The Evelyn Escapades

Story 3 turns to space opera as the Daleks start to mine for the Apocalypse Element...

The story begins and Andy is not pleased with the choice of theme tune…

AW:  Tom Baker's theme...AGAIN! I hope the first few of his releases have a randomly chosen theme tune.
Energy surges are creating problems in gravity wells for Monitor Trinket…

AW: Some strange noises.

JF: Is this already more exciting than Spectre?

AW: Almost! Trinket? What kind of a name is that?
Four of the temporal powers are attending a conference including…

JF: It’s the Monan Host - they play a big role in the Gallifrey series dont’cha know? They have weird squeaky voices but they are one of the great Time Powers

AW: Gravity Wells. Is she related to Trinity?
The TARDIS dematerialises – here comes the Doctor to sort it all out!

JF: Here comes Evelyn - now I'm excited! She asks if the TARDIS is a cocktail shaker or a police box? She's been at this game too long already...sick of boring old corridors!

AW: I like cocktail shakers, and I like police boxes...but which is better?

JF: (Harry Hill voice) Only one-way to decide...FIIIIIIGHHTTT! Hahaha!
Andy is happy that the Doctor seems to be better than the last story…

AW: Hurrah! The Doctor's shaken off his cold.
The Time Lords are present naturally with their political underbelly…

AW: Ooh, the CIA! Something's going to go wrong...
Including their leader…

JF: Now this is where us not doing the Big Finish stories in order bites our butt because Vansell was introduced in The Sirens of Time, wasn't he?

AW: Yes he was, the annoying little whatshisname!

One thing impresses us both about this story.

JF: I like the lyre like music - who is scoring this story?

AW: I'm not sure.

JF: Oh it’s Nick Briggs! Well done Briggsy!

AW: That really is a great score.
Political machination amongst the time powers…

JF: This is all a bit Deadly Assassin isn't it? Trouble on Gallifrey...

AW:  I'm sure I can hear Daleks in the background. As long as it doesn't go a bit Invasion of Time. Delegate Limahl? I thought he would be too shy.

JF: Oh you!

Vansell is insulting the TARDIS and there are inklings that something is very wrong with the High Minister…

JF: Eyesore of a TARDIS - Vansell you twat!

AW: How dare he?!

JF:  Gallifrey is seeking approval of other Time Powers...ooh what is going on?

AW: Uh oh.

JF:  I love that Dalek beat that goes on in the background of the scenes with the Minister – you know he’s an agent because of the music!

AW: Subtle. I mean that too

JF:  Nick Briggs uses it in every Dalek story...and in his Dalek Empire series.
The President of Gallifrey arrives…

JF: Is that Michael Wade? He was in the Auton miniseries from BBV and very good he was too!

AW: Do you know, I'd not noticed! That's a good sign. I believe so, and he was excellent in Just War.

JF: I love Just War¬!

AW: One of the best ever.

Turns out the planet Etra Prime did a disappearing act and took a former President with it…

JF: A vanishing planet! Wow! This is better than Spectre! The Stolen Earth?

AW: It wasn't going to be hard! Romana!

JF: Oh my God - since when has Romana been President of Gallifrey?

AW: I believe Terrance Dicks made that happen, didn't he? Blood Harvest?

JF: Yeah in the NA Blood Harvest - or was that when she was brought back from E Space and Lungbarrow was the firs time she was President? Etra Prime is back...ooh exciting!

AW: I'm not sure, but I want to read Blood Harvest again now! "You will obey me!" Almost!

JF: Romana has been missing for 20 years/ Handful of heartbeats to a Timelord!

AW: Was Etra Prime taken out of time by Borusa? With the Timescoop?

JF: How wonderful to hear the sixth Doctor talking about Romana - I don't usually like this sort of thing but I bet they can have a right posh voice off!

AW: Now I like Romana, and I like the Sixth Doctor, but which is posher?

JF: (Harry Hill voice again) POSH FIGHT!
Daleks are plotting…

AW: Ooh Daleks!

JF: Those Dalek voices are terrifying! They sound proper pissed off!

