Enjoy a few reviews of Audio Dramas . . .

THIS IS THE first instalment of the Doctor Who “Dalek Empire” arc. The story features the Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, along with his assistant Ace, played by Sophie Aldred. It introduces the character of Bev Tarrant (Louise Faulkner) and features the Daleks. In this case, they are voiced by Alistair Lock and Nicholas Briggs – Briggs, of course, went on to voice them throughout the BBC Wales TV series of Doctor Who, cast by Russell T. Davies, who discovered him through Big Finish Productions. And the Daleks are as menacing in audio as they are on screen.

The story follows two sets of visitors to the planet of Kar-Charat. We have the Doctor and Ace, returning overdue books to an ancient hidden library, which holds the knowledge of all civilised worlds. At the same time, a group of scavengers, led by Bev Tarrant, have discovered a mysterious object in the rainforest.

The wondrous “Wet Library” is shown to the Doctor by head librarian Elgin and his assistant Prink. Huge tanks of water that act as memory storage, but how? Meanwhile Bev’s group are attacked, leaving her injured and hearing ghostly voices.

Believing she is alone on an uninhabited planet, she is relieved to run into Ace, who tells her about the library and offers to help get her there. But they soon discover they are not alone.

The Doctor is beginning to suspect there is a dark secret behind the Wet Library and learns that many races, including the Daleks, are interested in acquiring the knowledge held within, whatever the cost.

Here begins the race for the Doctor, Ace and Bev to unravel the horrifying secrets of the library and the fate of the native inhabitants, escape the Daleks and keep the library’s knowledge from them.

The excellent voice work and music really elevate this play and although it is a particular Doctor and companion, I found myself picturing it with my favourite duo. And of course, Daleks never disappoint. Even when you can’t see them. 

— Lee Montgomery

DALEK EMPIRE IS a series I’ve found more marmite than a lot of other listeners; to me, its love of interwoven politics and deep moral conversations indulged ad nauseam. 

It nevertheless has a handful of strong notes peppering its rather uneven melody, its highest points being as it demonstrates unrestrained brutality, the human cost of Dalek war, and the consequences of not having the Doctor to sellotape the universe’s rationality and integrity together.

The first series focuses on a sprawling Dalek invasion of the galaxy, the second on Daleks waging war with alternate-universe counterparts, the third on a looming Dalek threat in a universe which has somewhat forgotten the Daleks, and the fourth on a separate strand of the Earth Alliance during the first series; most notable among its narratives and characters then are Gareth Thomas, whose performance as the Knight of Velyshaa, Kalendorf, is as impressive as it is tumultuous, and in the third series a pre-Tenth Doctor David Tennant as Galanar, a genetically-enhanced Roboman acting as an anti-Dalek spy, as well as the bonus adventure ‘Return of the Daleks’, which manages a nice dose of nostalgia as well as placing the Seventh Doctor in some unexpectedly cutthroat and doleful circumstances.

But the highs are sadly sparse, despite an overall impression which ought to promise something brilliant. For all Terry Nation was a drastic recycler of his own tropes and plot devices, Dalek Empirecommits a worse crime by simply being sedentary and letting plastic, artificial performances run through it like a stick of rock. Much like the Daleks themselves, the series is possibly flawed most by its own ego, prolonged into the nth degree by foundations that cannot support it.

This does, of course, sound like I’m being quite critical. And I suppose I have been, given it seems to be a fan favourite for reasons it fatigues me trying to fathom. However, it’d be remiss of me not to praise the final series (subtitled ‘Fearless’) since it does that rare thing and ends on a stronger note than the one on which the series originally began. It perhaps helps that rather than adding yet another sequel onto an already-flogged horse, this fourth and final boxset sets itself within the timeline of the first series as though ameliorating past blunders. The concepts are manhandled into place as opposed to crafted gently, but Maureen O’Brien (not playing Hartnell companion Vicki here but the sly Agnes Landen) gives a mostly effective central performance and the various set-pieces aren’t totally recycled, rejecting total grandiosity for some well-timed character drama too.

You can’t fault the series’ audacity, nor its panache when it comes to brutal gut punches. But gut punches only land when you care, and that’s something difficult to do with Dalek Empire since fundamentally, this is one only for Dalek completists or devout Gareth Thomas enthusiasts. It has some fabulous moments, but they’re buried under a sea of flat, tired, uneventful progressions of Dalek lore and really only the final series and the special, ‘Return of the Daleks’ are worth the indulgence. 

