Planet 14 - Doctor Who

If "season 28" has an arc, then it's time, and the effect on time of the Doctor saving Charley from the R-101. It took a bit of a back seat in EMBRACE THE DARKNESS, but As the title of the penultimate story of the season shows, time is once again a major part of the storyline. And, as the titles also shows, so are the Daleks.

A chance remark about Shakespeare alerts the Doctor to the fact that something is wrong. Why has Charley never heard of him, despite being able to reel off a list of other 16th century writers?

Tracking down a time fissure that may help solve things, the pair find themselves on a 21st century Earth under the rule of General Learman, who is simply obsessed by Shakespeare.

As things unfold, we also learn about time experiments involving mirrors, and "creatures", which, if the title wasn't enough, would probably alert anyone who's seen THE EVIL OF THE DALEKS. The time machine also involves clocks, and this aspect of the story is well-handled.

Big Finish's audios have hinted that the Daleks are upto some bigger than we saw on television, and THE TIME OF THE DALEKS continues this. Another thing we didn't get on television was Daleks quoting Shakespeare. This could have been incredibly lame, but Justin Richards manages to avoid that, helped by the fact that this part of the story isn't overplayed.

The Eighth Doctor and Charley have developed into one of the best Doctor/companion teams the series has given us, and Paul McGann and India Fisher are up to their usual high standards.

Many of the guest cast are Big Finish regulars, but they largely avoid sounding like their previous characters, although Mark McDonnell's Priestly could have been given a bit more to do.

One slightly disappointing aspect of THE TIME OF THE DALEKS was that the background to Learman's takeover wasn't really explained. However, Dot Smith conveys her obsession with Shakespeare well, and Nichola Boyce is just right as Learman's niece Viola.

Big Finish's audios have almost always had high production standards. Here, the sound design has been undertaken by Ian Potter, who does a good job handling the various settings. Nicholas Briggs' incidental music isn't his best score for the range, but it still works well.

"Season 28" has been moving towards some sort of conclusion involving Charley cheating death, and events look like coming to head in next month's NEVERLAND. BACK TO THE TOP

THE TIME OF THE DALEKS

Written by JUSTIN RICHARDS

Directed by NICHOLAS BRIGGS

Starring PAUL McGANN
with INDIA FISHER as Charley

BIG FINISH PRODUCTIONS

£13.99 CD

RATING: 7/10

NEXT RELEASE:
NEVERLAND

PREVIOUS RELEASE:
EMBRACE THE DARKNESS