Asylum of the Daleks is very much a text in time, to quote the HSC English syllabus that I was furious at for most of that time. It's a visually impressive story that begins the culmination of Moffat's BIG era, with a series of five massive stories that I actually do rate rather highly, on reflection. And to kick things off, we get Asylum of the Daleks, a story which has changed as time marched on. As I say, it's a text in time.
Watching Asylum of the Daleks on first transmission is perhaps one of the most greatest experiences ever to happen to me as a viewer of Doctor Who. Because, after the opening credits, we nonchalantly were greeted with Jenna-Louise Coleman's character talking to herself. Bearing in mind that she had only just been announced as the next companion, and it had not been indicated that she would appear in this episode, I was completely lost for words. This was further compounded by one of the cleverest things that both Steven Moffat and director Nick Hurran do in the episode, which is to not draw attention to the fact that this is the new companion at all. Instead, we get a couple of vague hints towards the end, but she's otherwise treated as an ordinary supporting character. And it's this confusion and excitement at what's happening that makes Asylum of the Daleks such a thrill to watch for the first time.
But after losing that thrill, and watching it again, it becomes a different story. Fortunately Moffat knows better than to waste an entire episode to a cheap thrill that only lasts the first time, and so he packs it full of ideas in an attempt to make the Daleks seem scarier. Hurran also provides something that looks and feels impressive; the texture of the adventure feels more like a film than a television episode. But unlike the best Doctor Who episodes, which are perfectly timeless and work amazingly well every time that they're seen, Asylum of the Daleks reached its peak on first transmission, and dropped down to normality after that.
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