The Future

"You said you were here to help us."

Writer: Nicholas Briggs

Format: Audio

Released: October 2004

Series: Dalek Empire 3.06

Featuring: Galanar, Tarkov, Saxton, Elaria

Synopsis

"We should only be scared of the unknown... And we know what's going to happen here!"

The Graxis Wardens, Galanar, Elaria and Tarkov are heading for the planet Velyshaa, where ultimate knowledge, victory or defeat awaits them.

But the Dalek Supreme's forces are in pursuit. They have superior numbers, firepower and technology. And the largest Dalek army history has ever known is being created. How will history remember these final days on Velyshaa?

Verdict

The Future was an interesting and decent way to conclude the third series of Dalek Empire! Well, I'm not quite sure where to begin here as this took a turn I was not expecting with the fate of the majority of the main cast we have come to be accustomed to throughout the series. I must admit that I think another episode would have been beneficial, or rather fitting the first three stories into just two, as there was so much buildup and I just don't think we got the impactful finale that we deserved. It was different I will admit, and that was far from being bad, but it did show that the Daleks were utterly devastating. It was a little too predictable that the Daleks would be following the Graxis Wardens and co to Velyshaa, but I do just wish that we got to have more time on that planet. There was so much around it and I think the ending was just a little rushed and perhaps a tad too ambiguous. I am a fan of the idea of having endings different for each group of characters after they all split up and it was quite something for pretty much everyone to just be exterminated. Elaria was probably the best character in this story with her conflicting allegiances and the ambiguity surrounding whether she got the message out to the Galactic Union was excellent. I liked how that was played but I would have liked it to be clearer that it was actually sent out. I think skipping over the entire seven month journey to Velyshaa was a mistake but it was good to hear how Galanar and Tarkov were now on good terms and could even have some banter. Learning that the story Galanar was telling was being told to the Dalek Supreme, aka Susan Mendes, wasn't exactly a surprise but I just wanted more from that ending. I can't help but feel that if David Tennant hadn't been cast as the Doctor then there was a lot more to come from this spinoff series. Unfortunately, that was not the case. This definitely must have been something of an audition piece for Tennant as the Tenth Doctor with that speech towards the story's end. It was phenomenal! Definitely the highlight of the story for me and the sickening laughter that closed out the audio was great too. I think there needed to be more of the battle, if it can be called that, on the surface of Velyshaa and the actual race for Kalendorf's mental account of the Dalek War and how the Daleks could put right their wrongs. Instead what we got was incredibly grim and I can appreciate that was the intention, but there needed to be something to hang onto in my opinion. Although, this is a series focused on the Daleks so why should there be any kind of happy ending? I was quite saddened to know that Saxton was dead though. And what of Elaria? I think exploring her loyalties was warranted and it is a shame that it wasn't expanded upon after the truth came out. Galanar killing her was quite the move. It really was just a tragic way to end what was as a whole a very good little series, and I look forward to concluding it in series 4. I won't take four years to get around to this one though! Overall, a desperate ending full of death and ambiguity.

Rating: 7/10