Daleks in Manhattan ( TV story ) Daleks in Manhattan was the fourth episode in series three of " Doctor Who " . It marked the reappearance of the Cult of Skaro and the Doctor ' s second visit to the Empire State Building . Synopsis . During the building of the Empire State Building in 1930s New York City , the Cult of Skaro continues their attempts to destroy human ity and reign supreme . Plot . At the Majestic Theater in Midtown Manhattan in the early 1930s , showgirl Tallulah is speaking to her boyfriend , Laszlo , one of the theatre ' s stagehands , before her nightly performance . She promises to come and see Laszlo ' s mother soon , and in turn , he gives her a rose bud for good luck . Later during the show , Laszlo is doing work when something runs past the door , oinking . Laszlo follows the sound into a storage room . Suddenly , a pig slave leaps out of the shadows and runs up to him . A few days later , the Tenth Doctor and Martha materialise the TARDIS at the base of the Statue of Liberty ' s pedestal , the Doctor having decided to take Martha on a quick detour before taking her home . Seeing the uncompleted Empire State Building , the Doctor estimates the date , while Martha finds a newspaper dated November 1st , 1930 . The Doctor looks at the newspaper and realises that their small detour is going to be much longer : the headline on the front page is an article about a rash of people vanishing like flies from the Hooverville community in Central Park . The Doctor and Martha travel to Hooverville to question the residents who live there about the incidents . As they enter , the Doctor explains to Martha the etymology behind the Hoovervilles , named for President Herbert Hoover : when the Stock market crashed on Black Tuesday a year ago , the whole U . S . economy was wiped out overnight . Ordinary stockbrokers and businesspeople lost their jobs , their houses , and everything they possessed , and with nowhere else to go , ended up in shantytowns , like the Hooverville they are in . As the Doctor and Martha are walking in , a fight suddenly breaks out between two men over a loaf of bread . Solomon , the community leader , breaks up the fight by taking the loaf and dividing it in half . He reminds them that thirteen years ago , he fought in World War I , as did many of the others , and he and the others only survived by staying together . The Doctor and Martha talk to Solomon . He asks the Doctor why people can build the Empire State Building , which will be the tallest building in the world when completed , when there is a Hooverville in midtown Manhattan . At the top of the Empire State Building , as construction workers toil to complete work , a businessman named Mr Diagoras orders one of his foremen to speed up construction on the roof mast , telling him that there is extra work that must be completed by tonight . He also says that his bosses are demanding it . When the foreman refuses to accelerate the speed of work and threatens a work stoppage , Mr Diagoras tells the man that he should instead complain to the masters himself . He quickly presses the elevator call button . As the elevator comes up , the foreman asks him about his new " masters " , but Diagoras is very vague about them , only saying that they are from out of town and beyond the human imagination . Before the foreman can figure out what this means , the elevator arrives , containing Dalek Caan and two pig slaves . As the foreman backs away in shock , Diagoras tells Caan that the man is refusing to complete the work . Dalek Caan has the foreman taken away for " the final experiment " . The pig slaves hustle the foreman into the elevator , and as the elevator doors close , Caan orders Diagoras to recruit more " bodies " for the final experiment . Later that day , the Doctor and Martha are in Solomon ' s tent , questioning him about the disappearances . Solomon admits that they have been to the police , but the cops have ignored them , not caring whenever another homeless person vanishes . They are interrupted when a young hobo from Tennessee named Frank comes in to inform them that Diagoras has stopped by . Diagoras addresses the community members , saying he wants to recruit workers to clear a sewer collapse for a dollar a day . Intrigued by Diagoras ' admission that people sometimes fail to come back , the Doctor accepts the job . Martha goes with him , along with Solomon and Frank . Mr Diagoras tells them the location is about a half mile in , but they find no obstruction — just a green , pulsating lump of alien flesh . The Doctor examines and pockets it . Further on , they come across a lone pig slave . As the Doctor talks to it , pig slaves arrive to ambush them , and chase the Doctor and friends through the sewers . Back at the top of the Empire State Building , Mr Diagoras orders the crew working there to attach strange strips of metal ( taken from a Dalek ' s " skirt " ) to the base of the mast , and to complete the task that night . The workers complain about the unsafe conditions , but comply . Diagoras warns them