Old-school Daleks will mix with newer models in Doctor Who holiday special

This New Year’s Eve, Doctor Who is preparing for a Dalek spectacular! Also, the producers give us an update on season 12.

This New Year’s Day, Doctor Who fans will get their first new episode in nine months: the holiday special “Revolution of the Daleks.”

The episode is set to resolve some big plotlines for the show: how will the Doctor get out of space prison, where she’s been for 10 months when the episode starts? What will become of companions Graham (Bradley Walsh) and Ryan (Tosin Cole), who will no longer be series regulars after this episode? And what’s with the Daleks’ snazzy new blue look?

Yes, the Daleks are coming out with a bold new casing. But it looks like the old, bronze-colored Daleks will be returning, too, based on this official shot of John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness posing next to one:

We also got a look at the filming of this episode back in 2019, which confirmed the inclusion of the older, 2005-style Dalek models in the episode:

Speaking with Radio Times, showrunner Chris Chibnall talked about the multiple versions of the Doctor’s iconic enemy. “You’re never replacing what’s gone before, you’re just adding a new variant,” he said. “You’re just adding to the line of different things that have been done with those, so it wasn’t like we were saying, ‘These will replace the bronze Daleks,’ it’s just this story is about these black and red Daleks which light up at night and do all sorts of things. So I think that gives you a little bit more freedom. You’re not saying forget all the Daleks you’ve seen before…you’re just saying in this story [it’s these new ones].”

“Revolution of the Daleks” is gearing up to be quite possibly the most insane Dalek episode we’ve ever seen. Add in all the drama with the companions, and this could be one a holiday special to remember. “I think it’s quite a rollercoaster of lots of different feelings,” Chibnall told Entertainment Weekly. “Because it’s a festive special, you want it to be full of everything. So, there’s a lot of action, there’s humor, there are character moments. You’ll be emotionally wrung out by the end, I think, and hopefully feeling like you’ve had a good time, and you’ve seen a few Daleks.”

Make sure you don’t miss the holiday special airing on BBC America on New Year’s Day!

And after that, we have Doctor Who season 12 to look forward to, although we’re not exactly sure when yet. “We’re filming as we speak,” Chibnall said. “We’ve got lots of new characters, new monsters, some old ones coming back. We’re only a few weeks in. It’s very different, but we obviously have to work in a very different way, under COVID protocols. So, it’s not without its challenges, but every series of Doctor Who has had its challenges. At the moment, everybody’s smiling.”

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