(4 70-MINUTE EPISODES)
somewhat altered
setup, but for similar returns. The structure
here is very similar – there is a slight framing
story, in this case a discourse between two characters living 2,500 years
after the main events of the story, which becomes the focus for events in
the final part. Once again we are witness to events on a galactic scale,
in a war between the Galaxy’s humanoid inhabitants and its Dalek
oppressors. We are still following the fortunes and misfortunes of previous protagonists Susan Mendes (Sarah Mowat), Alby Brook (Mark
McDonnel), Mirana (Teresa Gallagher), and the warrior Kalendorf (Gareth
Thomas). However, the surprising events at the end of the first series
have left the backdrop rather different this time round…
At the close of
the first series, the Dalek Emperor’s true plans became apparent, when the
Dalek forces used the mysterious Project: Infinity device to open a rift
to an alternative reality, bringing in a force of alternative Daleks to
their own universe. To their surprise, these alt-Daleks declared war on
them. We pick up the tale six years later. Alby, Mirana and Kalendorf have
been rescued from impending Dalekhood by the alt-Dalek forces, led by the
mysterious Mentor. Now, the face of the Galaxy is very different to how we
left it. In a peculiar reversal, the enemy Daleks have made their
stronghold on Earth, while the Alliance of humans and alt-Daleks control
the rest of explored space, and are bearing in their enemies. The enemy
Daleks are completely cut off from their homeworld in the galaxy Seriphia,
and are losing this war. It’s an intriguing backdrop to set the story
against.
The alternative
Daleks are probably the most interesting thing on offer here. Nick Briggs
does his usual Stirling work with the main Dalek voices, but it’s the
alt-Daleks who sound the most
interesting. They sound far more human; less mechanical, yet somehow still
unmistakably Dalek. Most interesting is the Mentor, voiced by Hannah Smith
with a subtle electronic modulation. An intelligent, softly spoken female
Dalek (have we ever had a female
Dalek before?), the Mentor is the golden empress of the alternative Dalek
species. In her universe, the Daleks were created to preserve peace and
order. However, we soon learn that this isn’t quite as noble as it sounds.
Chapter
1 mostly concerns the efforts of Alby, Mirana and Kalendorf to rescue Suz,
still held in cryogenic suspension by enemy Dalek forces. To do this, they
lead a secretive mission behind the Mentor’s back. The problem is, once
Suz is revived, that she spends too much of her time either asking what’s
going on – leading to a good deal of exposition that’s largely unnecessary
– or filling us in on the events of the first series. Sadly, this is none
too interesting. As good as the regulars’ performances are, the plot
of Chapter 1 just doesn’t provide a gripping tale. Still, it does at
least provide an interesting setup for the remaining instalments.
Chapter
2 really ups
the pace. Mirana’s starship Defiant is infiltrated by enemy Daleks
– with Alby and his young companion Morli as prisoners. They use them as
bargaining chips to prevent Suz from harming herself. It all becomes clear
– the Emperor Dalek, believed dead by the Alliance forces, exists within Suz’s mind, uploaded into her subconscious for safekeeping while his
forces were decimated. We then leap back and forth between events on the
Defiant and those on Karl’s command cruiser. Karl is
commander of the Alliance fleet, and it has to said, it’s his performance
that is the series’ true highlight. Gareth Thomas dominates any scene
he’s in, particular those in which Kal faces the Mentor. It’s a joy to
hear the two allies, clearly distrustful of one another, carefully giving
away just enough information to keep the other sweet. Events in the Solar
System are intriguing; the fleet arrives to find Jupiter, bizarrely,
terraformed into a habitable, Earth-like planet. (I’m pretty sure this
messes up the Whoniverse’s future history, but never mind). Kalendorf
organises an offensive, but the Mentor is suspicious of his plans; much of
the fleet has been damaged during his recent maneuveurs, and this latest
offensive seems foolhardy. He’s clearly up to something. Meanwhile, events
with Suz, Alby and Morli make it clear that the alt-Daleks are more
malevolent than they seem. Information is being leaked about their
sterilisation of ‘uncooperative’ planets who refuse to assist in the war
effort, while Morli’s declining sanity make it clear that the alt-Daleks
have been brainwashing prisoners and hospital patients. The chapter
reaches a powerful finale when the enemy Daleks scan Suz’s brain – only to
reactivate the Emperor’s consciousness, with the Emperor speaking
ominously in Suz’s voice.