that if they do not work , he can replace them in a flash . After they leave , Dalek Caan arrives on the elevator and discusses the construction with Diagoras . Dalek Caan mentions that his planet was destroyed in a great war ; he seems somewhat impressed that humans have survived across time , building and rebuilding New York City , though " humankind is weak " as it " shelters from the dark " . Diagoras tells the Dalek that he fought in a war ( World War I ) , and that he promised himself he would survive at any cost . Noting that Diagoras is most like them in mentality , Dalek Sec orders him to the basement , where he is seized for use in their " final experiment " . The Doctor , Martha and Solomon escape the sewers through a manhole , but Frank is captured . The others emerge in the theatre , where Tallulah points a revolver at them . She demands to know what they did with Laszlo , who disappeared two weeks earlier . The Doctor gets Tallulah to discard the gun ( which was only a prop ) , and Tallulah tells them about Laszlo ' s disappearance . The Doctor and Solomon search for equipment the Doctor can use to examine the alien flesh , while Martha and Tallulah compare notes about Laszlo and the Doctor . Solomon confesses that he left Frank behind because he was scared . Solomon then returns to Hooverville , telling everybody about what happened to Frank , and that they must now arm themselves . Dalek Sec states that the Daleks must evolve in order to survive ; it is the Cult of Skaro ' s purpose , the very reason they were created by the Emperor , to imagine new ways of survival . Dalek Thay questions the results of the experiment , arguing that merging with humans ( an inferior race ) is directly against Dalek philosophy and will render them impure ; Dalek Sec counters that after everything that has happened , there remain millions of humans but only four Daleks and that their purity has brought them to extinction . Dalek Sec intends to sacrifice himself for the survival of the Dalek race , just as Dalek Thay sacrificed the metal from his casing . Dalek Sec opens up his casing and uses his long tentacles to grab Mr . Diagoras . He pulls him closer and envelops him in his own body before dragging him into his casing to begin the " evolution " . Martha is watching Tallulah ' s dance number when she notices a pig slave watching from the other side of the stage . She tries sneaking behind the dancers to reach him , but he runs away . Noticing that he is more human than pig , she follows him into the prop store , where he disappears down the manhole . The Doctor studies the alien matter he found in the sewer , and identifies the object as " 467 - 989 , " using this to learn its planet of origin : Skaro . He rushes to find Martha , and hears her scream as she is seized by pig slaves . He goes down the manhole after her . Tallulah follows him , despite the Doctor ' s warning . Moments later , he grabs her and hides as a Dalek glides by , causing the Doctor to bitterly remark that once again the Daleks managed to survive while once again he lost what was dearest to him . The two then find the pig slave that Martha saw . It ' s not just any pig slave : it ' s Laszlo , who appears to be in a state halfway between that of a pig slave and a human . He had somehow managed to escape the Dalek lab before he could be completely converted . Back in the Dalek lab , smoke billows from Dalek Sec ' s casing while he shakes violently . His comrades urge him to cancel the experiment , but he refuses and asks for an injection . Dalek Jast plunges a syringe containing a chromatin solution into his casing . Meanwhile , in the sewer , Martha is thrust in with a parade of captives taken from Hooverville , including Frank . They are met first by Dalek Caan , and then Dalek Thay who reports that " the Dalekanium is in place . The energy conductor is now complete . " The Daleks use their plunger arms to scan their captives ' brains as the Doctor hides nearby and watches . Laszlo explains that the " low intelligence " captives ( which would include many of the people from Hooverville ) become pig slaves , while the " high intelligence " ones are destined to become part of " the final experiment " . Laszlo urges Tallulah to go back without him . The Doctor joins Martha in the high intelligence group as they proceed towards " the final experiment " . Tallulah runs through the sewers , but gets lost . The captive party reaches the Daleks ' Transgenic Laboratory under the Empire State Building , where Dalek Jast attends to Dalek Sec . The Doctor tells Martha to ask what they are doing ; he does not want the Daleks to notice him . Martha steps forward and demands to know what is happening . The Daleks tell her she will bear witness to the rebirth of the Dalek race . Dalek Sec ' s casing opens , and a humanoid creature emerges with a Dalek mutant - like head and brown hands , wearing Mr Diagoras ' suit . It flexes its new limbs as the other three Daleks recoil from it . " I am a human Dalek , " it tells them all , " I am your future . . . "