|
|
| PLANET
SF HOME | DOCTOR
WHO HOME | BIG FINISH AUDIOS
| 8TH DOCTOR NOVELS | EPISODES
| MISC REVIEWS |
||
|
|
After the rather disappointing APOCALYPSE ELEMENT, Big Finish's DALEK EMPIRE series returns to form as the pepperpots came up against the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa. Most Dalek stories these days reuse plenty of elements from previous ones, and THE MUTANT PHASE is no exception. Anyone who's seen the first Dalek story will know from the name of Professor Ptolem's companion as well as the mention of the Starship Dyoni, that the scientists who encounter the swarm at the start of part one are a couple of Thals. Similarly, when the Doctor and Nyssa arrive on Earth, they find themselves in a field in Kansas in 2157, and as you'd expect they soon run into a drawling Roboman, albeit an American one who sounds very strange. One of the advantages of the audio format is that the effects aren't limited by financial considerations - it's possible to imagine impressive-looking spaceships, not the sort of paper plate mock-ups that the Daleks invaded Earth with! While the story itself isn't exactly overflowing in the humour department, there's a great line in this scene where the Doctor explains that the TARDIS is a cake, complete with hundreds and thousands! The plot itself features other familiar elements to those already mentioned - an Emperor Dalek keen to preserve the purity of his race (shades of their Nazi roots), a humanised Dalek, a time corridor plus the idea of going back in time to prevent something happening which we got in DAY OF THE DALEKS. Although the explanation of the plot towards the end of part four is one of least satisfying aspects of the whole thing. Peter Davison is as excellent as ever as the Doctor, and is ably assisted by Sarah Sutton. The rest of the cast also do their jobs, although with the exception of Ptolem and Ganatus, most of the characters are there purely to advance the action a little before getting killed off. However, the smaller cast works a lot better than the larger ones which some other BFP stories have. It's not perfect by any means, but the performances and production values do mostly make up for any deficiencies in the story department. BACK TO THE TOP |
DALEK
EMPIRE: THE MUTANT PHASE |
