Agents of the Vulpreen: Power of the Dominators

"You don't get to play the high and mighty Dominator."

Writer: Kenneth Grant

Format: Audio

Released: March 2022

Series: UNIT: Nemesis 2.02

Featuring: Kate, Osgood, Harry, Naomi

Synopsis

Portstone New Town is a living space for the future. A dream community, or so the advertising promises. But UNIT discovers the developers are alien Dominators. Which means there's a more sinister purpose behind Portstone, and the Dominators' deadly killer robots – the Quarks – can't be far away.

Verdict

Power of the Dominators was a very good episode to continue my way through the Agents of the Vulpreen second series of UNIT: Nemesis! This was an exciting one beforehand because the prospect of the Dominators returning is wonderful. Now, I don't think The Dominators is anybody's favourite serial but it is one I have watched a number of times and despite its flaws (really, it's not bad!) it has a little sense of nostalgia for me. I think that's because a lot of the Second Doctor's stories in Season 4 are missing so this is one of the first ones of his era you can watch in full and that really does mean a lot. I also just enjoy the appearance of the Dominators with their bulky shoulder pads. I thought the presentation of them here was really impressive and definitely captured the essence of their past on screen appearance. It's also great to play around with Naomi and Harry having encountered them before (which I believe to be alongside the Fourth Doctor in a series I'm not too far off reaching!) which provided them with a strong position having the knowledge of them whereas Kate and Osgood did not. Naomi is an interesting character and it's fun having the ambiguity around her as a companion I'm yet to encounter. And yet here she is as a former companion now. I thought the concept behind Portstone New Town was interesting and the advertisement that opened the episode pre-credits almost made me think I'd clicked on The Meddling Monks! It was unique for sure and that's no bad thing. Where the Dominators come, the Quarks aren't going to be too far behind but I will say they don't have the same impact on audio as they did on screen. Quentin being a name given to one by Osgood was pretty fun and I liked how she took a liking to them despite their threat! The Dominators being focused on domination to such an extent that they wanted to destroy planet Earth entirely was excellent and I believe them in how ruthless they were. Efficiency was incredibly important to them which was really good and it went as far that a travel trip to meet in person had to be authorised because of the energy that would be expunged. Prast as the Director of the Dominators was good and a strong villain but it was nice to hear Sabo of a more inferior rank slowly grow to acknowledge that the Dominators were acting wrongly. That was a really intriguing aspect to the species and I didn't think it was even possible for them to not be dominant! I do think the scene at the end once they had been defeated and were captured by UNIT with them talking about showers and asking to borrow towels was a bit unnecessary and just a tad silly, but I can't be too critical of a lighthearted moment. I just don't think it stands the Dominators in good stead moving forward! The Quarks being disassembled was a shame also but that's one hell of a potential weapon for UNIT to utilise if they need it. Maybe the Vlinx utilised some of their technology? I quite liked how the episode was a break from the ongoing saga with the Eleven and it was good to just take stock on that and have a solid hour of storytelling. The Eleven isn't forgotten about, but he's far from being the only threat! Overall, a great listen! 

Rating: 8/10