In a jungle with Invisible Monsters and lethal flora they're being subjected to a horrifying experiment which could lead to the end of the Doctor, and a Charley's secret could undo their friendship at a time they need it the most, in a world which isn't as it seems.
- And Then John Was a Zombie: The Thals that realize that they've become Daleks.
- Batman Gambit: Murgat plays right into the Daleks' plungers.
- Big "NO!": Murgat lets one out when the Daleks rediscover their true selves after having been conditioned by him and his Kyropite spores and undo all of his work.
- Broken Bridge: The TARDIS gets covered in slimy spores, so the Doctor's strategy of "Get the hell out of here" doesn't work.
- Call-Back:
- Spiridon originally appeared in Planet of the Daleks.
- When being unable to introduce himself as "The Doctor" (Doctor of TARDIS being a Thal fairy tale), the Doctor goes for amateur botanist Doctor Brown.
- The Rosemary being pivotal to undoing the Grel's mental effects is mentioned by Charley.
- Murgat is a half Thal, half Kyropite, and a Jekyll appears as well.
- Combining it with a Call-Forward (For the Sixth Doctor anyway), the Daleks remember Charley from Folkstone.
- The Doctor has met Dalek replicants before in Ressurection of the Daleks.
- Dalek ships give off huge amounts of static electricity, reminiscent of the original flooring the Daleks needed in The Daleks.
- A Black Dalek is revealed to lead the Daleks.
- The Daleks have a Magnetron.
- Charley mentions 50 002 as the day "the Supreme Dalek planted a spy as the Doctor's companion", but discloses to the Doctor that she saw him die on that date. In the same conversation she mentions how he rescued her off of the R-101.
- Compressed Vice: Charley just can't stop using early 1900's lingo in this story. (Which the Doctor obviously notices.)
- Disney Acid Sequence: Charley mentions not having one when they suspect being under the influence of pollen.
- Eaten Alive: Nearly happens to Charley, who's saved from the maw of a Man-Eating Plant.
- Fake-Out Fade-Out: The Doctor and Charley get into the TARDIS, the theme starts playing and... We snap back to the story in the middle of the story.
- Human Aliens: When Charley says she's human, the Doctor asks her again just to double check. (The Doctor still not knowing who Charley really is.)
- Interrupted by the End: Charley's reveal to the Doctor gets interrupted by the Doctor Who theme tune. note
- Ironic Echo:
- Murgat: Exterminate.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The pre-theme song trailer for Curse of the Daleks ends with a Dalek shouting YOU WILL BE-GIN.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: The Kyropite pollen's dreams hooked up to Murgat's system.
- The Man Behind the Man: The Daleks secretly run the test facility that Murgat thinks he runs.
- The Mole: Murgat is grooming Thals in Dalek shells with a Kyropite biological weapon to insert into Dalek society.
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Moral Event Horizon: The Daleks are shown to melt down still living Daleks for their casings. - Mythology Gag: The Thals' name for the Doctor is Doctor of TARDIS"
- Painting the Medium: The ending theme is part of the Fake-Out Fade-Out.
- Portmanteau: Charley makes one using Thal and Dalek, naming them Thaleks.
- Pull the Thread: The Doctor keeps doing this to Charley's backstory, finding her lingo antiqued (saying Shellshocked instead of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and not blinking when hearing the name Dalek)
- Pun: The Doctor makes one, which invokes a chuckle in Charlotte.
- The Doctor: A ruse by any other name...?
- Scary Dogmatic Aliens: The Daleks actually leave behind their A Nazi by Any Other Name behaviour in this story. Only to become Communistic.
- Series Continuity Error: The Doctor says that both the Thals and Daleks originated from the same species. They didn't.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: The Thal squad is revealed to be this, retaining their original memories of how they first died, and every death since.
- Sherlock Scan: The Doctor with just a cursory glance and a single sound knows exactly what planet he's on.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The Doctor doesn't blink when someone points a rifle at him.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Murgat is going to extreme lengths to combat the Daleks.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: The jungle is a creation of the Thals' minds, in a simulation run by the Daleks.
