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Context Recap / DoctorWho2023CiNSDoctorWhoChildrenInNeed

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1[[WMG:[[center:[-''[[Series/DoctorWho Doctor Who]]'' [[Recap/DoctorWho recap index]]\
2'''Fourteenth Doctor Era'''\
3'''2023''' '''''Children in Need''''' '''Special'''\
4'''60th Anniversary Specials''': "[[Recap/DoctorWho60thASTheStarBeast The Star Beast]]" | "[[Recap/DoctorWho60thASWildBlueYonder Wild Blue Yonder]]" | "[[Recap/DoctorWho60thASTheGiggle The Giggle]]" ]]-]]]
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6[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/f_kdzqewwaakksn.jpeg]]
7[[caption-width-right:300:Do not adjust your screen: you're not seeing a rerun of the Tenth Doctor. You're actually seeing a throwback to that Doctor. Meet Fourteen!]]
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9'''Original air date:''' November 17th, 2023
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11[[JustForFun/TheOneWith The one where]] the Doctor returns to the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks genesis of the]]... Lekads? Adleks? Klaeds? Edlaks? No, that's not right...
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13A short for the 2023 Series/ChildrenInNeed telethon, giving viewers a small taste of Creator/DavidTennant as the next incarnation of the Doctor... for [[Recap/DoctorWho2005CiNSDoctorWhoChildrenInNeed a second time]].
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15Can be viewed on Creator/TheBBC's Website/YouTube [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfLtAdSgWPQ channel]].
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17----
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19Somewhere on the planet Skaro during the Thousand Year War, the Kaled scientist Davros (Creator/JulianBleach) is showing off his Mark III Travel Machine to his assistant, Castavillian (Mawaan Rizwan). Due to the Kaled race mutating thanks to chemical weapons, Davros built this machine to ensure the survival of their species, complete with polycarbide armour, a ruby ray gun, and one powerful mechanical claw. Davros is briefly called away by Nyder, leaving Castavillian on his own... just in time for the TARDIS to rather violently materialize and jam itself into a wall. From it emerges the [[Characters/DoctorWhoFourteenthDoctor Fourteenth Doctor]], still rather confused about having been "[[Characters/DoctorWhoThirteenthDoctor this really brilliant woman]]" [[Recap/DoctorWho2022CENThePowerOfTheDoctor just sixty]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoMagazine584To597LiberationOfTheDaleks minutes ago]], only to suddenly be wearing [[Characters/DoctorWhoTenthDoctor an old face]] once more.
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21The Doctor inspects the damage, and discovers that the TARDIS broke the claw off of what he now realizes is the First Dalek. After accidentally giving Castavillian the idea of what to call these creations, as well as their catchphrase, the Doctor realizes he's accidentally interfering with the Daleks' timeline ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks again]]) and decides to leave before he causes any more paradoxes. Before heading off, however, he tosses Castavillian a plunger to replace the damaged claw. When Davros returns, he decides that he likes the new look better.
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23----
24!!Tropes:
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26* ActuallyPrettyFunny: After a few tense moments of contemplation, Davros admits to liking the Dalek toilet plunger arm design.
27* {{Bathos}}: The earliest origins of the Daleks -- an entire species of [[OmnicidalManiac Space Nazis]] -- as well as [[MadScientist their insane creator Davros]] and the Fourteenth Doctor's inadvertent interference with the timeline, is [[PlayedForLaughs played entirely]] for absurdist BlackComedy. It being a charity skit softens the juxtaposition just enough the [[MoodWhiplash tonal whiplash]] [[CrossesTheLineTwice remains fun and not in poor taste.]]
28* BluntNo: Davros shoots down all of Mr. Castavillian's proposed SignificantAnagram names for his creations with a flat, "No."
29* BreatherEpisode: On-screen, this serves as one between the Thirteenth Doctor's regeneration and the Fourteenth Doctor's trilogy of specials. Bonus points for those who had just finished reading "[[Recap/DoctorWhoMagazine584To597LiberationOfTheDaleks Liberation of the Daleks]]" and its BittersweetEnding.
30* BuffySpeak: The Doctor attempts to leave with the claw arm he broke off the prototype Dalek, having previously referred to it as a "multi-claw, adaptable..." Castavillian sputters in protest, pointing out that the Doctor broke the "multi-claw adaptable thingamajig".
31* CallBack: The Doctor says he was a "really brilliant woman sixty minutes ago" just like when his predecessor said that "half an hour ago, (she) was a white-haired Scotsman".
32* TheCameo: Nyder makes a vocal appearance, calling Davros away over a tannoy.
33* CharacterCatchphrase: Adding to his similarities with the Tenth Doctor, Fourteen breaks out Ten's, "I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry," in response to discovering he's broken a piece of the prototype Dalek. Before he realizes what he broke, that is.
34* TheComicallySerious: Davros remains as Davros as ever, but his attitude is played off against the surprisingly earnest Castavillain's attempts to name the Kaled mutant, making Davros come across as a grumpy killjoy rather than his usual screaming lunatic.
35* ContinuityNod:
36** The story has quite a few nods to "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks Genesis of the Daleks]]", right down to the Doctor name-dropping the story's title.
