Mission to Galacton

"Daleks conquer and destroy!"

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2006

Printed in: Doctor Who Files 07

Featuring: Daleks

Synopsis

At the height of the Dalek Empire before the Last Great Time War, a fleet of freighters carried plundered resources across the universe. The Daleks were constantly in search of new planets to strip of their resources for their Empire, and now they had their next target...

Verdict

Mission to Galacton was a pretty average little short story to continue my way through the Doctor Who Files! I was really excited to see what would become of a story featuring the Daleks, but I do think this one was perhaps a victim of constraints impacted upon it by the television series of the time. This book was of course released after the events of Doomsday had aired a few months prior, so for the Daleks to be getting their own story is actually quite a big deal. They weren't rife in the universe and after Rose had wiped them all out again along with the Emperor in The Parting of the Ways, as far as the Doctor was concerned that was the last of them. Except we had the coming of the Cult of Skaro at the end of Army of Ghosts as they'd been hiding in the Void and were immune to what had happened in the Last Great Time War. You couldn't really have the Tenth Doctor encounter the Daleks in a short story after everything he's gone through to this point with them so it makes sense for them to have a solo outing. I thought the name was excellent and I'm not entirely sure why but the planet of Galacton just feels like it would be right at home in the world of Dalekmania and the numerous TV Comic strip adventures featuring them from the 1960s. It felt retro which was brilliant, but that's about as good as things got. That sounds harsh and I understand the story is aimed at a younger audience and isn't supposed to go into a huge amount of detail. But for a 2006 release where the Daleks are still almost in a status reaching mythical levels, this just made them look weak for me. I loved the fact that this story featured Daleks prior to the events of the Last Great Time War, so could this be considered as taking place in the Classic era? I like to think so purely for the quirkiness of it. I thought the descent on Galacton was strong but then when we were introduced to the unidentified rock creatures, the Daleks were almost too quick to retreat. They did try to spin it on the fact that more research was needed and that it absolutely wasn't a defeat, but that's what it looked like in my estimation! The use of the Daleks wanting to energise the core of the planet felt like it was foreshadowing events to come two years later in The Stolen Earth, but if they could just send a beam down and wipe out the planet anyway then why did they bother to exit their ship? It felt like a bit of a wasted mission in some parts which was a shame. They did get to showcase some of their strengths at the end with their proclamations and position on the planet, but it felt like the rock creatures were too much of a step up. That's just wrong for the Daleks, especially considering the rock creatures didn't have a lot going for them. They sent the Daleks bloody packing! Something just felt off about the story which was a shame as there is a great deal of potential in a modern era solo outing for the Daleks. The sacrifice of Attack Force Delta was the reason the Daleks carried on in something of a victory and it is noble for one of their own to sacrifice itself for the greater Dalek cause, but it felt too late by then. I couldn't shake off the feeling that the damage was done and the Daleks were displayed as being weak. Overall, an average but worthwhile read.

Rating: 5/10