History Recap / DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks

Is there a stowaway aboard the TARDIS? No, it's just Romana, who has regenerated off-screen, for no apparent reason, and chosen to do so into an identical double of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E6TheArmageddonFactor Princess Astra]]. (One might think that she'd had enough of being a princess's exact double after [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E4TheAndroidsOfTara the incident on Tara]], but clearly our Romana is made of stronger stuff than that.)[[note]]:The {{Franchise/Doctor Who Expanded Universe}} attempts to explain several times over ''why'' Romana regenerated, as well as ''why'' she was able to change her form several times without wasting Regenerations. Few make real sense.[[/note]]

Meanwhile, the TARDIS has arrived on a seemingly deserted planet that the Doctor finds naggingly familiar, and not just because it's yet another [[BBCQuarry quarry planet]][[note]][[LampshadeHanging "Oh, look! Rocks!"]][[/note]]. Turns out it's Skaro, home planet of the Daleks, which the Doctor last visited five seasons ago, when he [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks crossed metaphorical swords with the Daleks' creator, Davros]]. The Daleks exterminated Davros when they decided [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he had outlived his usefulness]], but now they need his help so they've come back to find him -- and isn't it lucky for them that Davros wasn't killed, but has only been in suspended animation all this time?

This story is also known because Terry Nation seems to forget what he himself established about the Daleks, calling them robots and portraying them as perfectly logical {{Straw Vulcan}}s... even though they're usually the opposite.

* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped A Bridge On Her]]: No explanation is given for Romana's regeneration, though admittedly she ''had'' spent a great deal of time the previous episode running around a planet saturated in deadly radiation...

* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped A Bridge On Her]]: No explanation is given for Romana's regeneration.

* ShoutOut: The Doctor reads a book by [[TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Oolon Colluphid]]. (DouglasAdams was the script editor for this season, and probably added that bit himself.)

Meanwhile, the TARDIS has arrived on a seemingly deserted planet that the Doctor finds naggingly familiar, and not just because it's yet another [[BBCQuarry quarry planet]][[note]][[LampshadeHanging "Oh, look! Rocks!"[[/note]]. Turns out it's Skaro, home planet of the Daleks, which the Doctor last visited five seasons ago, when he [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks crossed metaphorical swords with the Daleks' creator, Davros]]. The Daleks exterminated Davros when they decided [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he had outlived his usefulness]], but now they need his help so they've come back to find him -- and isn't it lucky for them that Davros wasn't killed, but has only been in suspended animation all this time?

Is there a stowaway aboard the TARDIS? No, it's just Romana, who has regenerated off-screen, for no apparent reason, and chosen to do so into an identical double of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E6TheArmageddonFactor Princess Astra]]. (One might think that she'd had enough of being a princess's exact double after [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E4TheAndroidsOfTara the incident on Tara]], but clearly our Romana is made of stronger stuff than that.)[[hottip:*:The {{Franchise/Doctor Who Expanded Universe}} attempts to explain several times over ''why'' Romana regenerated, as well as ''why'' she was able to change her form several times without wasting Regenerations. Few make real sense.]]

Meanwhile, the TARDIS has arrived on a seemingly deserted planet that the Doctor finds naggingly familiar, and not just because it's yet another [[BBCQuarry quarry planet]][[hottip:*:[[LampshadeHanging "Oh, look! Rocks!"]]. Turns out it's Skaro, home planet of the Daleks, which the Doctor last visited five seasons ago, when he [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks crossed metaphorical swords with the Daleks' creator, Davros]]. The Daleks exterminated Davros when they decided [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he had outlived his usefulness]], but now they need his help so they've come back to find him -- and isn't it lucky for them that Davros wasn't killed, but has only been in suspended animation all this time?