37** The Doctor's mention of having been a woman sixty minutes ago is a nod to the Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoMagazine584To597LiberationOfTheDaleks Liberation of the Daleks]]", which takes place immediately after the end of "[[Recap/DoctorWho2022CENThePowerOfTheDoctor The Power of the Doctor]]" over the span of an hour, slotting it neatly between this short and the previous episode. Said comic even ended with the TARDIS damaged and the Doctor hoping [[TemptingFate the Fast Return switch didn't send him back to Skaro]].
38** Inside the TARDIS you can see the interior is still that of the Thirteenth Doctor's console room (which Fourteen retained throughout "Liberation of the Daleks"), setting up for how the "desktop theme" won't be changed until late into the next episode.
39** Davros refers to the Dalek's ranged weapon as a ruby ray blaster, a type of weapon established to be fitted to Dalek saucers in the "TARDIS Teaser" game printed in "[[TheChristmasAnnual Doctor Who Annual 2006]]".
40* DelayedOhCrap: Once the Doctor regains his bearings, he apologizes to Castavillian for crashing the TARDIS into the lab and ripping the arm off what he was working on. It takes him a few more seconds to realize that the arm came from a prototype Dalek casing and he's unwittingly gatecrashed the genesis of the Daleks.
41-->'''The Doctor:''' I am so, so sorry. I think I broke this. Multi-claw, adaptable... what is it? Oh. ''[camera pans to the Dalek]'' That's a Dalek.
42* EqualOpportunityEvil: Castavillian is played by a South Asian actor, whereas, in earlier stories, all Kaleds were apparently strictly Caucasian. This also seems a bit peculiar given Davros's constant ANaziByAnyOtherName subtexts. Then again, the Kaleds likely don't care what skin color you are as long as you aren't a Thal.
43* FakeShemp: Due to Creator/PeterMiles' death in 2018, Nyder's vocal appearance here is provided by Nicholas Briggs.
44* GiverOfLameNames: Castavillian suggests that the evolution of the Kaleds should have a SignificantAnagram for a name, but his choices are... less than stellar.
45-->'''Castavillian:''' Like... "Lekad". "Adlek"? "Klade"? ..."Edlak".
46* IWasNeverHere: Before leaving, the Doctor insists to Castavillian that he was ''never'' here to protect the timeline.
47* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The Doctor says that the "timelines and canon are rupturing" as the result of his presence at the "genesis of the Daleks".
48* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: This is the in-universe explanation for why the Doctor's (additional) role in the genesis of the Daleks has never been revealed or known before now. The Doctor made it clear to Castavillian that he was ''never'' there, and both Castavillian and the prototype Dalek keep shtum to Davros.
49* MythologyGag:
50** One of the names Castavillian suggests for the mutant Kaleds is the Klade, which are a far-future race depicted in the ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' novels and implied to be the descendants of the Daleks. However, while the name is spelled "Klade" on BBC iPlayer's subtitles, the [=YouTube=] subtitles instead spell it "Klaed".
51** According to behind-the-scenes tidbits, a never-seen easter egg of [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie the 1996 TV Movie's]] TARDIS was that a Dalek plunger was hidden in the drawers where the Master procures the bag of gold dust. Though it may not be the same plunger after centuries of changes to the interior, it may be in recollection of this that the Doctor has had Dalek plungers on hand ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E4BeforeTheFlood and accidentally make a Bootstrap Paradox out of, at that]]).
52* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The Doctor flies the TARDIS right across the prototype Dalek's multi-dexterous claw, breaking it off and forcing him to toss Castavillian a plunger arm as a replacement.
53* NowIKnowWhatToNameHim: The Doctor names the prototype Dalek as such.
54* PetTheDog: Despite his possessiveness over his creation, the nature of the paradox means that Davros will end up taking Castavillian's suggestions for the Dalek name and BattleCry, after already adopting the plunger design that he believes Castavillian is responsible for.
55* PunnyName: Davros' associate has the surname Castavillian (say it by syllable).[[labelnote:Still don't get it?]]''Cast a villain.''[[/labelnote]]
56* SeriesContinuityError: If you go by the novelisation of "Genesis of the Daleks", Davros was already disfigured and wheelchair-using when he first started working on the Daleks. Although the Doctor's reference to [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall canon being broken]] potentially means this short is LooseCanon or set in an alternate timeline rather than a {{Retcon}}.
57* SignificantAnagram: Castavillian suggests Davros's new creations have an anagram of "Kaled" as a name. He picks out several that Davros immediately rejects, though he does give [[MythologyGag Klade]] some thought before deciding against it. The Doctor [[StableTimeLoop accidentally gives him the word "Dalek"]].
58* StableTimeLoop: The Doctor turns out to have provided the inspiration for the Daleks' name, their catchphrase of "Exterminate!", and responsible for them having the plunger instead of the prototype's multi-dexterous claw.
59* YouDontLookLikeYou: It's not immediately apparent that Davros is involved with the plot until Castavillian calls him by name, as this is the first time Davros has been depicted on TV as an adult prior to the accident that scarred him and made him dependent on his chair. This also contradicts various ExpandedUniverse works, such as [[AudioPlay/BigFInishDoctorWho Big Finish audios]] that portrayed Davros as having already been injured when he created the Daleks. According to [[invoked]]WordOfGod, this was deliberately done to avoid [[EvilCripple associating disability with villainy]] during Children in Need.

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