Big Finish Main Range
We start out with some Shakespeare and it sounds like General Chang (Christopher Plummer) from Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country. Sure doesn’t sound like General Learman, that’s for sure. I have to say that this is absolutely the best Dalek story that Big Finish has put out! There’s no comparison to the other ones, to be sure. They range from the tedious (Mutant Phase) to the pretty good (Genocide Machine) to the bizarre (Nocturne) and all realms in between but this, this one is the tops! Spoilers galore in this one so be forewarned.
First of all, to hear Daleks quoting Shakespeare is just disturbing to begin with. Then there’s their Temporal Extinction Device, which only the Doctor could take the teeth out of by pointing out that TED is the acronym. It sounds very ominous until, well, it’s TED. And I’m actually listening to it all again to see if I can figure out why they need a Temporal Extinction Device to begin with! Destroy all of time so the Daleks can come in and take it over? No, that’s not right or they would’ve let the reactor explode. Just what do they need a TED for…?
Other than that, the adventure is just amazing and very well done. Justin Richards also wrote some of the early adventures, Whispers of Terror and Red Dawn, but this is by far the best he’s done! The quotes are just flying left and right in here—if there’s one story with many good and fun moments as the Doctor’s running around trying to save people, this is the play for it! What fun! This is truly the best of the Dalek series in the Big Finish cannon.
Paul McGann and India Fisher
Writer: Justin Richards
Director: Nicholas Briggs
Release: May 2002