Meanwhile, the TARDIS has arrived on a seemingly deserted planet that the Doctor finds naggingly familiar. Turns out it's Skaro, home planet of the Daleks, which the Doctor last visited five seasons ago, when he [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks crossed metaphorical swords with the Daleks' creator, Davros]]. The Daleks exterminated Davros when they decided [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he had outlived his usefulness]], but now they need his help so they've come back to find him -- and isn't it lucky for them that Davros wasn't killed, but has only been in suspended animation all this time?

Is there a stowaway aboard the TARDIS? No, it's just Romana, who has regenerated off-screen, for no apparent reason, and chosen to do so into an identical double of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E6TheArmageddonFactor Princess Astra]]. (One might think that she'd had enough of being a princess's exact double after [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E4TheAndroidsOfTara the incident on Tara]], but clearly our Romana is made of stronger stuff than that.)[[hottip:*:The [[DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] attempts to explain several times over ''why'' Romana regenerated, as well as ''why'' she was able to change her form several times without wasting Regenerations. Few make real sense.]]

* BigLittleMan: Romana is trying out different bodies into which to regenerate, while the Doctor is crouched on the floor fixing K9. Romana reappears as a blue-skinned alien babe, towering over him.

* AirVentEscape

-->"I thought I'd try this one, but it's a bit short."

-->"Well lengthen it then, go on."

-->"Too tall, take it away!"

-->''(Exit Romana. The Doctor crawls along the floor for a while and then bumps into a toga-wearing beauty. He stands up...only to find he only goes up to Romana's shoulders).

* RidiculouslyHumanRobots
* RockPaperScissors

* TheNextDoctor: Romana mk. II

* HandWave: K9 sits out the adventure in the TARDIS with ''robot laryngitis''.

** "How can a robot catch laryngitis? I mean, what do you need it for?"

* FingerTwitchingRevival: Davros

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/destiny_run_4990.jpg
-->''I want to get a closer look at that body''

-->''Well Davros, I see the long dark has done nothing to cure your megalomania. Have a Jelly Baby.''
--->'''The Doctor'''

--

This story was the beginning of a period of extended VillainDecay for the Daleks -- every Dalek story for the next decade was more of a Davros story with some Daleks in it than an actual Dalek story. This includes [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks one story]] that was written as a return to awesome form for the Daleks, amply demonstrating that they were quite capable of magnificent evil all on their own, and then somebody on the production team decided that it would be even more awesome if Davros was in it as well.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Mary Tamm's version of Romana, if not an outright Scrappy, was certainly the least popular ''Doctor Who'' companion in a long, long time. With Lalla Ward's arrival however, Romana became one of the most popular companions in the show's history, probably behind only Sarah-Jane and Jamie.

This story was the beginning of a period of extended VillainDecay for the Daleks -- every Dalek story for the next decade was more of a Davros story with some Daleks in it than an actual Dalek story. This includes [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks one story]] that was written as a return to awesome form for the Daleks, amply demonstrating that they were quite capable of magnificent evil all on their own, and then somebody on the production team decided that it would be even more awesome if Davros was in it as well. Feh.

Is there a stowaway aboard the TARDIS? No, it's just Romana, who has regenerated off-screen, for no apparent reason, and chosen to do so into an identical double of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E6TheArmageddonFactor Princess Astra]]. (One might think that she'd had enough of being a princess's exact double after [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E4TheAndroidsOfTara the incident on Tara]], but clearly our Romana is made of stronger stuff than that.)[[hottip:*:The ExpandedUniverse attempts to explain several times over ''why'' Romana regenerated, as well as ''why'' she was able to change her form several times without wasting Regenerations. Few make real sense.]]

* YouLookFamiliar: Lalla Ward, after guest-starring as Princess Astra in the previous episode, takes on the role of Romana; the episode spends several minutes climbing out from under the weight of the lampshade. (It doesn't help that Terry Nation turned in his scripts before Romana's re-casting was confirmed; Douglas Adams had to write the new opening scene himself, and the resultant change in tone is jarring.)