— Benjamin Kurt Unsworth

‘THE JUGGERNAUTS’ MAY on its surface appear like a very simple concept drawn out of nostalgic headcanon. The Mechonoids and Daleks, both creations of Terry Nation which appeared in the 1965 ‘The Chase’, what if they were both the in-universe creations of Davros? But it manages much more than that. As a mission statement for the power of expanded media, it’s optimal, giving Colin Baker and Bonnie Langford another story (after having less than three hours of screentime back during 1986’s infamous ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’ season), expanding Mel’s character, and entertaining a somewhat indulgent concept but running with it until it has its own self-sustaining lifecycle. It also features Davros, as played by Terry Molloy, in one of his best non-TV outings.

Scott Alan Woodward’s script has a twinge more Star Trek than Doctor Who about it; however, the way he moulds the in media res narrative and forms his cliffhangers is acutely amazing. Very commonly stories even with the phrase “of the Daleks” are very formulaic in their cliffhangers, as though some universal law will be transgressed if the Dalek reveal isn’t how Part One ends. This story follows this rule to a degree too – it simply uses it more advantageously. Nothing feels obligatory and the ebb and flow of the various overlapping plots are naturally paced despite individual plots which would be otherwise a tad pedestrian. 

While the trilogy of TV stories fleshing out the antipathetic relationship between Davros, his creations, and the various factions which he either creates or which turn against him have their merits, in particular ‘Remembrance of the Daleks’, their best element was Davros. ‘The Juggernauts’ capitalises upon that and gives you a lot of nice Dalek action with the renegade and imperial factions while majorly expanding the Doctor/Davros relationship – and, more keenly, the relationship between Mel and Davros, a pairing I don’t think anyone knew we needed to hear. Colin Baker’s performance comes as a backseat one and yet it’s as ace as you want it to be, the development of him and Davros almost symbiotic in their respect and loathing for each other. But it really is Langford and Molloy’s time to shine, with the Daleks used as some of the best set dressing for a narrative as is inhumanely possible.

— Benjamin Kurt Unsworth

MY EXPERIENCE OF the Big Finish DW audios has been slight, with ‘The Zygon who Fell to Earth’ being the last one I listened to, and that was donkeys’ years ago. ‘Lucie Miller’ is part of an ongoing story and can be initially confusing, but I was soon wrapped up in the story, which is set on a Dalek-ravaged Earth of the future and has the titular companion (Sheridan Smith) attempting to enlist the Doctor’s aid but with no response forthcoming, and the situation getting ever more desperate.

Another nice touch to this story is that the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford) plays a large part in it, as well as the old Time Lord villain the Monk (Graeme Garden) who is working with the Daleks. The story takes place over the course of several years, and it’s not really giving anything away to reveal that it has a downbeat cliffhanger ending which ensures the listener will return for the next instalment.

The story is largely narrated by Lucie, as she relates the awful circumstances she has found herself in, and begins to lose hope that the Time Lord will arrive to save the day; Susan adds to the negativity by recounting a dream she has had in which her grandfather is exterminated by the Daleks. 

Overall, I enjoyed this despite the fact it’s dense with references to other audio adventures and in order to get the most out of it, you’d be better off if you have a complete collection of the range, which now numbers in the hundreds. I like involved story arcs and this release was much more enjoyable than current television Doctor Who – let’s hope the conclusion is not a disappointment . . .

This CD is even better than the previous one, and I can recommend it wholeheartedly! Continuing where ‘Lucie Miller’ left off, the comatose Doctor is left to recover in the TARDIS, and we learn that his granddaughter Susan is angry that he “abandoned” her on 22nd-century Earth and that he never kept his promise to return – until now.

The Meddling Monk gets a good share of the action again, as he has managed to get his hands on a doomsday device which he intends to use against his allies the Daleks, should they ever betray him. Talking of the Daleks, they have a similar plan in mind to the last time they conquered Earth (‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’, series two, 1964/5), except this time they intend to plant a time device in Earth’s core and pilot the entire world through time and space! 

