Mickelodeon says:

I was thinking about this picture on my way home from work tonight and the only word I could come up with to describe it was ICK.

Wes says:

Mickey: "Ick" is a good reaction! However, I prefer "BLASPHEMY". 😉

Dave: Believe it or not -- and you see why I'm so offended! -- that is DALEK SEC. Actually, make that ex-Dalek Sec, because now he's a Human Dalek. Ridiculous.

Wes says:

Wes, I don't see what the big deal is.

WHAAAAAAAAT? Seriously. Question: why are the Daleks the most popular adversaries of the Doctor? It's not because their episodes have been the best-written. In fact, some of the Dalek appearances have been among the worst serials (at least in terms of writing) in the show's entire history. It's not because they have a particularly cool backstory, either -- 'cause let's be honest, at least 78.6% of all fictional alien races not only in Doctor Who, but in all science fiction featuring alien antagonists have more or less the same origin tale, give or take a sidebar involving genetic engineering.

So what really made the Daleks THE iconic alien enemies of Doctor Who? The look. That's it. The brilliant Dalek chasis. It has nothing to do with their actions or their motivations or the story developments -- it doesn't even have anything to do with the actual Dalek creature inside! In fact, given the apparent Dalek-mania of the 60s (note -- not Doctor-mania, Dalek-mania), I'd argue that a significant part of Doctor Who's success owes to the Daleks, which owe their own success to their fantastic design.

And then you have the story reasons. It just doesn't make sense for the Daleks to want to merge with humans, even if humans are apparently the sentient cockroaches of the universe. The Dalek Emperor literally created new Daleks out of humanity's dead, and yet he still regarded the mere suggestion that his Daleks were part human as blasphemous. So for Sec to go out of his way to merge with a human -- and with such a weak explanation -- is just lame.

Basically, they had a three year contract with the estate of Terry Nation to use the Daleks. After this year, they can't use the Daleks anymore unless they renegotiate. Solution? Change the Daleks.

Now, this I did not know. Can you link me to an online article stating as much? (Aside from fan rumblings on forums, I can't find any official sources.) At any rate, the solution should never be to ruin iconic characters with an evolution that the story and continuity fails to justify! I'd rather see the classic Daleks completely wiped out in an all-out battle not unlike the previous season enders than see them "evolve" into a creature that's no more visually interesting than any of the one-shot aliens from the show's lengthy run.

But if I were them, I'd just freaking re-negotiate. Or maybe in a year or so. It's not like every season has to have a Dalek episode, especially if "Saxon" is supposed to be taking center stage soon enough.

De says:

I'm going to wait until the second part airs before going too nuts.

I finally figured out an old mystery for you - i.e., "It is illegal to dump bodies in the river." That came from the second appearance of the Daleks ("The Dalek Invasion of Earth") where our favorite pepper pots traveled to the 22nd century and conquered the planet. No explanation for the sign was ever given but it's believed there was some kind of plague that ravaged London - possibly engineered by the Daleks.