - Andrew Garfield
• Mr Diagoras - Eric Loren
• Myrna - Flik Swann
• Lois - Alexis Caley
• Zeffrey - Earl Perkins
• Hooverville Resident - Peter Brooke
• Foreman - Ian Porter
• Workers - Joe Montana and Stewart Alexander
• Dock Worker - Mel Taylor
• Dalek Operators - Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas Pegg, Anthony Spargo, David Hankinson
• Dalek Voices - Nicholas Briggs
• Hero Pig - Paul Kasey

Crew

Executive Producers   Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner

Written by Helen Raynor	Produced by Phil Collinson	Directed by James Strong	Director of Photography Ernie Vincze BSC	Production Designer Edward Thomas	Visual Effects The Mill
Make-up Designer Barbara Southcott	Casting Director Andy Pryor CDG	Music Murray Gold	Costume Designer Louise Page	Edited by Mike Jones	Special Effects Any Effects
Original theme music by Ron Grainer  •  With thanks to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales   Daleks created by Terry Nation

General production staff Production Executive - Julie Scott Production Manager - Patrick Schweitzer Location Manager - Gareth Skelding Unit Manager - Huw Jones Production Co-ordinator - Jess van Niekerk Production Assistant - Debi Griffiths Production Secretary - Kevin Myers Drivers - Wayne Humphreys, Malcolm Kearney Production Accountant - Endaf Emyr Williams Contracts Assistant - Kath Blackman Finance Manager - Chris Rogers Script department Script Editor - Lindsey Alford Camera and lighting department 1st Assistant Director - Peter Bennett 2nd Assistant Director - Steffan Morris 3rd Assistant Director - Sarah Davies Floor Runners - Lowri Denman, Barry Philips Continuity - Non Eleri Hughes Camera Operator - Roger Pearce Focus Puller - Steve Rees Grip - John Robinson Boom Operators - Jon Thomas, Bryn Thomas Gaffer - Mark Hutchings Best Boy - Peter Chester Electricians - Clive Johnson, Ben Griffiths	Art department Chief Supervising Art Director - Stephen Nicholas Supervising Art Director - Arwel Wyn Jones Art Department Production Manager - Jonathan Marquand Allison Art Department Co-ordinator - Matthew North Associate Designer - James North Set Decorator - Julian Luxton Props Buyer - Ben Morris Design Assistants - Peter McKinstry, Rob Dicks Cyfle Trainee - Kate Meyrick Standby Props - Phill Shellard, Nick Murray Standby Carpenter - Paul Jones Standby Art Director - Lee Gammon Standby Rigger - Bryan Griffiths Standby Painter - Ellen Woods Chief Props Master - Adrian Anscombe Property Master - Phil Lyons Senior Props Maker - Barry Jones Props Makers - Penny Howarth, Mark Cordory, Nick Robatto Construction Manager - Matthew Hywel-Davies Construction Chargehand - Allen Jones Graphics - BBC Wales Graphics Costume department Costume Supervisor - Lindsay Bonaccorsi Assistant Costume Designer - Marnie Ormiston Costume Assistants - Sheenagh O'Marah, Kirsty Wilkinson	Make-up and prosthetics Make-up Artists - Pam Mullins, Steve Smith, John Munro Prosthetics - Millennium FX Prosthetics Designer - Neill Gorton Prosthetics Supervisor - Rob Mayor Movement Stunt Co-ordinator - Tom Lucy Choreographer - Alisa Berk Casting Casting Associate - Andy Brierley General post-production staff Post-production Supervisors - Samantha Hall, Chris Blatchford Post-production Co-ordinator - Marie Brown Assistant Editor - Tim Hodges On-line Editor - Matthew Clarke Special and visual effects Visual FX Producers - Will Cohen, Marie Jones Visual FX Supervisor - Dave Houghton VFX Editor - Ceres Doyle VFX Co-ordinators - Jenna Powell, Rebecca Johnson On-set VFX Supervisor - Barney Curnow SFX Co-ordinator - Ben Ashmore SFX Supervisor - Paul Kelly 3D Artists - Adam Burnett, Jean Yves Audouard 2D Artists - Sara Bennett, Tim Barter, Adam Rowland, Joseph Courtis, Greg Spencer, Bryan Bartlett, Russell Horth Colourist - Mick Vincent Digital Matte Painters - Simon Wicker, Charlie Bennett, Alex Fort Sound Sound Recordist - Ron Bailey Dubbing Mixer - Tim Ricketts Supervising Sound Editor - Paul McFadden Sound Effects Editor - Paul Jefferies Sound Editor - Doug Sinclair Foley Editor - Kelly-Marie Angell

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.
With this episode, Helen Raynor became the first woman to write a Dalek story.

