Invasion of the Daleks

"It is the order of the Emperor. Obey without question!"

Writer: Nicholas Briggs

Format: Audio

Released: August 2001

Series: Dalek Empire 1.01

Featuring: Suz, Alby, Kalendorf

Synopsis 

The Milky Way is at peace. 

After centuries of struggle, the Earth Alliance has been created and all is well

Then, without warning, the Daleks launch their invasion. 

An invasion which threatens to tear apart the fabric of our entire galaxy...

Verdict 

Invasion of the Daleks was a very good introduction to kick off the first series of the Dalek Empire range! So here we are, just under four decades since Terry Nation attempted to give his coveted creation a spinoff on television in the States, the Daleks get to go it alone now in the audios and they were definitely the highlight of this series and range opener! I thought the story did well to introduce the main three characters who seem like they'll be centre stage for this series at least. Suz was lovely and I like the fact that it seems she's going to be the lead of trio we'll soon become acquainted with. She was just brilliant and I can tell already that I'm going to really like her. The way she stood up to the Daleks was outstanding and despite them not liking it, they soon gave in to her demands! She won an argument with the Daleks. Not too shabby for your first story. She explained that the humans needed sleep and food to be productive and carry out the Dalek orders. And after some persuasion and analysis, Suz got her way. The introduction of Alby was good to with him in his ship and things not all going to plan. I liked how he'd fallen for Suz and would later risk everything to just see if she was still alive. Alive from the Dalek invasion that is. I loved the scenes of the invasion, as the story is of course titled, and the story showed as a whole why the Daleks are the number one Doctor Who enemies. They were very monstrous here and their authoritative and ruthless threats immediately gave them a fear factor, one that of course isn't really needed. I loved the throwback to The Dalek Invasion of Earth, one of my all time favourite stories, and I thought this audio was actually pretty similar. The Daleks had came and conquered Vega VI pretty effortlessly for their standards but now they needed the humans to accomplish their aims. They were at their mining antics again but this time it was far from Bedfordshire and they weren't after a core of a planet. They wanted the Veganite for reasons not yet known but I'm sure we'll get to that during the series and I look forward to it very much. The references to The Genocide Machine and The Apocalypse Element were wonderfully thrown in and I loved how the Dalek Empire loose connection of the main range audios is finally having some significance. The reintroduction of Kalendorf was brilliant and I liked the reference to The Sirens of Time in which he previously appeared as a highlight. The reference to war between the humans and the Knights of Velyshaa was tremendous. I loved Kalendorf and Suz's relationship whilst they were being slaves and I was intrigued why someone of such rank and calibre had been thrown into Dalek slavery. The climax was good and eventful which is always a bonus. The appearance of the Dalek Emperor is always a fantastic thing in my opinion as I just love the character. The voice is so good and monstrous and just screams aggressive authority! The Dalek Supreme's appearance was good too but he didn't really do too much which was a slight surprise due to the inclusion to begin with. The lead in to the next story was good with Alby heading through the Daleks and the mothership to see the women he's fallen in love with, whilst Pellan tagged along! Overall, an intriguing 72 minutes of Dalek audio! A beautiful reference to The Evil of the Daleks and I'm just looking forward to seeing what the Daleks are up to! Do they want the human factor once more? I'm not convinced. Suz, Alby and Kalendorf look set to be a good trip to base the series around anyway! All in all, a very decent opener. 

Rating: 8/10