AW: What do they want this time?

JF: Probably something devious and overcomplicated. Having the Daleks in a Big Finish was a real event at the time wasn't it?

AW: It was part two of some kind of series, wasn't it?

JF: It’s a bit more same old these days but it was a genuine thrill to hear them back at the time

AW: Now people moan if they turn up once a year.

JF: Lets be fair they have had an astonishing amount of mileage - it shocks me that people still find interesting things to do with them!

AW: True. There are some very clever stories out there...and some not so.
Turns out they are piloting Etra Prime through space…

JF: A piloted planet? Sounds a bit Dalek Invasion of Earth!
Evelyn is following the High Minister to see what he is up to…

JF: Loving Evelyn sneaking creeping about...

AW: Evelyn's really getting the hang of this companion lark!

JF: She's had more to do here than in Spectre already! Okay I'll stop comparing now

AW: So much action in this episode! More than in the whole of Spectre. I love that the Daleks are manipulating people again.

JF: You know when the Daleks count in Rels...was that introduced in the Cushing movies?

AW: I'm not sure. Was it in 'The Daleks'?

JF: I don't know - answers on a postcard to thethirdzone@hotmail.com

AW: The prize is...satisfaction!
The High Minister is priming an explosive device to allow the entrance of…

AW: A bomb! Bloody hell, it's all happening!

JF: Its a bomb...run Evelyn! Wowza I think I've gone deaf!

…Daleks! Blasting away at everything!

JF: Daleks bursting through...I'm having a fangasm!

AW: It doesn't take much does it? Hahaha!

JF: Not really...

AW: Poor Evelyn!

JF: That was a great entrance though - if Daleks are going to turn up on audio it should be in a big explosion!

AW: Well, they had already been in it. If that'd been their first appearance at the end of part one...that would have been amazing.

The Daleks work their way through Archetryx loudly and kill anyone who gets in their way…

JF: Wowza these action scenes are amazing - who's directing this? Is it Briggs again?

AW: Yep! And it shows - good work that man!

JF: Go Briggsy - explosions and deaths! I don’t what's going on but I am excited!

AW: I don't think the Doctor does either! Bring on the wells!

JF: It has real pace and drive, doesn't it...just like a story that I am not allowed to mention didn’t?

AW: Very much so. It's going all over the place and so much has happened.

It looks like the Daleks have what they came for…

JF: Is that the Daleks gone - boo! Oh no some of them missed the bus! Hahaha!

Vansell is being obstructive…

AW: Oh Vansell is such a cock! Exterminate him!

JF: So they are just here to steal the temporal device for Etra Prime - I've figured out what’s happening! And the Doctor is trying to figure out what has happened to Romana... See perfect sense!

AW: I wonder where she might be...?

To create maximum damage the remaining Daleks commit suicide!

JF: Devious self destructing Daleks - that's horrible!

AW: Kamikaze Daleks!

It all goes a bit action mad…

JF: Pwoar Pwoar! Explosions! Woo-hoo! Hahaha!

The Doctor is going to have to circumnavigate the gravity wells…

JF: Boot clamps...does that mean they will be going clomp clomp clomp up the walls...oh yes!

Suddenly a horrible slurpy noise…

AW: Urgh! What's that?

JF: Ugh, what's that? Snap!

AW: Dalek mutants!

JF: Dalek mutants - gross! Ewww it sounds like they are all around me!

They attack!

AW: Nice cliffhanger!

JF: Phew what an episode! I'm exhausted!

AW: Very exciting - so much action!

JF: Im so psyched up to listen to episode two! The opposite of Spectre! Imagine if this was a TV story? The kids would have been so excited to see this episode!

AW: And terrified! Ooh, who's that? Could it be....? "Do not move, do not move, do not move!"

We cut to Romana on Etra Prime, a prisoner of the Daleks…

JF: This is the one scene I always remember from this story - Lalla Ward is hauntingly good here and what an awesomely visual description of the Daleks. She's a really great actress, isn't she?

AW: I can understand why she's terrified - maybe she thinks they'll repeat her to death! She's great! Love Lalla Ward.