Chapter
3
keeps the pace up well, with a good dose of intrigue surrounding Kalendorf’s actions. When he orders half the fleet to put down on Jupiter,
it becomes clear what the planet’s purpose is… the Daleks have turned into
a huge Varga farm. Having the vicious Varga plants back is a great touch,
and really gives this episode a sixties feel. It also has some harrowing
consequences, as the human fleet members fall victim to the spreading of
the Varga infection. The Mentor’s patience finally runs out, and she
begins to make her moves to removing Kalendorf. However, events on the
Defiant are less exciting – Mirana has fled in an escape pod, Morli is
exterminated, but overall, it’s a crushing letdown to learn that Suz is
alright after all. Her takeover by the Emperor’s personality was only
temporary. Although he’s still in there, biding his time, this does have
the effect of leaching the urgency from the situation. Nonetheless, things
get pretty hectic when Kalendorf defects from the Alliance to the enemy
Daleks. Rendezvousing with the Defiant, with an Alliance fleet in
pursuit on one side and a Dalek fleet on the other, we should be sharing
Alby’s horror that he’s been used to aide a defector. Yet… we know
Kalendorf hates the Daleks, and we know he is capable of complex,
double-crossing plans. It’s clear he hasn’t switched sides, but that he’s
trying to pit the Dalek forces against one another, and that he’ll just
double cross the Dalek Supreme, and the Emperor once he is revived. Still,
for now, he needs the Angel of Mercy, better known as Suz, to rejoin the
Daleks as their collaborator.
Chapter 4 brings events to a close in a downbeat fashion. The framing story here
comes to the fore, and we meet properly Tarkov and Hardew, two citizens of
the galactic culture called the Union. Following a vast catastrophe 2500
years previously, the population of the Galaxy has been drastically
reduced, and its technology and knowledge degraded. On the planet Velyshaa,
Hardew believes she has found out the identity of the man responsible for
this
“Great
Catastrophe” –
the Knight of Velyshaa, Kalendorf. Meanwhile, Tarkov brings data from an
intercepted transmission from beyond the borders of the Galaxy.
So, Hardew tells
us the story so far, with another interminable catch-up, presumably for
those odd few who have only purchased this one instalment. Still, once it
gets going, it really gets going. With his faith shattered, Alby attempts
to kill Kalendorf to prevent his helping the evil Daleks, only for Suz to
gun him down first. Now, this is a pretty shocking moment, but it does
make you wonder what the whole last series has been for, if the two
characters supposedly in love finally meet up, only for one to callously
kill the other, when she could just as easily disarmed him. It’s clear
Suz’s trust in Kalendorf borders on the religious, as she follows his
instructions to return to Earth with the Daleks and follow their orders.
Years of war
follow, with both sides suffering terrible losses. Eventually, Karl
is captured and taken through space-time to the Alliance
Daleks’ homeworld in their universe. There he faces the Mentor who,
quite reasonably, asks why he refused her offer of peace and turned against
her. Kalendorf’s response is that the complete loss of freedom to an ally is no
better than extermination by an enemy. You can see his point, but you can
also see the Mentor’s when she argues that her iron fist tactics were for
the greater good. After her offer to renew their alliance is dismissed,
the Mentor and her Daleks withdraw from our reality, sending Kalendorf
back where he came from.
Finally, events
catch up with him, and the victorious Daleks present their new Emperor –
not removed from Suz’s mind as Kalendorf had planned, but existing within
her, speaking through her, having totally subsumed her identity.
