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The Daleks have a long and terrible history of aggression
and are among the most feared of all sci-fi baddies. Ruthless,
cunning and utterly evil, they will stop at nothing to destroy
all other forms of life. The Dalek Conquests finds
out where they come from, why they are bent on universal domination,
and what part they played in the
Last Great Time War...
This
double CD might be described as "The Daleks' Greatest Hits",
as Nicholas Briggs (the voice of the pitiless pepper-pots
in the 2005 television series of Doctor Who and countless
Big Finish audio productions) presents clips from their many
television exploits.
With
the exception of the episode Dalek, which is dealt
with first (presumably in order to engage fans of the new
series), the stories are tackled in broadcast order. Little
attempt is made to establish a definitive, chronological history
of the Daleks. Instead, writer/presenter/sound designer/producer
Briggs acknowledges the fact that it is difficult to keep
track of a time-travelling species and that sometimes the
documentary evidence is contradictory. For example, their
first story, The
Daleks, might take place in the distant future
(according to the First Doctor in The
Dalek Invasion of Earth) or at a far earlier
point in their history (according to the Third Doctor in Planet
of the Daleks). (Personally, I favour the latter interpretation,
since the Third Doctor knows far more about the Daleks and
the universe in general than the First Doctor does in The
Dalek Invasion, and he is backed up by the Thals.)
Briggs does offer up some interesting theories and connections,
though. For instance, he suggests that the apparently contradictory
origins of the Daleks/Dals/Kaleds and the Thals told in The
Daleks and Genesis
of the Daleks could be attributed to biased
historical records. The hypothesis of the Doctor's genocidal
mission for the Time Lords in Genesis and the Daleks'
counter-strikes in Resurrection
of the Daleks and Remembrance
of the Daleks being precursors to the devastating
Time War has already been laid down by Russell T Davies in
the Doctor Who Annual 2006, but Briggs adds to the
mix the Daleks' assassination squad in The Chase and
the Time Lords' intervention during Frontier in Space
and Planet of the Daleks. He also comments on recurring
Dalek strategies such as their use of germ warfare.
However,
he overlooks other connections, such as the Daleks' deployment
of duplicates in both The Chase and Resurrection,
and their use of human beings for reproductive purposes in
Revelation
of the Daleks and The
Parting of the Ways. The Master's trial on
Skaro at the beginning of the TV movie isn't mentioned at
all (was this in connection with his failure to provoke an
interstellar war in Frontier in Space?) but I suppose
there's a limit to what can be covered in the two-and-a-half-hour
running time.
Briggs
sticks strictly to the Daleks' televised adventures and does
not attempt to tie in any of their Big Finish appearances.
However, the CD does make use of the theme music from Big
Finish's Dalek Empire series. Briggs also voices a
number of new linking scenes featuring the Daleks and their
Emperor (these would have been even better if the voices had
varied according to the vocalisations used in the stories
in question, as they have changed considerably over the years).
Meanwhile, the new incidental music effectively bridges the
TV clips by subtly blending the various musical themes.
Some
clips are less effective than others. I cringed at the Daleks'
embarrassing chant from The Chase and the Doctor's
call for them to "Spack off!" in Destiny of the Daleks.
However, many of the excerpts still succeed in sending a thrill
down the spine, particularly those from Dalek, Revelation
of the Daleks and The Parting of the Ways. The
only real snag is that any newbies will have the plots of
these stories spoiled for them.
This
is an enjoyable CD, worth invading your local music shop or
book store for. If it sells well, presumably we can expect
a similarly themed The Cyber Conquests next year.
Richard
McGinlay
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