JF: I love the description of 'sticks and bumps' - I remember giving a Dalek toy to my niece and she was fascinated by all the sticks and bumps when she was a little girl...she had never seen anything like it her life

AW: It's a beautiful scene. She's hanging on to her humanity, as it's all she's got left

JF: Romana has had a whole new lease of life on audio - her character goes from strength to strength and she was pretty amazing to start with

AW: A great character, and she does have a lot more opportunities to shine in the audios.

Back to the Dalek mutants attacking the Doctor…

JF: I wonder how they got all those icky sucky noises for the Dalek mutants?

AW: I dread to think! Hahaha!

JF: Ugh! Gross!

Attention to detail is clearly important to both fans…

JF: I love that Dalek heartbeat noise and the doors sound just like they did in The Daleks...nicely done

AW: Lalla Ward sounds just like she did on TV! It's fantastic!

Would this be so out of place in season 22?

JF: This story could even have been in Colin Baker's TV seasons - full of continuity, complicated and brilliantly melodramatic!

AW: But more enjoyable that Attack of the Cybermen! Perfect!

Looks like the Daleks have been thinking ahead again and have replaced all the staff on Archetryx…

AW: Dalek duplicates! Those devils!

JF: They are devious buggers those Daleks...they replaced the rulers of Archetryx years ago!

AW: "We've all been the Daleks' fools." Nothing changes.

JF: Don't tell me Evelyn is going to meet Romana? Fangasm!

AW: Have you just exploded?

JF: I have a feeling this is all going to go to shit...as in there's going to be a big explosion soon! It seems that sort of story.

AW: Here's hoping!

JF: I find it odd that Spectre is universally loved and this is universally panned and yet on practically every level this is better - more exciting, more interesting, better performed... More explosions!

AW: Exactly! So much better! Sure it has loads of continuity, but it's exciting!

JF: I remember when I reviewed it for my blog - when you dissect it hardcore it is full of fantastic ideas 'Once the element is harvested...' -ooh what's going on?

The Daleks are planning to make a big impact on this system…

JF: Oh my God are the Daleks going to crash Etra Prime into Archetryx? Awesome!

AW: Can't say they lack ambition! No, not the Virgoans! Is this BSG?

JF: Hahaha! Etra Prime is approaching...I'm preparing myself! Oh no the Monan Host has bought it!

AW: Contact! Reminds me of The Three Doctors ever time.

 JF: There's a real feeling that the Daleks cannot be defeated because of their strength in numbers...kill some and there's more behind waiting to kill you! A benefit of the budget of audio!

AW: "Dodge the Dalek" sounds like a fun game. What are the rules?

JF: The rules are...if you stay alive you win!

AW: I don't like those odds.

JF: It didn’t take off really…

Finally we find out what the Daleks have stolen, what they have been after all along…

AW: The Apocalypse Element!

Evelyn is shoved into an inspection hatch!

JF: Evelyn wasn’t designed for a space so small...is she porky then? Where's her flirty young man in this story?

AW: All that cocoa and chocolate cake. Yeah, that's lacking. Maybe one will show up...and then get killed.

JF: Do you think everybody will be killed? Romana? Vansell? Evelyn?

AW: Who knows! It seems like no one's safe here!

JF: The Daleks do feel like a real threat, don't they?

AW: They really do, more than they have of a long time.

The President of Gallifrey has grave misgivings about the approaching fight with the Daleks…

AW: "The final battle". That sounds ominous.

JF: I remember Russell T Davies referenced this story in one of the New Series Doctor Who books as one of the catalysts of the Time War...Gravity returns to the Wells and down fall the Dalek mutants…

JF: Ugh those Daleks falling to the ground sound like wet farts!

A pair of old friends are reunited…

JF: Romana and the Doctor reunited - hurrah!

AW: Hurrah! The Doctor and Romana! "You're wearing the wrong body!" "No, I'm wearing the right body but not necessarily in the right order." Lovely Morecambe and Wise reference.

JF: Romana is much tougher - no time for mourning Doctor!

