The one where the Doctor and Martha time-travel to Depression-era New York, stumble into a Dalek construction project, meet a showgirl, and discover the Daleks’ new hobby: pig farming.
Short Synopsis
In 1930s Manhattan, the Doctor and Martha uncover the Daleks’ sinister plan to evolve beyond their metal casings by experimenting on humans. There are pig-slaves, sewers, and Broadway glamour. It ends with the shocking reveal of Dalek Sec merging with a human host to create a hybrid.
Extended Storyline
The TARDIS materializes in New York City, 1930 — specifically, right in the shadow of the under-construction Empire State Building. It’s the height of the Great Depression: breadlines, soup kitchens, and half-built skyscrapers scraping the clouds. Martha gets her first glimpse of history on a more grounded scale, and the Doctor waxes poetic about human resilience, skyscraper-building ambition, and the sheer nerve of humanity even in the worst of times. (It’s Tennant’s trademark “humans are brilliant” speech #47, but it works.)
But something’s off. Workers have been disappearing from Hooverville — a shantytown in Central Park made up of homeless and unemployed people. Enter Solomon, the unofficial leader of Hooverville, who holds things together with wisdom and fairness despite crushing poverty. Solomon immediately earns the Doctor’s respect, while Martha looks around wondering if she’s going to spend yet another episode getting kidnapped. (Spoiler: yes, yes she is.)
At the same time, creepy things are happening at the Majestic Theatre, where chorus girl Tallulah (with three L’s, one H, and a thick Brooklyn accent) sings her way through life with optimism and questionable taste in boyfriends. Her boyfriend Laszlo has mysteriously vanished — but we know where he is. He’s been “upgraded” by the Daleks into one of their new Pig Slaves: lumbering, snorting, human-pig hybrids that make the Cybermen look like Armani models.
Who’s behind all this? None other than the Cult of Skaro — the four “special” Daleks we met in Doomsday. Except… there are only three left. Dalek Sec, Caan, and Jast. They’re hiding out in the New York sewers, conducting experiments to advance the Dalek race beyond their metal shells. Dalek Sec, the de facto leader, is starting to think mere extermination isn’t enough. It’s time for Daleks to evolve. (Cue ominous “Evolve or die” slogan.)
The Doctor and Martha quickly get entangled: they investigate the theatre, dodge pig-slaves, and meet Tallulah, who immediately assumes Martha is trying to steal her man. (“You don’t exactly look like chorus girl material, honey.” Ouch.) Eventually, they track Laszlo, now pig-ified but retaining just enough humanity to help them.
Down in the sewers, the Doctor discovers the Daleks’ plan: they’re using human subjects to create pig-slaves as workers, but that’s just the side hustle. The real project? A Dalek-human hybrid. Dalek Sec, tired of the limitations of his pepper-pot casing, has decided to merge with a human body. And he’s not picky. He grabs the nearest unlucky fellow, gets all tentacly, and — in one of the more infamous cliffhangers in Doctor Who history — emerges in full form: a Dalek with tentacles sprouting out of a pinstripe suit.
Yes, folks: Dalek Sec… in business casual.
The Doctor and Martha can only stare in horror, while the audience at home debates whether this is terrifying or just weirdly hilarious. Either way, it’s certainly not boring.