From A Writer's Tale the implication is that this script was originally written by Mark Gatiss for Season Four (i.e. with David Tennant under RTD's aegis) and then dropped out of the schedule because RTD wanted to do something else instead (may have been Pompeii). Or at least, he'd written a script about Daleks in WWII London for RTD.
The thing that was fabbest in this episode, IMO, was Karen Gillan (and, implicitly, SM's restraint in not spelling everything out in words of one syllable). In the early scenes she managed to convey "woo-hoo, I'm actually in the past with actual famous people I've studied in History" just by her demeanour, whereas in a similar situation Martha (in Shakespearean London) and Donna (in Pompeii) got given actual lines to that effect -- not badly delivered lines, but not half so effective as Karen Gillan's shining eyes and excited bobbing about.
And while the plot was [expletive deleted] I liked the idea that it took a real human, rather than the Doctor, to remind someone of the details, rather than the broad brushstrokes, of what it means to be human. It suggests again that the companion is being given a real role in and of herself that isn't going to end up being reduced to love interest or convoluted Time Lord - human hybrid brain shenanigans.
Did anyone else notice that The Beast Below was nicked from drew heavily upon "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas", by the way?