Nonetheless, Kalendorf has no intention of giving up on his incredible
long term plans, and psychically links with Suz/Emperor. It’s revealed
that he planted a telepathic suggestion within her years ago in case of
this eventuality, and triggers it, sending a shock through the Emperor
into the Daleks’ communication network, causing a system wide
self-destruction. A wave of devastation sweeps the universe, wiping out the
Daleks but leaving utter chaos in its wake. This is the
“Great
Catastrophe”. Now,
as interesting as it is to hear events unfold with such inevitability,
wondering just how the end will come about, the fact that we’re told of it
in advance does make the whole thing rather predictable. The upshot is
that the final chapter, although effectively grim, lacks the punch it
deserves to have. Our hero figures have just caused devastation on a scale
that their Dalek enemies never matched – we should at least be allowed to feel surprised by
this!
Overall, Dalek
War is enjoyable enough, but it feels like a retread of the ground
covered in Dalek Empire. For this reason, it never reaches the heights
that first series did. In the accompanying notes, Briggs declares that
this story is over. We know that this isn’t true, with a third and fourth
series now available. Indeed, the ending to the final chapter makes the
sequel obvious: with the extragalactic transmission decoded, we learn that
a Dalek force is heading from Seriphia to the Milky Way, and we’re left to
wonder how this poorer, less capable galactic civilisation will deal with
them. It’s still a scenario with a great deal of promise – it just needs
to be met with the verve that was present in Series 1.
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put pen to paper again, if only to prevent himself drowning in a sea of
fan mail demanding a sequel. Whilst the first series’ explosive finale
brought the story that Briggs’ wanted to tell to an emphatic close, it
also began a brand new one. The Daleks had used Project: Infinity to
locate a parallel universe in which Daleks reigned supreme, opened a
portal to it, and then invited their opposite numbers to share their
secrets of success. Unfortunately for the Daleks, their all-conquering
counterparts had apparently conquered morality before they conquered the
universe and thus, horrified at the evident evil of the Daleks, they
launched a trans-temporal jihad against them. Dalek War is the
story of what happened next.
Much like Dalek Empire, the four CDs that comprise Dalek War
are beautifully clad in artwork that screams 1960s with every bit as much
gusto as a Dalek screeches “Exterminate!” This time around though, rather
than continue with the comic book feel, Clayton Hickman and Tim Keable
instead opted for a striking pop art design. Each CD cover depicts a lone
white Dalek, silhouetted against a background of vibrant colour,
constituting probably the most arresting set of CD covers that Big Finish
have produced to date. Those who were besotted with the comic-inspired
graphics of Dalek Empire needn’t fret though – each CD booklet’s
reverse boasts a suitably stirring colour illustration depicting a
defining moment in the story in glorious retro style.
The presentation differs in more subtle ways too. The haunting signature
tune is rocked up and elongated. The Dalek battle cries are replaced with
the charming slogan “A space adventure in four parts”. Such phraseology
immediately paints a picture in the would-be listener’s mind - a picture
of sprawling space operas and jet packs; of gloriously over the top
villains and robots from outer-space. And, true to the style of Flash
Gordon and its fellow Saturday morning cinema serials, Dalek War’s
instalments bear only chapter numbers instead of names. No doubt this
disharmony sent many listeners into a frothing rage, but I’m pleased that
Dalek War has its own distinct identity. It may be a continuation
of the story began in Dalek Empire, but it’s a completely different
animal.
For starters, I don’t think that anyone could reasonably argue that
Dalek War is anywhere near as seminal a series as Dalek Empire
was. In the accompanying CD of bonus material (yep – Big Finish’s
spin-offs had special features long before their Doctor Who ranges
did, and they’re proper documentaries too) Robert Shearman poses the
burning question “What does Dalek War do that Dalek Empire
didn’t do better and cheaper?”, and the answer is very little.