AW: Romana's not fond of Vansell either!

JF: Romana went missing a few weeks into her Presidency...that's unfortunate!

The Daleks are back and more pissed off than ever…

JF: Oooh! Bang! Bang! Pwoar! Pwoar! Daleks exploding! People screaming! Yeeeeaahhh!

AW: Action overload!

JF: Vansell has done a runner! Bastard!

AW: He's a right shit. Apologies!

JF: Who are you apologising to?

AW: The readers, for my bad language!

JF: Oh bum tit wank!

AW: You might well say that, but I couldn't possibly comment.

JF: 'She must be exterminated!' - he sounds really angry that Dalek!

AW: "Do not move." "Do not kick him out of the union of anything will you."

JF: Bang! Bang! Woo-hoo! Daleks dying! Is Etra Prime still coming?

Collision is imminent!

AW: It seems so!

The Time Lords have scampered back to Gallifrey given the approaching planet that is about smash into Archetryx. The Monan Host have left too and are trying to claim asylum on the planet of the Time Lords…

JF: No don't let the Monan Host onto Gallifrey Lord President...I smell a rat!

AW: Oh, my dear Lord President, you have been naive.

JF: Your will is week!

AW: No need for insults!

When planets collide…

JF: My god I am dying with excitement...everybody rushing into the TARDIS as Etra Prime smashes into Archetryx - BAAAAAAANNNGGGGGG!

AW: Explosions, TARDIS taking off, so much noise!

JF: If this were on the telly it would be the most exciting thing ever!

AW: Poor Limahl. Will he ever get to record another album? Go on Lord President, give him a chance.

The President refuses to allow aliens on Gallifrey but one of their number is greedy…

JF: Oh Vansell you twat...he wants to let the Monan Host onto Gallifrey so he can steal their technology - his greed will be his downfall!

AW: So very greedy. Silly silly man. Don't do it!

JF: No Lord President! Don't let them in!

AW: Oh, this isn't going to end well... What's he letting through?

JF: The President is letting something through...I think we all know!

Daleks!

AW: Oh dear!

JF: Buggering botheration!

The Daleks sweep through Gallifrey and do their stuff…

AW: A massacre! Nasty!

JF: The Daleks on Gallifrey? The first stage of the Time War!

AW: Good grief! What an ending!

JF: How funny how this all ties up with the new series...when they wouldn't have known at the time!

AW: Great stuff!

JF: Too much excitement for one story...I think I need a lie down! Do you remember it took us three weeks between episodes one and the two of Spectre...five minutes between episodes one and two of Apocalypse!

AW: I know! Just shows the difference in quality!

JF: My one complaint is that Evelyn is lost amongst all the action but she has such great material coming up the odd story where she is sidelined isn't a problem!

AW: True. But there's so much going on I hadn't noticed!

JF: Did they really think using this theme tune would sell more copies?

AW: I don't know. I think maybe it was a right's issue.

Someone is having a touch of guilty conscience…

JF:  'They gave us bait and we swallowed it...' - erm no Vansell YOU swallowed it!

AW: Bad boy, dirty boy!

Turns out Vansell is everywhere…

JF: In the Gallifrey story I listened to the other day Vansell was a house slave!

AW: Is he the submissive type?

JF: Erm yep...he's shacked up with Mary Tamm

AW:  Good grief! I keep thinking of Moroks when they mention Monans!

JF: The Doctor has the measure of 'halfwit' Vansell!

The Daleks are sweeping through Gallifrey…

AW:  "We stop them." That's it Doctor you must have a plan. So much action!

JF:  Bang! Bang! Explosion! This sounds a lot like Ressurection of the Daleks I watched the other day!

AW: Minus Dirty Den. Before he was dirty.

You need a Gallifreyan retina scan to open doors but this wont stop the Daleks…

JF: They require a Gallifreyan eye...ugh they are burning it out! Imagine if we had seen Daleks blasting the crap out of Gallifrey on the telly?

AW: Some great sound effects! I know! Much better than Daleks versus Cybermen!