The story lives up to its title, with no less than three regulars all biting the dust and the ending does not disappoint, with genuine shocks and emotion as we see – or rather, hear – the Doctor more distraught and broken than ever before. As a longtime fan, the scenes at the end with the Doctor and Susan were fascinating and hark back to the very first story on TV; the Doctor is in a similar place at the end of this to how he was on telly in 2009’s ‘The Waters of Mars’ and though I’m not exactly a regular follower of these audio adventures, I will definitely endeavour to catch up with the ones following this and find out where the Doctor’s cataclysmic decisions take – or, rather, took – him, as these releases hail from 2011 and there are a lot of stories that followed this one.

— David Brilliance

INFAMOUS FOR ON TV being the only Doctor (before the Fourteenth and Fifteenth) never to face the Daleks, Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor has compensated for that extremely well thanks to his time with Big Finish. After various skirmishes between 2002’s ‘The Time of the Daleks’ and 2011’s ‘Lucie Miller’/‘To the Death’, ‘Dark Eyes’ was the first whole series to pit McGann against the menacing pepperpots and arguably presents them both with some of their most unadulteratedly action-packed storylines. The storylines are far more in line with the “NuWho” format, certainly.

Leaning away from experimentation (with perhaps two or three exceptions) and more towards the Daleks’ ability to conquer on a grand scale and dole out ruthlessness by the plunger-full, it upgrades a lot of generic usages of its foes by showing how bleak they can be. Even when they aren’t in the story! We see robotisation on a grand scale, the anguish of Dalek prisoners, manipulation from all corners, what they bring out in the species they fight, and a sense of grief from both the Doctor and his foes. While both companions (played by Nicola Walker and Ruth Bradley, the former in particular being exceptional) introduced over the stories are fan favourites, both are far more foil to the Doctor than admirers of his slowly-waning Byronic charm. The miserable WWI grit and scenery-chewing of the opening episode sets a tone and it hangs like the sword of Damocles over the ensuing boxsets masterfully.

You can argue there’s a slight stagnation to the writing – the same three writers writing fifteen/sixteen episodes – but not to the highs it creates. No episode is bad by any stretch and somehow the technobabble and ludicrousness which elsewhere might look tacky has an elan not even the sonic screwdriver can excise. The pacing is some of the most streamlined Big Finish has done and it bridges the gap between Classic Who’s longer, more dread-oriented storylines with the colourful extravagance and adrenaline of NuWho.

In addition, ‘Dark Eyes’ helps define a new and fantastic incarnation of the Master played by Alex Macqueen, finessed and occasionally hindered by throwing Sontarans and the Eminence (sentient gas creatures alternatively dubbed the “Infinite Warriors”) into the mix – arguably he gives the best performance the character has had, which is saying something. 

Yes, it’s far from straightforward; in fact, it’s oftentimes quite messy. But its dedication to being bombastic and gritty – even in “smaller” stories like ‘A Life in the Day’ and the Dalek-lite third boxset – is effective and the adoration of the malicious foes is omnipresent. It leaps towards showcasing the more aggrieved side of the Doctor’s nature and solidifies any tenuousness with phenomenal soundscapes, sterling performances, and much ingenuity hidden beneath the nostalgic familiarity of the Doctor’s greatest enemy (be that either the Daleks or the Master!).

— Benjamin Kurt Unsworth

I’VE ACTUALLY WANTED to start listening to the Big Finish audio dramas for some time now. The concept of further stories with familiar characters in audio form is wonderful to satisfy that itch for more Doctor Who, and their catalogue is enormous. 

If you’re like me and you are shockingly lacking in pre-2005 Doctor Whoexperience for whatever reason – be it inaccessibility or a dislike of the decades outdated filming technology – Big Finish could be an avenue for you.

‘Return to Skaro’, the Doctor Who audio drama written by Andrew Smith, is as deep into the Doctor Who history as one could be, as this is set as a direct sequel to the introduction of the Doctor’s most well-known adversary, the Daleks. Naturally, it features the First Doctor, played by David Bradley, who is reprising the role he has played on screen several times now. It features the original TARDIS crew of the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan (Claudia Grant), and human companions, Ian (Jamie Glover) and Barbara (Jemma Powell). 

