Master of the Daleks

"Long live the glorious New Skaro."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: March 2015

Series: Dark Eyes 4.04

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Liv, Molly

Synopsis

The Master and the Dalek Time Controller have forged an alliance. History hangs in the balance, and this time the Doctor can't help...

Verdict

Master of the Daleks was a strong episode to continue the fourth and final series of Dark Eyes! The artwork alone was enough to get me very excited about this story as we had the combination of the Daleks, Master and the Sontarans all in one outing! That’s a lot of moving parts to combat with but for the most part I thought they did a good job of giving credence to each element. The Sontarans were definitely the ones given the short straw as they seemed to simply be reduced to being Dalek slave labour by the time the end of the episode came around, but the way they reacted to the Daleks being in their portion of space was brilliant. The Sontarans are bred for war and very rarely show any fear with how they see honour in death, but there was instant trepidation when it was soon clear that it wasn’t just one or two rogue Daleks. It was a squadron of hundreds and they’d come to exterminate. That was an exciting pre-credits sequence. I thought with everything going on it was quite fun for the Doctor to be suffering from some severe time lag that meant he was very disoriented for a long time. He didn’t even recognise a Dalek at first! He did though pay attention to Mary Carter due to her Irish accent and I must say I was stunned to find that she was an older version of Molly O’Sullivan in this corrupted timeline. It is a little disappointing to get a change of actress and I understand why it happened given the time jump for her, but I am such a fan of Ruth Bradley and it’ll be a shame if there is no more of her. The 1961 setting of the New Skaro was fantastic and I loved how Liv couldn’t understand that they’d taken over considering she’d already been further in the future where the Daleks didn’t and hadn’t ruled. That was fun and she was met with almost ridicule for not grasping the change in timelines. I thought the alliance between the Master and Daleks was good stuff as both parties knew that betrayal was more than a possibility. In fact, the Dalek strategists had calculated that there was a 100% chance of the Master turning against them! That was fun and not at all surprising. The Master had already planned for the Daleks to lose trust in him as they hoped to share control and power but of course that wouldn’t happen. Liv was almost surprised at the Master’s preparation which was a delight. She has a lot to learn! I loved the little caveat from the Master in how he’d aided the Daleks but within those newly created Daleks he had his own controls. The civil war that ensued between Daleks controlled by the Master and the Dalek Time Controller was good stuff and there was a lot of action! The concept of the Time Controller escaping in the Doctor’s TARDIS with Liv and Molly was brilliant and I also loved how the Doctor showed no remorse in stealing the Master’s TARDIS and leaving him stranded on a planet and timeline within a civil war! The Master likes a challenge but it seems he has no means of escape. But he’ll be back and I look forward to it! Overall, a great listen.  

Rating: 8/10