References

• Laszlo is turned into a pig slave.
• The Cult of Skaro are Dalek Sec, Dalek Caan, Dalek Thay and Dalek Jast.
• Dalek Sec initiates the Final Experiment with Mr Diagoras to become a human Dalek.
• Dalekanium is the metal that the Daleks' casings are made of.
• The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to identify the Dalek mutant's home planet: Skaro.
• When Tallulah asks Martha if she's ever been on stage before, Martha refers to the events of The Shakespeare Code.
• The scene where Solomon settles an argument by dividing a loaf of bread is probably a Biblical reference to King Solomon who settled an argument between two women who claimed the same child was theirs by pretending to suggest the child be divided in two. When only one of the women objected, he gave the child to her.

Story notes

• The working title for the episode was originally Daleks in New York but was changed due to the fact that it would be easier to say Manhattan.
• Although various Dalek Emperors, Dalek Supremes, and the Dalek creator Davros have appeared over the years, the Daleks of the Cult of Skaro (Sec, Caan, Jast and Thay) were the first individual recurring Daleks.
• The cliffhanger of this episode (the appearance of a humanoid Dalek) was spoiled when the production team chose to feature an image of it on the cover of that week's Radio Times.
• As is routine for post-2005 Doctor Who, a "NEXT TIME" trailer for the next episode is shown at the end of the episode.

Ratings

• 6.69 million viewers - BARB final ratings
• 6.3 million viewers - Overnight ratings
• 1.13 million viewers - BBC3 Repeat ratings

Myths

• Several rumours about an art deco Dalek appearing in this episode or the next part were proposed when names were revealed of series three episodes. No such Dalek appeared.
• Another rumour was that Mr Diagoras, when in completely human form, was Dalek Sec. This was due to pictures of him standing next to three other Dalek-aware humans, who resembled the Cult of Skaro.

Filming locations

• Some location filming in New York.
• Bute Park, Cardiff.

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.

• There is a point where a Dalek is looking at Mr. Diagoras and his eyestalk is moving up and down but when it cuts to the view from the Dalek, it is still.
• Throughout the episode, Thay, Jast and Caan's recognition codes switch.
• When Diagoras is seen being merged he has gloves on but when he becomes a hybrid the gloves are gone.

Continuity

• The Cult of Skaro last appeared in TV: Doomsday.
• This is the first time that Skaro had been mentioned on screen in the new series (the last mention on screen was in the 1996 TV movie). The Cult of Skaro, of course, was mentioned in Doomsday, but Skaro was not explicitly stated as being the Daleks' home planet until this story.
• This is the first time since the Daleks' debut story that one of them has actually considered leaving their shells.
• Martha recognises the name "Dalek" upon hearing one of the Daleks identify their species. She was told about the Daleks by the Tenth Doctor in the previous episode, Gridlock.
• Daleks also arrived in New York City in TV: The Chase, but only for a moment.
• The Daleks previously tried to harness the Human Factor, causing the Daleks involved to become more human than anticipated. (TV: The Evil of the Daleks)

Home video releases

Series 3 Volume 2 DVD Cover

• This episode was released with Evolution of the Daleks, The Lazarus Experiment and 42 on the Series 3 Volume 2 DVD.
• It is also part of the Series 3 DVD box set.

See also

• TV: The Chase
• TV: Genesis of the Daleks
• TV: Revelation of the Daleks

External links

• BBC Website - Daleks in Manhattan Episode Guide
• Daleks in Manhattan at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• The Discontinuity Guide to: Daleks in Manhattan at The Whoniverse
• Daleks in Manhattan at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
• Daleks in Manhattan at The Locations Guide