Jubilee

"A Dalek is never not in pain."

Writer: Robert Shearman

Format: Novel

Released: October 2025

Series: Big Finish Novelisation 01

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Evelyn

Synopsis

"The Doctor and the Daleks. Have you never thought they are really both the exact same thing?"

It is time to celebrate! Let all the citizens of the glorious English Empire come together and give thanks to that mysterious soldier in time and space known only as the Doctor. For 100 years ago he destroyed a Dalek invasion force without mercy and became the saviour of us all. 

We have just one real Dalek left. Kept alive in the Tower of London, all these years our prisoner. And tomorrow we are going to blow it up, just for you! So put up your Dalek bunting and raise a glass of Dalek Juice. Who knows, there may be a special guest in attendance – the Doctor himself! Oh, you lucky people!

Time to get this party started...

Verdict

Jubilee was an excellent novelisation of the Big Finish audio drama of the same name! It's no secret that this is one of the most revered stories from the wonderful world of Big Finish and considering it was the basis for the extraordinary Dalek, that's hardly a surprise! It really is a sensational story so it was lovely to spot the little moments here that inspired what we saw on screen. It's been eleven years since I listened to the audio version of this story and I would be lying if I said I remembered a lot about it. That made things better though for a reading experience because this largely felt like a new adventure. It was also pretty poignant in revisiting Evelyn again as companion and I was delighted with the dedication and acknowledgement regarding Maggie Stables. She's such a different companion and far from the stereotype which is marvellous. Literally calling her wrinkled and fat here feels incredibly harsh but I loved how Evelyn owned her age and appearance. She wasn't bothered. Having a Masters and Bachelors degree in History gave me a lot to ponder in this adventure as the Doctor and Evelyn seemed to have some very strong feelings about the subject of History and I was definitely on the side of the companion. I love different interpretations and I go into the world of the Whoniverse with the same sort of thinking. It's impossible for everything to be in the same timeline or continuity, so I consider things a different interpretation of what might have been or where things might fit. I think it's fun and so Evelyn seeing a world a century on from her and the Doctor defeating the Daleks was intriguing because time had gone horribly wrong. The world of 2003 under the English Empire was pretty spectacular and almost satirical. It was incredibly fascinating and how someone like Nigel Rochester got to be the President is beyond me! He was a humorous character but he hardly seemed like someone who could be in charge. Farrow as the politician seemed a tad more suited to that but he didn't last a great amount of time. The concept of a singular Dalek is brilliant because it highlights just how ruthless and heartless they can be. And yet the one here was vulnerable and built an unexpected relationship with Evelyn Smythe. I think in prose we did miss a little there of the Dalek tones saying the full name of the companion, but it was still really good to explore their relationship. Evelyn had met the Daleks before in The Apocalypse Element which made her connection with them all the more fascinating. She really believed that one might not be so evil as the rest of the race. The Doctor was having none of it. I thought this story worked really for the Sixth Doctor and we got to dive deep into the darker side of this incarnation. To him they were an abomination and he wasn't having any of it. He didn't care and that's understandable given his history with them. The Doctor being the spark to make the Dalek talk for the first time in a century was great and just getting the inner thoughts of the Dalek as it experienced intolerable pain was a big benefit of the format. It was brutal and we almost did feel sorry for the Dalek. Evelyn would also help with that sentimentality. I thought the whole celebration of the jubilee was fun and the last Dalek left would now be blown up for entertainment. That horrified Evelyn! The Doctor was challenged in a big way in this story with his internal dilemma regarding saving people but his hatred of the Daleks and what they stood for. I thought the image of him splitting open as two timelines became one in a convergence was incredible and worked well to basically undo everything that had happened. The century that never was and that angered Evelyn all the same. She had experienced a lot of emotion and was it for nothing? The Doctor convincing the lone Dalek that managed to ascend itself to Dalek Supreme to give the order that for the Daleks to survive they needed to die was impressive. It was some roundabout logic but the Doctor was passionate about challenging the Daleks on what they would do once the universe was conquered. Had they even given it a thought? There was a lot on exploring the innards of the Daleks and what they stood for which was terrific. The Dalek Juice moment was grotesque in the best way possible and I couldn't believe the Doctor then finished the glass even after knowing what it was! The soldier description for Evelyn and the Dalek likening itself to her was fantastic. And the spiders inside the Dalek casing! That was some incredible internal detail. Overall, a really strong novelisation and a delight to revisit what must be considered a classic! 

Rating: 9/10