My reaction to the Beast Below and to Victory of the Daleks

I am running a little behind with my commentary to the new Doctor Who espisodes, so I am going to do a two-for-one special today.

I liked the espisode The Beast Below. I found the Smilies to be particularly disturbing. I also liked how Amy Pond had to save the day; bottom line, she really understands the Doctor. It was also nice to see her notice something that the Doctor missed, which reveals that for all the sensory poweress that the Doctor displayed in The Eleventh Hour, the Doctor still does not understand human nature...or for that matter, even alien nature as well as his companions do on occasion. I loved the final shot of the espisode.

My feelings towards Victory of the Daleks are less warm. Despite the iconic nature of the setting and characters, I think that espisode was rather lack-luster. Obviously, there is going to be an espisode down the line that drives how important this espisode is...but I can sum up the entire espisode in three sentences.

Spoiler alert!!!---sort of.

Do not read the next section unless you want to know all you need to know about the espisode.

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Doctor Who and the Daleks meet Winston Churchill. The Daleks fool both the Doctor and Churchill. The Daleks get a new paint job.

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Ok, maybe the three sentences are not a major spoiler. But you get the point...the espisode is just a set-up for something coming down the line.

Wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that Amy Pond (and probably the entire human race) do not remember the planets in the sky.