So well is the style of performances and writing done, if there was a retro radio crackle filter placed over the audio, one could believe this was a recording of a broadcast from the 1960s. Which is where the biggest stumbling block to a listener’s enjoyment may arise: one would need to like the cheesy, melodramatic style of science fiction from the earliest years of Doctor Who, because it is recreated here as faithfully as possible. Which, as far as I’m convinced, is an absolute win. I plan on dimming my lights, curling up in a comfortable wingback armchair, with a blanket over my lap and with tea and biscuits, and having another listen.

— Carl R. Jennings

SUSAN’S WAR IS a four-part Big Finish audio production starring the voice acting of Carole Ann Ford, Beth Chalmers and William Russell. In part one, ‘Sphere of Influence’, theTime War has been initiated and Gallifrey is in need of every available resource. Susan Foreman answers the call when a battle TARDIS is sent to escort her to Gallifrey. Though the Daleks waste no time in hijacking their battle craft through the use of a link with the Eye of Harmony. Energy is being drained at a crippling speed from Gallifrey as a TARDIS isn’t designed to be isolated, and to shut one down affects them all. Susan suggests enlisting a powerful telepathic race called the Sensorites to aid in their cause. With the help of an old acquaintance, Ian Chesterton, along with Commander Veklin,the three unearth a horrifying secret within the depths of the Sense Sphere, leading them to believe that perhaps not all thoughts are one’s own.

Part two, ‘The Uncertain Shore’, follows Susan, granddaughter of the Doctor, and Commander Veklin, a Time Lord special agent, who pose as amateur painters visiting the vacation planet Florana. An invasion is upon them and they are sent to investigate a possible Dalek spy. Three possible suspects remain. While exploring the desert,Susan stumbles into the line of fire and the real adversary. She soon discovers that her theory on perception is correct. One can only add to darkness and it cannot be removed once it’s there. Though it can be tricked.

In ‘Assets of War’, the third episode, the story follows Susan, Commander Veklin and Cardinal Rasmus to the planet Oreseia. Susan is needed on a secret military base to help with a new weapon that is being bred for war: creatures called Orrovixs. Lord Vibax believes that their ability to track time energy, along with an abundant arsenal of other tricks could help tip the scales in their favour. Though can a vortex monster learn to see beyond their own wrath and learn obedience? Time is running out in this war, and Susan knows better than anyone how quickly minds can change. But what of those caught in the crossfire? . . . 

‘The Shoreditch Intervention’ is the fourth and final part in the audio anthology of Susan’s War. The TARDIS makes an unexpected stop where a peculiar woman remarks that she does not represent the disbanded Celestial Intervention Agency and explains that they are in the past of Arcadia before the war. Then she proceeds to ask Susan if she could somehow prevent the war, would she? Especially if she knew her grandfather, through his actions in 1963 by hiding a device on Earth so that no one else could use it led to catastrophic future events. Would she be willing to untie time’s web and see what happened for herself? Earth is time-locked and cannot be broken from the outside, but a Time Ring could be utilised, theoretically. What could possibly go wrong when given a second chance? . . .

Susan’s War is a delightful experience – from the stories to the acting to immersing oneself in the fascinating world of Doctor Who. This was my first taste of Time Lords, Daleks, and worlds within worlds. I loved every moment of it.

— Jessica Stevens

‘DALEK UNIVERSE’ SITS somewhere between the fan-wank of wanting more stories with the Daleks, David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor, and Davros and the ingenious, boundary-pushing sagas Big Finish is good at producing. 

Beginning more like The Man from U.N.C.L.E. with timey-wimey elements in its first boxset (to considerable success) and concluding like an iteration of TV’s ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ with no budgetary constraints, the series has a number of lynchpins as creative as they are effective. Whereas you might expect bombast from something called “Dalek Universe”, the series actually excels in how it portrays the smaller interplays of characters – and perhaps more keenly, their fears and the ricochets of their actions – as the Doctor is thrown back into a pre-Time War era and gets embroiled with two Space Security Service agents (both of whom expanded media had already introduced and fleshed out) and a chain reaction of plots. It’s far from the best use of the Daleks, but it is a comfort food of sorts in what it hands you as it’s infinitely consumable and has enough odes to past TV and audio stories to give longer-term fans lots of moments of joyous knowing.