JF: Oh I rather liked that

AW: It seemed a bit too school playground to me. Best left to the imagination. Loving the score in this too! Very Sixth Doctor in the best possible way.

The Doctor, Evelyn, Romana and Trinket are still in the TARDIS…

JF: I love the Doctor talking softly with the TARDIS to get it to work with Romana; he loves his old ship...

Only something a couple of sad old fans would notice…

JF: Oh listen its that weird Gallifreyan hum that was in The War Games

AW: So much attention to detail. Love the staser noises too!

Looks like we make get a wish come true as the Daleks approach…

AW: Go on kill Vansell!

JF: Daleks! Blast Bam! Pow! Zap! Die! Die! There's so much going on I'm a bit lost, but I'm enjoying it enormously.

Now Vansell admits it was all his fault and gets told off appropriately…

JF: 'How can I have been so gullible?' - he's getting a telling off from the President!

AW: Transduction barrier!

JF: Vansell was in Neverland, wasn't he? He's a twat in that too!

AW: Yeah he was!

JF: No offence to the actor who is very good but he's saddled with the most unlikable of characters.

AW: I do love how they used pretty much any and all bits of Gallifreyan history, and I'm not normally a fan of all that nonsense.

Finally as character asks the question…

JF: 'What exactly do the Daleks want from us?'

They are well and truly massacring the Time Lords to get access to their equipment!

AW: Probably their coffee lounge interiors. "WHO DES-IGNED YOUR RE-CEP-TION ROOMS?" Dalek spearhead (from space). No wonder this lead to the Time War.

The Doctor is the voice of reason…

JF: Listen to the Doctor trying to calm Trinket and get her involved - this is the sixth Doctor we should have had all along. He even gives them all the option to stay in the TARDIS, safe and sound

However his friends refuse to let him go into danger alone.

AW: Lovely to hear everyone rallying round him. He never did that to Peri without sounding like he didn't really mean it.

Suddenly, as our guard is down with all this interplay – the Daleks attack en masse!

JF: Argh - deafening murder!

Andy has suddenly noticed the length of the tracks whilst I am still trying to figure out the plot…

AW: Not a complaint, but these episodes are quite long!

JF: I think I know what's going on! They stole something from Archetryx and then destroyed and now have invaded Gallifrey so they can use that technology to harvest the Apocalypse Element!

AW: He's not scared of them.

AW: "The only arms the Doctors uses are up his sleeve." Genius!

JF: 'You are the Doctor!' 'How terribly observant of you. No wonder you only need one eye!'

It would appear that the Daleks have added something to their casings…

AW: Hmm, crystals eh?

JF: Little crystals on the Dalek casings...are these bling Daleks?

AW: I IS THE SU-PREME DA-LEK INN-IT.

JF: Stockbridge syndrome? Hahaha!

Romana has becomes cold since she is away…

JF: Has Romana gone mad in 20 years of imprisonment?

AW: No, she's far cleverer than that! See, Evelyn says so!

JF: There is one story, I can't remember which one where Gary Russell has a go at playing a Dalek...can you imagine that? It’s the campest Dalek you've ever heard!

AW: Hahaha! I'd love to hear that!

JF: I think it might be Jubilee - I can't remember but it is really funny!

AW: Is he the one who sings?

Everybody is getting bitchy as things get more distressing…

JF: 'Hello Vansell what an entirely expected disappointment!' - this is a pretty witty script

AW: Some great banter!

Finally somebody is flirting with Evelyn! That makes three for three!

JF: Ooh there's Evelyn's love interest for this story - the Doctor! He just snogged her!

AW: Oh Evelyn! But he's an older man! She usually likes them young!

The Daleks are up to something devious in a mathematical galaxy…

AW: Galaxy 17a53. Now, where is that I wonder?

JF: And the Dalek has to destroy its ship...what could they be up to?

The Doctor wants to make Evelyn’s eyes the most sought after in Gallifrey by having her eye print the only one that can access the systems…

AW:  Great plan! The Doctor's that is.