Of
course, it’s impossible to compare the two on a like for like basis
because Dalek War is so very different to its predecessor. The
Daleks of the first series were ahead of their time, portrayed by Briggs
with all the guile and sophistication of those that we’d later see on
television in Doctor Who. They sat at the heart of the series and
of the galaxy, an unstoppable and relentless terror. Here, however, the
“enemy Daleks” that we came to know in Dalek Empire aren’t the
stars of the show any more. The extra-dimensional Daleks may be the lesser
evil, but they’re newer and greyer; a storytelling goldmine. Events
inevitably revolve around them and the dawning revelation that a Dalek is
a Dalek, no matter how pious it first appears.
Oddly enough though, this shift of emphasis
is what makes Dalek War such a cracking sequel. It’s not more of
the same, or even the same ideas wearing a different coloured coat - it’s
a brand new setup and a brand new world. Hence when we pick up in Chapter
1 and chase the ride, all bets are off. In this sense, at least, it’s true
to the spirit of Dalek Empire.
The extra-dimensional Daleks are a fascinating breed. Unlike their cousins
in our universe, they aren’t actually evil; indeed, for most of Dalek
War they are allied with humanity in a war against the enemy Daleks,
who are holed up on Earth. Particularly in the first three chapters, the
real drama is borne not of the conflict that is tearing the galaxy apart
but of Kalendorf’s investigations into the rumours of his new allies’
tyranny. The allied Daleks’ mentor may be an inversion of the enemy
Daleks’ emperor in most ways (even in gender, remarkably) but it soon
becomes clear to both Kalendorf and the listener that she shares her
opponent’s need to dominate and control. If a few human planets can’t or
won’t join the war against the enemy Daleks, then they must be punished.
They must be “neutralised”.
Furthermore,
as Briggs focuses less on enemy Dalek psychology, he is really able to
bring his human characters to the fore. The hell that Suz, Alby and
Kalendorf went through in Dalek Empire is as nought when compared
to what destiny’s cruel hand has reserved for them here. Suz and Alby’s
twisted love song is brought to the most unlikely and upsetting of
conclusions, whilst Kalendorf’s lot is even crueller still. If Dalek
Empire was Sarah Mowat’s time to shine, then Dalek War is most
definitely Gareth Thomas’s. Briggs’ clever framing device allows us to
observe history demonising the noble Knight of Velyshaa from afar; to
listen as a historian in the far future frets over his failings. Was
Kalendorf a traitor, a villain, a realist - or just a damned fool?
Teresa Gallagher’s Mirana is given a much meatier role this time around as
commander of the Alliance warship Defiant and the audience’s
front-line anchor. Briggs also introduces a new important character,
Morli, who steals just about every scene that she’s in. Played by Dannie
Carr in her native Geordie brogue, Morli is a sweet, almost pitiable
character who better than anything else in the story conveys the real
horror of the allied Daleks.
This time around, Briggs is careful not to leave any threads hanging with
his conclusion. Suz’s apparent fate is both brutal and stirring; I love
that it is only in her ultimate surrender that she is able to free the
galaxy from both sets of Daleks and that, better still, in destroying the
Daleks she and Kalendorf have to effectively destroy the galaxy. This
“Great Catastrophe” leaves the listener in no doubt that the real evil of
the Daleks isn’t what they do, but what they make you do, serving
as a potent portent of the Doctor’s drastic actions in the Last Great Time
War.
However, just when the listener thinks it’s over, Briggs cuts back to his
framing story, and suddenly its relevance is pulled into sharp focus.
Having been given a 249-minute history lesson on the Dalek War and the
Great Catastrophe that it brought about, Galactic Union argent Siy Tarkov
detects a transmission emanating from Seriphia. To his horror, the Daleks
are returning. And they’re going to make every planet in the “mighty
swirl” a Dalek world. Because it never ends. Whatever Briggs says, it
never ends.
Of the four Dalek Empire series released to date, Dalek War
is probably my least favourite, but that’s hardly a condemnation given the
series’ standards. It may lack the impact of Dalek Empire, the
originality of Dalek Empire III, and the heart of The Fearless,
but it does exactly what it says on its colourful tin: depicts a Dalek
war, and does so magnificently.
Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2010
E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Design
and
Patents Act 1988, to be identified as the author of this
work.
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