July 2014 Ratings

The Tomfiles: #23 - Dalek Empire - A Retro Review

In the first of a series of new Tomfiles, I look back at one of Big Finish’s earliest success stories and whether it stands up to the high quality that Big Finish have become known for since it started making Doctor Who stories fifteen years ago. This first part looks back at the first series. Dalek Empire was the first thing that I listened to that was made in the Big Finish world. I remember buying it at a Memorabilia Fair in 2003 not knowing much about Dalek Empire or Big Finish. I also bought this along with a few Eighth Doctor main range releases. Dalek Empire is one of the first big successes that Big Finish had. There was the Bernice Summerfield series that Big Finish launched first but this was the first series that they had created.

The Dalek Empire series started back in June 2001 and having listened to it recently, the first thing that struck me was just how well it stood up to todays standard of Big Finish storytelling. The only thing that is missing from these releases is the noise that is made when the Daleks move. It’s important (but not vital) to have heard two main range releases in the form of ‘The Genocide Machine’ and ‘The Apocalypse Element’ (both from 2000).

The first instalment of this opening series was called ‘Invasion of the Daleks’ and the plot was exactly that. The Daleks invade Vega 6. The thing that is littered during this series is the narration done by Joyce Gibbs.

There are three main characters introduced in this series and they are Kalendorf (played by Gareth Thomas), Alby Brook (played by Mark McDonnell) and Susan Mendes (played by Sarah Mowat). It’s Susan that becomes quite integral to the whole thing because she soon becomes defiant in the face of the Daleks and the Daleks use her to try and improve moral and productivity levels of the slaves. She becomes known as the Angel of Mercy. I think that the relationship between Kalendorf and Susan Mendes is one that works from the very moment that they have a scene together. Thomas does a great job of making Kalendorf sound ordinary at first and then to be a Knight and can communicate telepathically.

This opening story attempts to tell everyone that listens what to expect and its pretty clear by the end of the first part that its going to be a story on an epic scale. We know who the important characters are and it’s a solidly written opening story and one that wouldn’t be out of place in todays Big Finish output.

The thing that I noticed about the second part ‘The Human Factor’ is that it feels like the foot has been taken off the accelerator a little bit. That’s not to say that it’s a poor story or even a substandard adventure but there is a definite change compared to the opening story. Susan Mendes’ involvement becomes more important and clearer and this causes a nice bit of tension between the two. This part is the first one that has what I would class as a proper cliffhanger. Alby is shot at by unknown forces and it seems like his involvement is not going to go on for much longer. This part is also another one that has relations to the main range and that is the Garazone System which featured in ‘Sword of Orion’ but there is a time difference between the two stories. Whereas it might be necersary to have listened to The Mutant Phase and The Apocalypse Element, I don’t think that is the case for ‘Sword of Orion’.

By the time you finish the third part ‘Death to the Daleks’, there is no denying the epic scale of this story. The characters feel like they are old friends with Alby Brooks coming across like the slightly rebellious and likeable brother who despite letting his heart rule his head, doesn’t seem to be as annoying as if he were in some Hollywood romantic comedy. At this stage of the adventure the story needs some fresh blood in it and that happens in the form of Mirana (played by Teresa Galagher). She is someone who seems to be a running sore for Brooks and seems like the perfect person to be alongside Brooks. The release builds to those famous words being uttered by the Angel of Mercy and before this happens there is a lovely scene between Mendes and Kalendorf which shows how close they have become even though they do take swipes at each other from time to time. Her death is the ultimate shock in the story and shows that even one of the central characters isn’t immune from the axe. The penultimate story in a series or serial has to do a job of making the final instalment to be an unmissable finale.

It’s interesting when the final part ‘Project Infinity’ starts because it would be interesting to see how the loss of one of the key characters would affect the story. One thing is made clear is the purpose of the narration that we had been hearing since the very beginning and its down to the Angel of Mercy having formed a link with her.

Alby has gone a little bit crazy at the death of Susan Mendes and seems to do some crazy things to try and prove that she’s alive. What’s quite clever is that Briggs slightly distracts us with the possibility that there is something else going on. The twist that Mirana is actually working for the Daleks is something that I didn’t see coming (or remember).

The ending of this final part is not what most people at the time would have been expecting. The Daleks are basically going to have a war with each other. In the ‘Big Finish Companion Volume 1’ its explained that Nicholas Briggs knew that there was going to be a Dalek Empire 2 and that’s clear from the ending that this is the case and it’s the best ending to a Dalek Empire release up until this point. What I like about the story at this point is that there is still plenty of room in this adventure and with the addition of new Daleks there is even more that can explored.

This series has been fantastic to listen to. Aside from the lack of sound effect on the Daleks, this series is just as strong as ‘Counter Measures’, ‘Jago and Litefoot’ or even ‘Graceless’. Despite it being made thirteen years ago it sounds just as good as it did back in 2001. I look forward to listening to the second series and the second of these new Tomfiles I am going to see whether the second series suffers from the Big Finish version of the difficult second album.