The Lights of Skaro

"I wonder if the Daleks were my fault."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: June 2014

Series: New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield 1.04

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Benny

Synopsis

Bernice Summerfield is on Skaro, and she's very much on her own. The Doctor can't get to her, not this tie. All Benny can do is stay alive for as long as possible. And, in a city full of Daleks, that's not going to be very long.

Verdict

The Lights of Skaro was an outstanding audio adventure to conclude the first series of the New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield! It's fair to say that this has been an incredible boxset that has exceeded all of my expectations and was definitely worth the £9.99 price I grabbed the download at in the sale last year at Big Finish! This is honestly right up there with my favourite volumes they have released as not only has each story been to an incredibly high standard, but the series itself has had a fantastic story running through it that led to this wonderful finale. Even though they're both perfect ratings, I probably still slightly preferred Random Ghosts by a very tiny margin but this was honestly so great. The immediate follow on from the previous episode was very good following the announcement from Ace that we were on Skaro and the scene was set immediately with the Daleks exterminating Klinus at close range. Benny was devastated by that and went as far to say that she loved him so her distain towards the Daleks was enhanced immediately. The entire concept of the audio continuing the theme of time being broken and the ghosts we got from that was just tremendous. This was like a venture through Dalek history on Skaro and the contrast between the Daleks familiar to the later eras of Doctor Who compared to those first versions witnessed in The Daleks was just outstanding. The early Dalek who so brilliantly adorns the CD cover discussing with its future version was an incredibly powerful scene and a fine example of showing just how far the Daleks had come. The early version was content with eliminating the Thals and ruling Skaro, but the later version had much bigger ambitions which was very impressive and hugely enlightening. It was a fine use of the Omega Device by Benny to create a paradox by having the earlier version exterminate its future self to break the time lock around Skaro, but that was only after a wonderful visit down memory lane. The cameo appearance by Davros at the start of the episode was superb and he is a terrific villain so anything new with him always seems like a treat. I think it might have actually been a Davros sale that I managed to get this series as part of! Experiencing the Dalek perspective of the events of Remembrance of the Daleks and their sun going supernova was sublime and full of action and panic which we don't associate with the Daleks. Benny conversing with the Dalek Emperor shortly after the events of The Evil of the Daleks civil war was brilliant and I really enjoyed how the voice was reminiscent of the Emperor seen in The Parting of the Ways. The revelation that Klinus was always a ghost and actually a Kaled was fascinating and reminded us of the extensive history of Skaro and the deadly war that ended up creating the Daleks. The idea of the Daleks wanting to destroy the Thals to bear their own survival was incredibly intriguing and the concept of the stranger being responsible for the Daleks – of course meaning the Doctor – was excellent. The Doctor himself having to toy with the idea that he was responsible for the rampaging Daleks that would follow him through his regenerations was excellent. After all, he had armed the Thals whilst telling the Daleks of infinite life and time travel. It's such a fun concept. Finding out that Ace was on a mission to destroy the Daleks with stolen Time Lord technology was a lot of fun and I enjoyed how she was hoping to save Benny's mum amongst a whole load of other people! Varna also being a Kaled and failing to understand that the Daleks were what her people had become was sublime and the Dalek not bearing the sight of a Kaled fully formed and bearing limbs was powerful stuff. So of course she was exterminated. Foster trying to exploit the Daleks developed his character well also and it was good to know he was more than just a documentarian. As a whole though, this was just fantastic from start to finish! Overall, a superb audio adventure to finish the series.

Rating: 10/10