The Davros Mission

"I will rise again to take my rightful place as the supreme ruler of the Daleks!"

Writer: Nicholas Briggs

Format: Audio

Released: January 2012

Series: I, Davros 2.01

Featuring: Davros

Synopsis

After his capture on Necros, Davros is destined to face the justice of the Daleks. He sits alone, isolated in his cell. His creations will no longer listen to him. But out of the darkness comes a voice...

Davros is no longer alone in his torment. Before he faces trial on the planet Skaro, he must go through an ordeal that will force him to the very limits of his sanity.

But where do his true loyalties lie? How will he face the future?

Verdict

The Davros Mission was a very good audio adventure and a welcomed addition to the I, Davros series! Now, I'm aware that this was not its original intention as it was originally produced for the DVD set pertaining every Davros adventure, but I'll take what I can get. The idea of a story set shortly after the events of Revelation of the Daleks is good and I like the conflict brought by the Dalek Civil War and many Daleks questioning whether it was Davros or the Supreme Dalek who could give their commands. Davros was on his way to the Supreme Dalek and Skaro here for trial as a traitor, but the Daleks weren't the only ones that wanted him. I really liked Lareen and the format of the story for much of it being her narrating a log to Alydon was a good move. I liked it and thought it worked really well. I really enjoyed her being a Thal and it seems quite weird to think of the Thals in an era close to the Sixth Doctor, but that's only considering things in conjunction with the televised series. The audios have opened up a whole new life for the Doctor Who universe and it's nice to see some links to the televised chronology whilst opening up new doors and dealing with the after effects. There was some great subtleties in this one with Davros getting his mechanical hand that we would see so prominently in The Stolen Earth/Journey's End and also how he actually came to be the Dalek Emperor witnessed in Remembrance of the Daleks. I really appreciated that and I didn't expect it to happen, but it worked wonderfully well and tied everything together nicely with the TV stories that it accompanied on its initial release. Terry Molloy was excellent as Davros and I really would love for their to be another series with him as the star. I'm not quite sure where you go with it, but I guess there could be ground for something extending upon Davros from the Main Range. He's just such a fantastic character and the evilness is abundant in him. Lareen testing that and believing that he had some good in him was an interesting way to go considering she was a Thal and everything Davros did to her species, but I liked the different approach. Even at the end when using her final power supply of her stealth suit that kept her hidden from the Daleks, she knew that Davros believed he was superior to his own creations. That in itself must mean that deep down in the Daleks DNA there was a sense of inferiority. That was really interesting and definitely something I'd like to be played on more in a future story. There's more to tell there. The inclusion of the Movellan virus was a nice touch and I liked how Davros used it to threaten his way to leading the Daleks once more. The way the atmosphere changed when Dalek scans confirmed its presence was extraordinary. They really  did fear being wiped out which was intriguing. Gus and Raz were humorous characters and I liked how they were interrogating Lareen, but she never seemed too worried as she knew she was far more intelligent than the pair. The moment they sucked her clean of the chemical residue was pretty gross listening though! I was a tad uncomfortable I have to say. The ending was fitting though, and I was initially unhappy at having Davros crying. It was all an act thankfully and his turn against Lareen and giving her up was a spectacular moment where his evil nature came out in abundance. The extermination of her was the perfect way to end what was very much an evil story. Overall, a great adventure!

Rating: 8/10