13.7. Eve Of The Daleks

Series 13 - 2021 (Flux)

Writer: Chris Chibnall
Produced by: Sheena Bucktowonsing
Director: Annetta Laufer
Music: Segun Akinola

Sarah and Nick

from

Eve of the Daleks

Sarah: At any point you can just jump in and say something now.

Nick: I'm trying to figure out which one is most unlikely - time loop with robots or three people from the council working on New Years.

Synopsis

After the events of the Flux the Doctor is resetting the TARDIS to clear out all the Flux debris. The Doctor tells Yaz and Dan the TARDIS will be out of action for a while which is why they they are landing on the sentient beaches of San Munrohvar. As the TARDIS starts to reset all three quickly evacuate the TARDIS - out into the basement of a self storage business in Manchester. The TARDIS starts to crack - something the Doctor has ever seen the TARDIS do before. Despite the location the Doctor detects a temporal disturbance and all three go to investigate.

New Years Eve, 2021: 9 minutes to midnight. Sarah is working alone at a the self storage company after Jeff fails, yet again, to show up for work. The business only has one customer who turns up every New Year's Eve - Nick.

In his unit Nick stores an old game of Monopoly with a label - Simona. When the lights fail and the emergency lighting comes on Nick goes into the corridor - and is exterminated. The Doctor, Yaz, and Dan, find Nick and after a scan with the sonic screwdriver the Doctor knows there is a Dalek somewhere.

In reception Sarah hears the lift and thinks it's Nick before she is exterminated. The Doctor confronts the Dalek and uses the sonic screwdriver to jam the Dalek's weapon, not realising the Daleks have upgraded their weapons. The Dalek exterminates the Doctor, Yaz, and Dan.

New Years Eve, 2021: 8 minutes to midnight. In reception Sarah hands Nick the keys to his unit. Both have a sense of deja-vu. In the basement the Doctor, Yaz, Dan, also have a sense of deja-vu. They rush up to the unit where they had found Nick. Nick isn't at his unit. He remembered the Dalek and rushes back to check on Sarah, who also remembers a Dalek. As she goes to leave she finds an energy field preventing her exit. Realising she needs a weapon she heads up the stairs to the fifth floor where Jeff had been storing all manner of items - some against the rules such as stuffed animals and tins of food - but no weapon. Instead she is exterminated by a Dalek.

Nick makes it back to reception where he finds the energy field - and is exterminated by a Dalek. The Doctor, Yaz, and Dan, find Nick before they, too, are exterminated.

New Years Eve, 2021: 7 minutes to midnight. The Doctor, Yaz, and Dan, rush to help Nick. Sarah is also rushing to help Nick and finds him running down a corridor. Both are trying to warn each other about the Daleks. When the Doctor, Yaz, and Dan, arrive the Doctor hastily tries to explain about Daleks before one starts firing at them. The run into Nick's storage unit. As the Doctor hunts for another way out of the storage unit Nick admits he has been storing stuff in his unit from ex-girlfriends in case any of them want their things back.

Nick, telling Sarah the only reason she is there is because of him, leaves the unit to reason with the Dalek and is exterminated. There is only one exit to the unit and nothing inside that can be used against the Dalek. Sarah tells the Doctor there is a mad stash of stuff four floors up. The Doctor realises the time loop will repeat, but each time is one minute shorter. She tells them when the loop repeats to go straight to the fifth floor as the Dalek burns through the unit door and exterminates.

New Years Eve, 2021: 6 minutes to midnight. The Doctor, Yaz, and Dan, make their way in the lift to the fifth floor. As the lift passes reception the Doctor realises this is where the Dalek starts this time. Dan offers to deal with the Dalek whilst the Doctor and Yaz continue to the fifth floor. In reception Sarah, realising Nick was killed before learning of the plan, escapes the Dalek to help him.

Dan, pretending to be a naive customer, taunts the Dalek in reception. The Dalek detects artron particles and realises Dan is with the Doctor before exterminating him. On the fifth floor the Doctor and Yaz find Jeff's stuff - and some explosive materials he had been storing.