Apart from one drastic misstep involving River Song, the Doctor, his two ersatz companions here (played by Jane Slavin and Joe Sims), Davros, and Dalek enemies Mechonoids and Movellans all get their chance to shine and each add a sense of ecstasy which sadly cannot be harnessed and fed to you via IV – through headphones will have to do. The drama is never short of intense and the emotions always operate uncomfortably close to boiling over without feeling taxing or overwrought. Especially when it deals out its punches, be that in space opera, alternate dimensions, or splinters of shattered time zones, it takes great relish in how nasty and caustic and intelligent it is and the cast all rise to the occasion, enjoying their dialogue almost more than you the listener.

As mentioned, the Daleks themselves are more bit players – this is an exploration of a world they’ve influenced, with hark-backs to the infamous past enemies (and lesser known ones like the Visians) and a lot of other creations from the Hartnell era updated and pitted against arguably the show’s most well-loved Doctor. Their appearances don’t disappoint though – it’s “why are Daleks iconic?” by numbers, but they’re infinitely lovable numbers. It’s fun more than it is groundbreaking, yet there’s a nice and varied combination of elements and enough aspects to keep your blood pressure fluctuating.

Like a lot of series produced by Big Finish, the stories least centred on the sprawling space opera are actually the best – in this case, the opening two-parter of the first boxset and the end episode of the second boxset – however its creativity and zest never miss the spot. The rapport of Terry Molloy’s Davros and David Tennant’s Doctor isn’t something anyone thought they needed, yet it truly stands out. It’s a mission statement for what good performances can do to elevate straightforward ideas and proof of why the Daleks and their creator have endeared their brand of malice so fantastically – if it ain’t broke and all that . . .

(And while far from essential it’s worth noting that its prequel, ‘The Dalek Protocol’, is equally engaging and a slice of nerdiness which is as near to a love poem to Terry Nation as you can find.)

— Benjamin Kurt Unsworth

AS YOU MIGHT expect from a series involving the War Doctor and the Time War, ‘He Who Fights With Monsters’ plays out more like a psychological thriller transplanted into a narrative that’s very clearly Doctor Who’s answer to Apocalypse Now. What you might not expect is how inventive and nasty it is, because despite the obvious trajectory of doing one epic spread over three hours it manages a level of exploitation and explosiveness that you can’t help but adore.

And, you know what, it’s one of the best things Doctor Who has done, audio or not.

The set is colossal in gravitas from the off and writer Robert Valentine knows how to keep you enthralled. The various conflicts layer themselves over one another like someone playing a game of KerPlunk with the universe, and so while the initial premise is the War Doctor being tasked with hunting down the Barber-Surgeon, a Time Lord whose genetic abominations have hunted down both sides of the spatiotemporal conflict, it unlocks a lot of minor conflicts that unfurl beautifully. Additionally, because of the fewer episodes, it removes convolutions and grandiose political narrative and instead prioritises the overall tone a lot more. The result is fabulous because, at its core, it gives us an exploration in how bleak both the Doctor and the Daleks can be when both are as under threat as one another. No small boon then is how gritty and brilliant the dual central performances of Jonathan Carley’s War Doctor and Nicholas Le Provost’s Barber-Surgeon are, the suggestion oft being that the latter is an alternate dimension’s version of the other.

The Daleks en masse are shelved in place of certain aberrations being given the spotlight here. It’s a nice example of quality over quantity as dynamics such as that of the Dalek Time Strategist, whose schemes are kept secret from even the Dalek Emperor, or the Dalek Hunter Killer, whose thoughts are impure for the sake of mental autonomy and leadership, are simple yet dissect the Dalek race in a cutting way. Divorced from the medley of war cries and general xenophobia, you see the Daleks as individual manipulative elements as opposed to a wall of destruction, thereby forcing Nicholas Briggs to stretch both his voice acting and the capacity of his ring modulator for the better.

If there’s one criticism, it’s with how high the stakes get raised. When you’re giving us the timey-wimey Apocalypse Now, the ending is a little obvious because hitting the existential fast return switch is really the only course open to you. But even with that predictable trajectory, it threads its various needles with startling precision and underneath a lot of explosions there are a number of fairly nuanced conflicts, like arson where the kindling is actually classic literary texts.

— Benjamin Kurt Unsworth