Fear of the Daleks

"Doctor, exterminate us... Exterminate the Daleks!"

Writer: Patrick Chapman

Format: Audio

Released: February 2007

Series: Companion Chronicles 1.02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis 

Why has Zoe Heriot been having nightmares about the Daleks? Who is the Doctor, a mysterious man from her past? When an evil scientist hijacks her mind to control a galaxy-conquering weapon, Zoe must stop him. First, she and the Second Doctor will face an enemy they had thought destroyed forever.

Verdict

Fear of the Daleks was a brave story to add to the canonical Whoniverse of adventures. After the climatic scenes in The Evil of the Daleks, aimed to picture the ultimate defeat of the Skaro natives, this audio adventure tells the story of another meeting the Second Doctor had with his greatest adversaries. I like the idea of doing another Dalek story for this incarnation though as the two that were broadcast during season six are currently lost (excluding one episode of Evil). So we do have a full adventure with Patrick Troughton's incarnation and the Daleks. Wendy Padbury beautifully tells the story and this also allows us to pit Zoe, arguably the most intelligent companion of them all, against the Doctor's greatest foes. I liked the continuation from The Wheel in Space where, before joining the TARDIS team, Zoe was shown the events of The Evil of the Daleks and from this she had grown mighty fearful of the pepper pots. Telling the story, Zoe really enhanced the listener and sold the domineering presence of the Daleks quite brilliantly. Padbury really did deliver the story's title, as she eclipsed the fear she had tantalisingly well. The story itself was your typical 'Daleks trying to conquer the universe' tale but the method in which they were trying to achieve it in this time was unique. I liked how Atrika fell into a trap many more would in the future (namely Resurrection of the Daleks and Daleks in Manhattan), where you can't trust the word of the Dalek. In fact, as the Doctor points out, you should expect the very opposite of what was promised! I liked the use of two different species who were bitter at each other. The Xantha and the Tibari were both depicted excellently but the standout character was undoubtedly Atrika. His devious plan of political assassination bared some similarities to The Fearmonger but his methods were completely different. He was going to use avatars! And perhaps most significantly, Zoe's avatar who he'd be in control of using a mind control device. I thought he'd gained control of Zoe's mind and got the reluctant cooperation of the Doctor a bit too easily but the atmospheric tone of a battle for wits between Zoe and Atrika was superb. The plot playing out was relatively good, it was a bit drab in the middle but the final scenes were terrific and the highlight of the audio. Atrika printing his consciousness into that of a Dalek was just staggeringly good. A beautiful speech as he explained what the Daleks could feel, their objectives, what they were planning to achieve. It was almost like the human factor of the Daleks had returned, although this time unintentionally. Once Atrika had found the Daleks' true agenda, he obviously sided with the Doctor and put an end to their plans. A little predictable but I still enjoyed the way it panned out. The subtle references to The War Games with Zoe confused why her memory was blocked was very good but the idea of her telling new adventures from her dreams is a fantastic idea. Overall, very good! I'd just have liked Jamie to have appeared a bit more and a tad more excitement. 

Rating: 8/10