Doctor Who: The Dalek Protocol – Review

Quickly following the announcement of a new David Tennant led audio series, Dalek Universe, Big Finish told us we were going to be treated to a prequel to that series. Returning to the planet Exxilon, wherein many fans minds are where the Dalek empire really began, Nicholas Briggs manages to bring the excitement of those early Dalek annuals to glorious life in an adventure with the Fourth  Doctor, Leela and K-9.

However saying it’s a prequel to Dalek Universe isn’t exactly true as right off the bat, it’s clear it probably wasn’t meant to be anything to do with the Dalek Universe audios. Yes, it features some characters who will return in that series, it’s clear this is Briggs writing about something he really loves and that love shines all the way through this story.

I’ll admit to never have been the biggest fan of Death to the Daleks. I think it’s pretty slow and plodding, there are some great ideas here and there but nothing that ever gets fully realised to its potential. A story that was once again set on Exxilon wasn’t exactly my way of enjoying a couple of hours. However, Briggs impressed me right off the bat, keeping the Daleks in the background and allowing us to watch as their machinations develop until they are ready to come out of their ship. Instead, Briggs allows us to follow the action on Exxilon with scientists and soldiers trying to get the cure for the space plague off-planet without the suspected Dalek interference.

What the Daleks are up to isn’t exactly anything new, just trying to use that cure for the war effort, but their scheming doesn’t become clear until much later on in the story and in the meantime, Briggs has fun with us listening to the character’s actions and hearing how it all unfolds. He also has a great handle on the Doctor, Leela and K-9. He’s written for them before of course, but this story brilliantly feels a lot later in their time together and its always nice to get a Leela/K-9/Dalek adventure as they never actually got to meet on screen. It’s fun to hear what Leela thinks of the Daleks so it’s always fun to hear them all together.

The inclusion of former audio companion Ann Kelso/Anya Kingdom and Mark Seven, the famous android from the Terry Nation Dalek Annuals are a stroke of genius too. Anya is great and has lots of interaction with Leela, given how she hasn’t actually met the Doctor at this time in his character’s life. It’s a brilliant plot point and one that does pay off nicely in the end with a scene between her and Leela. Mark is a great character and felt very sassy which was great fun to hear. It’s also a nice piece of character development if you listen to this story and then Dalek Universe straight afterwards. Actors Jane Slavin and Joe Simms do a great job in their respective roles as Anya and Mark.

Tom Baker gives us a performance right out of Series 15 and Briggs gives him some excellent comedic scenes in the beginning with him losing a game of chess to K-9. But those comedic moments are few and far between in the latter half of the story but Baker manages to sell the dangers of the Daleks and the situation very well. Louise Jameson is equally as excellent as Leela and her scenes with Jane Slavin as Anya are probably the best bits of this adventure. Their final scene where Leela and Anya talk about what it means to travel with the Doctor is excellent and surprisingly deep for a story that had just been about the Daleks trying to exterminate everyone.

If anyone suffers in this script it’s K-9 but with so many characters dotted around, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would be side-lined. Luckily though, Briggs knows how to use the character and John Leeson isn’t entirely wasted and is great with the material he is given.

With the announcement that the Tenth Doctor was getting his own spin-off series of adventures called Dalek Universe, it was perhaps inevitable that Big Finish would want to give us a spin-off of a spin-off. Luckily, The Dalek Protocol, that spin-off of a spin-off, isn’t just a spin-off of a spin-off, it’s a cracking good story that stands quite happily on its own two feet.