Destination: Daleks

"You brought the Daleks to Trion. What hope do we have now?"

Writer: Pete McTighe (with Alan Barnes)

Format: Webcast/Comic Strip

Released: December 2025/April 2026

Printed in: DWM 628

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Turlough

Synopsis

The Doctor and Tegan arrive in Butler's Wharf, London... where they have some unfinished business with a very old enemy!

Verdict

Destination: Daleks was a terrific story! I absolutely loved this and I’m not entirely sure what to call it. I’m going to go with the comic strip supplement approach and blog this as one entire story as the webcast trailer for the recent release of Season 21 for The Collection is referred to as part one in the supplement opening page. I see that TARDIS Wiki considers this two stories of the same name and I imagine that’s because the formats blend across webcast and comic strip, but for me this is one adventure and I’ll blog it as such. I think it’s so fun to bring the Classic era into the world of the modern one and honestly sometimes you just have to say to hell with continuity. I like to think that this somehow fits in with The Power of the Doctor and how we saw the older Fifth Doctor reunited with Tegan, but now we have Turlough also who was seeking the help of his old friends as Trion was under considerable threat. I thought it was brilliant to have a red herring of the Daleks being the ones to invade Trion when it was actually the Movellans! I thought that was a tremendous twist and this almost becomes a loose sequel to Destination of the Daleks which is no bad thing. I think it’s incredible that apart from a brief cameo in The Pilot that we haven’t seen them return on screen as they have so much potential with how they can match the Daleks. I thought the continuity with Resurrection of the Daleks was great too in incorporating the Movellan virus and even the way the effect was illustrated resembled what we saw on screen which was excellent. I thought returning to the scene of Tegan’s hasty departure was an emotional moment and I think it’s good for her to acknowledge how things have changed. In keeping with the modern era it’s also lovely to see UNIT Tower in the London skyline. The cliffhanger with the Daleks wanting to exterminate the Doctor and Tegan at part one before they were taken to Trion was very good and I just love utilising time corridors. I think Resurrection was my second ever Fifth Doctor serial and he was my favourite incarnation for a long time as I delved into the Classic era for the first time so that serial and its plot elements have a special place in my heart. I must say, the comic strip elements looked absolutely outstanding. Like seriously stunning. It was so vibrant and the way the elder likeness of all of the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough was captured was just delightful. I think it’s lovely. Exploring more for Turlough was really strong and his life had been ravaged by the Movellans. They had burned the sky of his planet and killed hundreds of thousands of people! That included many members of Turlough’s family and Tegan giving him a big embrace there was good to see as they had a frosty relationship to say the least! The Doctor being glad to see him again with a handshake was great too despite Tegan’s chagrin. I thought the Doctor and Tegan having the Movellan virus on them was a fun way to see out the Daleks and their duplicates which included Turlough’s own nephew Zakkar! He really had been through a lot here with double agents and his planet getting caught up in the war with the damage basically as a lure and nothing more. The idea of more Dalek duplicates hanging around since 1984 is pretty fun to think about, as is the Doctor and Tegan shaking their hands to pass on the virus! Turlough ending up back on Earth as Tegan would talk to Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT to take in the population that remained from Trion was a nice touch and I like how he seems to have come around to the planet he so often talked badly about. Alongside his daughter Sifra, that’s a lovely way to conclude things for him in what I consider an epilogue adventure for his character. Overall, a superb story! A great trailer despite me not collecting the Collection and a tremendous supplement to the latest Doctor Who Magazine. A brilliant bonus indeed! 

Rating: 9/10