Doctor Whohad been in trouble since at least 1985.
Remembranceis Ben Aaronovichs first ever television script, and it sets out to own the show from the off.
Even Keff McCullochs often-dated synths suit this story very well in places.
The special effects inRemembrancehold up too, barring the Dalek shuttlecraft leaving in Part Four.
This is partly because Andrew Morgan, the director, overspent on visual effects.
The reasonRemembrance Of The Dalekslooks so good is because it used more money than it was allotted.
However, in 1988, the BBC decided to ban Morgan from working on the show again.
If it didnt, they could legitimately cancel it quietly.
In the end, arguably, both happened.
So, one lesion to be learned fromRemembranceis the value of the BBCs support.
If it hits a bad patch now, it has a safety net to recover.
Youd be forgiven for thinking it was a tad impenetrable.
Thats easy enough to understand without having seenRevelation Of The Daleks.
Youmustimpress people with your depth and intelligence.
Fortunately, this sometimes works, and does so in this case.
Weve got several plots ongoing, and they all dovetail.
Crucially,Remembranceis balanced.
For every smart-alec quip or in-joke theres a great action sequence or a quiet moment of pathos.
This is something that the new series really went for more than the show ever had before.
You cant quantify exactly how influentialRemembrance Of The Daleksis, but it has definitely endured.
Plus, above all, it has Special Weapons Dalek in it.
Special Weapons Dalek is awesome.
