STORY PLACEMENT THIS STORY TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE BIG FINISH AUDIOS "SOLITAIRE" AND "NEVERLAND."
PRODUCTION CODE 8K
WRITTEN BY JUSTIN RICHARDS
DIRECTED BY NICHOLAS BRIGGS
WORKING TITLE TIME OF THE DALEKS
RECOMMENDED PURCHASE BIG FINISH CD#32 (ISBN 1-903654-61-0) RELEASED IN MAY 2002.
BLURB THE DOCTOR HAS LONG ADMIRED THE WORK OF SHAKESPEARE. SO HE IS A LITTLE SURPRISED THAT CHARLEY DOESN'T HOLD THE GALAXY'S GREATEST PLAYWRIGHT IN THE SAME ESTEEM. IN FACT, SHE'S NEVER EVEN HEARD OF HIM.
WHICH THE DOCTOR THINKS IS IMPROBABLE.
GENERAL MARIAH LEARMAN, RULER OF BRITAIN AFTER THE EUROWARS, IS ONE OF SHAKESPEARE'S GREATEST ADMIRERS, AND IS CONVINCED HER TIME MACHINE WILL ENABLE HER TO SEE THE PLAYS' ORIGINAL PERFORMANCES.
WHICH THE DOCTOR BELIEVES IS UNLIKELY.
THE DALEKS JUST WANT TO HELP. THEY WANT LEARMAN TO GET HER TIME MACHINE WORKING. THEY WANT CHARLEY TO APPRECIATE THE FIRST EVER PERFORMANCE OF JULIUS CAESAR. THEY BELIEVE THAT WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE IS THE GREATEST PLAYWRIGHT EVER TO HAVE EXISTED AND VENERATE HIS MEMORY.
WHICH THE DOCTOR KNOWS IS IMPOSSIBLE. |
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The Time of the Daleks MAY 2002 (4 EPISODES)
Somewhat inevitably, I came away from The Time of the Daleks feeling dejected. Irrespective of one’s views as to the canonicity of John Peel’s brace of eighth Doctor Dalek novels, the prospect of the Doctor as played by Paul McGann squaring off against his oldest and deadliest enemies was something to get ridiculously excited about, and so even had it been world-beating, Justin Richards’ story would still have struggled to live up to my colossal expectations. As it isn’t world-beating, well…
Richards’ first episode opens with a tremendously powerful scene that sees the Daleks test a “Time Extinction Device” whilst Don Warrington’s character - the mysterious observer to whom the Doctor ‘confessed’ his recent actions in Seasons of Fear - quotes a number of memorable lines from Shakespeare’s plays. From there, Richards well and truly grabs the listener’s attention by having Charley concede that she’s never heard of Shakespeare. It seems that history is unravelling from the mid-21st century and back, and so the TARDIS heads Earth to try and put things right at the source.
Unfortunately, Richards’ story doesn’t seem to capitalise on this alluring intro. What could have been a deeply unsettling tale instead dances on the threshold of unbridled farce, as Richards’ homage to everything from The Evil of the Daleks to Day of the Daleks quickly collapses into a wacky black comedy, spearheaded by Britain’s megalomaniac dictator, General Mariah Learman (Dot Smith) – possibly the most deranged character ever to grace a Who story. Richards casts Learman in the Theodore Maxtible role, collaborating with the Daleks in a number of mirror-based time experiments. But like the Daleks, Learman has her own agenda - she is Shakespeare’s biggest fan, and so she wants to erase him from history, yet preserve his works within her own mind for her exclusive enjoyment. As I say, deranged.
Learman’s actions, prompted by this ludicrous motive, then open the door to a complicated paradox that sees the Daleks established as the rulers of Earth through all time. This allows Richards to create some truly unsettling scenes as we hear our Dalek masters spouting Shakespeare quotes in their distinctive, grating tones, but unfortunately the effect is short-lived as Learman’s maniacal ravings seem to drown out all else; well, at least until she’s mutated by the Daleks in one the story’s grisliest scenes and poured into a Dalek casing. That’ll learn her.
Some might also be put of by the droves of Big Finish continuity that accompany this story. I’d imagine that a large number of Doctor Who fans will be purchasing this one on the strength of its billing, potentially without any knowledge of the three “Dalek Empire” releases that have preceded it. However, whilst such listeners might quickly get lost, I love how Richards has dextrously woven together the events of each of the preceding Big Finish Dalek releases. The sheer scope of the Daleks’ scheme here only serves to highlight their machiavellian cunning, making them appear a much greater menace than they often did in the last days of the Davros-dominated television series.
The season’s ongoing story arc is also pushed forward considerably, this story explaining that it is Charley’s inexplicable suffusion with chronon particles that made it possible for the Daleks to remove Shakespeare from time, before building up to a stirring crescendo which sees Charley ask the Doctor if she is at the centre of all their recent troubles, and then telling him that she’s scared. “So am I” is all that the Doctor can muster in reply. It’s hard to imagine a more tormenting dénouement…
Altogether then, The Time of the Daleks is a disappointment. Though it certainly has its moments, it is – at best - a modern interpretation of at least three seminal Dalek stories – The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Day of the Daleks, and most visibly The Evil of the Daleks. I don’t think that there will be many listeners out there who won’t get at least something out of this production, but I think that those waxing lyrical about it will be few and far between.
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Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2006
E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. |
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