Sarah, abandoning the Doctor's plan, leads Nick to the basement where she sees the TARDIS as well as more of Jeff's stuff. In the basement they find an exit that is not covered by the energy field - but it's covered by a Dalek. As they hide the Dalek overhears them talking where Nick admits to having a crush on Sarah. Nick is exterminated, and Sarah makes it to the exit before being exterminated.

On the fifth floor a Dalek confronts the Doctor and Yaz. The Doctor asks about the time loop. Before exterminated them the Dalek tells her it was created by her TARDIS, and r. Dalek commands identified the energy pattern and despatched Daleks to exterminate her.

New Years Eve, 2021: 5 minutes to midnight. In the basement the Doctor, Yaz, and Dan, head to reception to confront Sarah who, in the previous loop, had abandoned them. The Doctor stops Sarah heading to Nick, warning her there is more than one Dalek. Sarah tells the Doctor that Nick has never survived past 5 to midnight, and that after this loop there will not be another 5 to midnight. The Doctor tells they all to stay in reception as she heads off to help Nick. On the first floor two Daleks trap Nick in a corridor but, as they fire, he ducks and the Daleks kill each other.

Back in reception, with the first two Daleks gone the Doctor offers a plan to destroy the building by moving some of Jeff's stuff from the fifth floor to the basement during the next loop. Three more Daleks materialise and exterminate the Doctor, Yaz, Dan, Sarah, and Nick.

New Years Eve, 2021: 4 minutes to midnight. The Daleks have also been learning during the time loops and, as Sarah tries to escape reception in a lift, a Dalek shoots and causes a powercut before exterminating Sarah. On the first floor a Dalek exterminates Nick. In the basement Yaz has an argument with the Doctor before the Doctor leaves them to help Nick and Sarah. Dan notices from the argument that Yaz has feelings for the Doctor. Two Daleks appear in the basement and exterminate.

In reception the Doctor finds the body of Sarah - and three Daleks.

New Years Eve, 2021: 3 minutes to midnight. The Doctor examines Jeff's stuff in the basement and finds fireworks. The Doctor asks Yaz to fetch Sarah and Nick to the basement. With Yaz gone Dan tells the Doctor that Yaz has feelings for her. On the fifth floor Yaz finds Sarah and Nick and tells them to get to the basement. At the same time the Daleks detect life signals in the basement. With only two loops left the Doctor tells them in the next loop to do nothing. This will affect how the Daleks predict their actions for the final loop, giving them time to execute the Doctor's plan.

New Years Eve, 2021: 2 minutes to midnight. In his unit Nick allows himself to be exterminated, and on the fifth floor Sarah is exterminated as the lift doors open. On the fifth floor a Dalek finds the Doctor, Yaz, and Dan, relaxing as it exterminates them.

New Years Eve, 2021: 1 minutes to midnight. When her mum calls Sarah tells her to call back 10 seconds before midnight before hanging up, handing the phone to the Doctor, and heading down to the basement with Nick. The Doctor and Yaz go to the fifth floor and take Jeff's chemicals down the basement to Dan who i setting up the fireworks. The Doctor sets up the phone as a trigger before following Sarah, Nick, Yaz, and Dan, through the basement exit.

The Daleks are caught off-guard before detecting life signs in the basement. In the basement the Daleks see a face when Sarah's mum calls and a Dalek fires, causing an explosion that destroys the building and sets off the fireworks at midnight on New Year's Day, and this time the time loop does not reset.

Regular Cast

  • Yasmin Khan: Mandip Gill
  • Dan Lewis: John Bishop

Guest Cast

  • Sarah: Aisling Bea
  • Nick: Adjani Salmon
  • Dalek Operator 1: Barnaby Edwards
  • Dalek Operator 2: Nicholas Pegg
  • Additional Dalek Operator: Jon Davey
  • Voice of the Daleks: Nicholas Briggs
  • Mary: Pauline McLynn
  • Karl: Jonny Dixon

Original broadcast on the BBC

Channel Title Date Viewers Rating
BBC 1 (HD) 7. Eve of the Daleks Saturday, 1 January 2022 19:00 - 20:00 4.40M 77

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