Poison of the Daleks

"Allies don't demand obedience."

Writer: Guy Adams

Format: Audio

Released: May 2020

Series: Third Doctor Adventures 6.01

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis 

UNIT has been seconded to handle security at Breathe Industries' revolutionary new air filtration plant. The Doctor is initially dismissive... but when a man seems to appear out of thing air and die, his curiosity is piqued.

The Doctor soon discovers that the plant is connected to another time, another place. Stranded with Jo, the Brigadier and Benton on a distant planet, the Doctor discovers the terrible truth behind Breathe Industries' new technology. His oldest enemies, the Daleks.

Can even the Doctor and UNIT manage to save two worlds at the same time?

Verdict 

Poison of the Daleks was an excellent story to kick off the sixth series of Third Doctor Adventures! I can’t quite believe that I have reached the sixth volume of this excellent series but I have loved it so far. Tim Treloar really is the Third Doctor and it’s terrific to have this incarnation take on the Daleks once again. It’s a brilliant title and I liked how the poison aspect was presented early on as the Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier were discussing the problem of pollution on Earth. I thought that was a great way to highlight the mission and fate of Jo in her life as we saw the early signs of her environmentalist traits. That was fantastic and I found it fun that the Doctor disagreed with her in thinking pollution was the biggest danger to the planet as he thought it was overpopulation. The focus on Breathe Industries was good and UNIT were en route to investigate the incredible new filtration system they had developed. The Doctor wasn’t having any of it and couldn’t believe that the scientific claims behind it were possible. He also was very suspicious of the political involvement with the connection to the Shadow Secretary of Jane Davis-Hunt. The Brigadier pointing out that as a Shadow Secretary she wasn’t actually part of the Government was fun stuff as that didn’t really make the Doctor feel any better about the setup! Jane knowing of the Doctor’s reputation as UNIT’s Scientific Advisor was terrific and their relationship got off to a rather bitter start. Jo acknowledged the tension between the pair and she had fun with it which was lovely. Brock being unhappy at the presence of UNIT just added to their suspicions but he was a strong character as the professor. The shift to Skaro and the featuring of Varga plants was brilliant and I really liked hearing the escape of the man from the planet to get to the Brigadier and Benton at Breathe Industries. An intriguing link! His claim for sanctuary was heartbreaking when he didn’t survive for long thanks to the purity of the air. The irony there was not lost on the Doctor and just added to his deep suspicions. He was angered that he was not allowed to see the central filter core so alongside Jo they just broke in! The Brigadier didn’t take well to that as he wasn’t one to cut through the bureaucratic tape and that was fun stuff. The shift to the Daleks after the transmat after fiddling with controls was a good but predictable cliffhanger. I enjoyed the emergence of the resistance group with Red being a tremendous leader. A very fun character. The Brigadier and Benton training up the squad was amusing stuff and I loved the Doctor’s reaction to that. It wasn’t dismay, it was almost bafflement. Skwoj was an intriguing character and the Doctor saving her by claiming she was his companion and the Daleks having standing orders not to kill those to use her against the Doctor was great stuff. My interest was peaked when the Daleks were interested in the secret of the nexus, and the planet being on a focal point of dimensional weakness was very intriguing. The Daleks obviously had a plan! Brock not exactly being the most respected scientist by Jane was pretty harsh as he had stumbled upon the Dalek experiment. It was obvious that the polluted air from Earth was being moved to the destination. The Doctor being captured and having his execution announced was sublime and I loved how this was used to bring out the resistance from beyond their impenetrable barrier. The fact the Daleks actually wanted the toxic air was super interesting and the bargaining by Jane and Brock was very brave. The Daleks were at their brutal best when they just exterminated Brock to show they firmly held all of the cards. Skwoj being under Dalek control was done well and I loved that she was deemed as being on similar intelligence levels to the Doctor. She’d solved the nexus and the plan of the Daleks being to send all of the polluted air to Earth to suffocate it was magnificent. I was a huge fan of that! The Doctor being able to save things by reverting Skwoj back to her normal self and her intelligence really shined as she sent the Daleks and their polluted air back to Skaro during the nuclear war that ravaged the planet. I thought that tidied things up very well! The humour that came at the end from the Brigadier and how one Dalek needed defeating before the Doctor and Jo transmatted back was tremendous. Overall, a really strong audio!

Rating: 9/10