Doctor Who: Eve of the Daleks

 "Daleks do not store stuff?"

What would Moffat do? This is the question that Chris Chibnall will presumably have been asking himself while writing this distinctly Moffat-esque episode. It's extremely timey-wimey. It has a prominent romantic sub-plot which is integrated with the timey-wimeyness. There's even a lot of witty dialogue, something Chibnall has been improving at, but this time really nails. Most of the funniest lines go to either the Dalek or Sarah, in an outstanding guest performance by Aisling Bea.

This is not, of course, as good as a Moffat episode, as Chibnall is not in the same league as a writer. The timey-wimey plot is pretty simple in concept and only complex in terms of the complex amount of stuff that happens. It feels more Sapphire & Steel than Blink, which was simultaneously both more complicated and easier to follow than this. But it reminded me of nothing more than that old Monty Python deja vu sketch, which you need to watch immediately if you've never seen it.

And it's fun. It's good. It's simultaneously amusing and exciting. It's all nicely themed to New Year, with a whopping fireworks display at the end. The two guest characters work well, and the romance is believable. There's nothing much wrong with it. Even the humorous use of the Daleks doesn't cross a line and make the pepperpots lose their menace or sense of evil- and it's nice that they're after the Doctor for her genocidal extrerminaltion of untold Daleks at the end of Flux. It's just that the episode lacks that extra spark of quality that a Moffat would have given it.

There's some interesting arc stuff, too. The TARDIS control room gets a regeneration after its problems during Flux, which are nicely integrated into the plot. And there's some interesting character stuff where Dan gets to explicitly tell both Yaz and the Doctor that he's very much noticing the compelling necessity for them to just get a bloody room. It's an interesting arc, and not a bad idea, It's just that the execution is going to be carried out by Chibnall, not the likes of a Moffat.

Still, a solidly entertaining romp for all the family, with some witty lines to boot. This is one of Chibnall's better episodes. It's just that it doesn't quite reach the level of his predecessor... or, indeed, his successor.