The Time of the Daleks

"We are the masters of time!"

Writer: Justin Richards 

Format: Audio

Released: May 2002

Series: Main Range 32

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley

Synopsis 

The Doctor has always admired the work of William Shakespeare. So he is a little surprised that Charley doesn't hold the galaxy's greatest playwright in the same esteem. In fact she's never heard of him.

Which the Doctor thinks is quite improbable.

General Mariah Learman, ruling Britain after the Eurowars, is one of Shakespeare's greatest admirers, and is convinced her time machine will enable her to see the plays' original performances.

Which the Doctor believes is extremely unlikely.

The Daleks just want to help. They want Learman to get her time machine working. They want Charley to appreciate the first ever performance of Julius Caesar. They believe that Shakespeare is the greatest playwright ever to have existed and venerate his memory.

Which the Doctor knows is utterly impossible.

Verdict 

The Time of the Daleks was an excellent audio adventure and certainly a big improvement on the last foray which was Embrace the Darkness. The latter tried to do something different but didn't succeed anywhere near as well as Fifth Doctor novel Fear of the Dark in my opinion. However, we were back to good old storytelling and Big Finish have pulled another gem out of the bag. There haven't been many audios which I'd consider to be poor (a rating of 7 or less such as The One Doctor) but there have certainly been some fantastic stories (a rating of 8 or above such as The Mutant Phase). The story started off very interestingly with some intriguing narration that wasn't later explained. With what appears to be an interlinked mini series of six audios featuring the Eighth Doctor and Charley, I'm sure things will be tied up in the conclusion of this package in Neverland. After Storm Warning there wasn't really much made of Charley being saved by the Doctor when she should have died. That's not the case in the second set of stories however! It's been a running theme and there's also the herd of type-70 TARDISes and the narration of the Doctor from recent stories to be explained. I loved how this story focused on William Shakespeare and we even had Daleks quoting the great playwright! How audacious - it was wonderful. I didn't like the mention of Othello though as that gave me such grief during GCSE English! I thought the premise of people forgetting who Shakespeare was and having their memories replaced with a brand new history was superb. Instead of people remembering the greatest playwright to have ever lived, they were remembering a history dominated by Daleks. A history where the Daleks had always been rulers of Earth. The masters of time. Now that's a frightening thought! What we heard in 1572 seemed very reminiscent of scenes from The Dalek Invasion of Earth with the lines of people who were now basically saved. I liked how the Dalek which briefly appeared in Seasons of Fear was explained and it definitely put a smile on my face to see things come full circle. I was quite surprised by how domineering the Daleks have been in these audios so for. All four to feature them have been brilliant and they could easily have fit in with the revived series. But thus far, all the writers have to base the infamous foes off is the Classic series and I'm impressed by how aggressive and fearful the Daleks were. In the later years of the TV run, Davros appearing in every adventure with them slightly hurt the Daleks. But that's changed now with the audios. Their plan was interesting to say the least but I don't think it was half as barmy as Learman's! The reason she wanted Shakespeare was dead was just ridiculous. I was impressed once again with Paul McGann in giving us the Eighth Doctor's first performed encounter with the Daleks. It's so good to hear a new incarnation of the Doctor come up against his greatest enemies. He faced the Cybermen in Sword of Orion and even the Nimon in Seasons of Fear. He's slowly catching up on facing the great monsters and villains. Charley was, as always, just wonderful as companion and she suits the Eighth Doctor absolutely perfectly. The revelation that she was responsible for the time energy, not the master clock, which opened the portals in the mirrors was fascinating. I can't wait to see where her story leads. Viola was a brilliant character and I loved what she's done to save Shakespeare from the wrath of the Daleks! Here he was, in the mid 21st century, Shakespeare as an 8 year old! I wasn't expecting that I must admit. The Dalek Emperor returning once again was very good and I liked how the authority he commands is never lost. It was also good to see that the Daleks distrusted the Doctor as equally as he distrusted them. The use of time travel via mirrors was a nice throwback to The Evil of the Daleks and I liked how proud Learman was. The cliffhangers were your usual stuff with nothing all that surprising. Just the threat of danger, not that there's anything wrong with that! The way the Doctor managed to defeat the Daleks was great and somewhat humorous. He kind of made them stuck in the vortex. Trapped in the mirrors. He'd prevented the chain reaction. After wonderful references to Invaders from Mars, The Apocalypse Element and The Genocide Machine, somewhat tying together the mini Dalek Empire arc, the Doctor stood victorious. A history of Earth domination from the Daleks was prevented and Shakespeare lived on. Overall, a very good story! 

Rating: 9/10