The Dalek Occupation of Winter

"Nobody in Winter is scared of the Daleks."

Writer: David K. Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: September 2018

Series: Early Adventures 5.01

Featuring: First Doctor, Vicki, Steven

Synopsis

The TARDIS lands in the capital city of a planet deep in the midst of an endless winter. The population are celebrating a new crop of candidates winning roles at the scientific research centre. Those who go there dedicate their lives to continued service and are rarely, if ever, seen again. Not everyone is happy to see them leave.

As the Doctor, Steven and Vicki watch, the city leader – Majorian – invites onto the stage in front of the happy crowd their 'friend who made all this possible'... and a Dalek appears.

The people of this planet seem to be living in perfect harmony with the Doctor's old enemies. But the TARDIS crew know this cannot be true. So what's really going on?

Verdict

The Dalek Occupation of Winter was an outstanding Early Adventures audio! This range has rarely disappointed when I have dipped into it and after capitalising on a recent Dalek sale from Big Finish, I couldn't not pick up this download and I was so delighted that I did after listening. This really was a sublime adventure from start to finish. The setting of Winter worked tremendously well and the issues that were caused by the Doctor, Vicki and Steven's arrival on the only city on the planet were marvellous. The politics and society of Winter in general was mightily intriguing and establishing some of the characters prior to the introduction of the Dalek was very well done. I loved how there was initially some form of caution from the Doctor when it came to the graduation ceremony and nobody who went to the research centre ever being seen again, but the arrival of the Dalek as the Ambassador was wonderful and the reactions of the Doctor and Vicki sold it so well. I was a huge fan. For the First Doctor era, this was a unique take on the Daleks that nestles in nicely with other adventures featuring the old and deadly enemies. Steven being shocked by the sight of a Dalek was also really good and a stark reminder of how we met him in The Chase. With the TARDIS trio knowing something deadly was at hand, the lack of fear showed by the population of Winter to the Daleks was startling. They obviously had no idea of the truth behind their Ambassador and his fellows, but the revelation that the economy on Winter solely revolved around the construction and creation of Daleks was brilliant. I didn't see that coming so that was very good. Steven actually partaking in factory work to construct parts of a Dalek himself was fantastic and the humour that came with the time it took to assemble the 56 blue bulbs that decorate the base was great. Amala was a tremendous character alongside Steven and I liked how it was her brother that was one of those graduating and going to the esteemed research centre to ensure the survival of the city in its quest for self-sustainability. The emotion that came with her finding out the truth about the Daleks and the fate that befell her brother was really powerful and the loss was clearly an impactful one. Steven explaining to her that the Daleks were not robots but actually living creatures within was magnificent and it was really good for her to realise that everything she knew was a lie. Majorian as the Grand Marshall of Winter was a superb character and his lack of compassion for his people's wellbeing and society was great. He loved his position and also enjoyed toying with the Daleks which was a fun dynamic. He assembled some form of control between both sides of Winter and that made him a really enjoyable character. His betrayal of Vicki was excellent and I liked how his second in Karna arguably ended up as the bigger villain by the end. She was bored on Winter and that alone was enough to make her loyal to the Daleks which was really intriguing and just excellent. The way that she ended up in charge after the Doctor had left with the Ambassador actually surviving the city uprising was fantastic and a unique take on showing that the Doctor doesn't always win. I was surprised a little that he left with Majorian still in charge but he realised his reputation in Winter and left begrudgingly. One of the highlights of the story as well was the humour that came with Vicki telling Steven of the events of The Romans and the Doctor being the one who gave the idea of burning down Rome. The pairing of Vicki and Steven were wonderful and I liked the maturity showed in the former. The way she grasped the situation when it was suggested that the Doctor was a little loopy was tremendous as well and his reaction made me laugh a lot. Overall, this was a superb audio adventure from start to finish! 

Rating: 10/10