JF: Evelyn's eye print will be the master print for Gallifreyan technology - does that explain why a human mind could open the Eye of Harmony in the TV Movie?

AW: There's some interesting ideas on that in this month's DWM <wink>

JF: I haven't read it yet!

AW: Call yourself a fan!

JF: It gets posted to my mother in laws! Its been redirected...

The President is not happy about the Doctor’s choice of key…

AW: Like the President's xenophobia! Well, misdirected, but similar.

JF: Evelyn giving the squaddies the eye - dirty mare!

AW: She loves it!

The Daleks have been concocting a very nasty element…

JF: An element so imbued with mental energy it is evil - what is this Apocalypse Element?

AW: Apocalyptic that's for sure!

The Element has the ability to set fire to the entire universe…

AW: "Nothing can stop the Daleks!" Really, do they really think that?

JF: I dunno but they are off to the Serephia galaxy to nab the element! Setting light to the universe? How terrifying!

AW: They've thought this through! Sort of. "The cut-price cavalry."

JF: Wow, bow down to the Daleks or they will destroy EVERYTHING - pretty scary

AW: So self-deprecating!

JF: Oh no one of those Daleks said 'we obey' later the others - like Captain Guering in 'Allo 'Allo! 'Tler!'

The Doctor certainly thinks the Daleks have the upper hand…

AW: They're going to be showing The Power of the Daleks! Can I watch too? The end of everything! Good grief!

JF: 'ITS THE END OF EVERYTHING!' - my god!

AW: They're not doing things by halves this time!

The Doctor is weaving though the corridors using a Dalek as a Time Lord shield…

JF: The Doctor is playing trains with a Dalek, using it as a shield! That might be a fun theme park game as well!

AW: Evelyn's really not scared; she just wants to beat them!

This is one audio that certainly likes to make an impression!

JF: It is very loud in places, this story! I think I need to have my ears cleaned out...

AW: It's certainly blown the cobwebs out of mine!

Looks like the Daleks may not be in control as we thought…

JF: What if the Daleks lose control of the element? They're playing with fire!

AW: Literally it seems!

The Doctor is going to have to reach into the depths of continuity to defeat them…

AW: God they're pulling out all the old stuff!

JF: The Doctor needs the 'everything of Rassilon including his polka dot pyjamas!'

AW: Action packed though this is, it has gone on a little too long for liking now. Still miles more entertaining than the last one though

JF: Yeah I would have probably cut off twenty minutes - although I have loved all the action!

AW: It is very exciting, but it could have done with a trim or two.

Someone seems to be enjoying themselves amongst all the death…

JF: Evelyn is such a dose of normality amongst all this madness...'Am I the incredible walking key again?' - she just makes me smile

Romana is in awe of the Eye of Harmony but someone is not as impressed…

JF: The Doctor cuts straight to the truth - when you cut through all the mystical mumbo jumbo the Eye of Harmony is just a phenomenal power source. Despite it being a little too long it is still waaaaay better than its reputation.

AW: Oh definitely! I don't why Spectre is so well loved and this isn't. The Doctor is pretty integral to this one; in the other he was peripheral at best.

The Daleks have their own unique way of breaking down a door…

JF: The Daleks are self destructing outside the door just to break in...they are absolute nutters! Don’t you think the Doctor is always at his best when juggling a hundred problems and this is on an incredible scale - its a space opera that genuinely feels operatic!

 AW: Definitely.

An ominous sound effect grows…

AW: Power building....uh oh!

JF: What are they doing?

AW: Sounds a bit...dodgy...

JF: Sounds like my washing machine!

The Doctor tries to stress the urgency of the situation to his friends…

JF: Oh I love this bit! Colin Baker is sublime as he loses his rag! I quoted this entire sequence for my review

AW: "Your own galaxy". I thought Gallifrey was in the Milky Way too?

JF: Baker makes this sort of extended speech sound so natural in a way that the other audio Doctor's don't quite manage - he has a gift with long words! 'There'll be nothing left! NOOOTTTTHHHIIINNNGGG!' Now that's melodrama!

AW: "In all my travels throughout the universe..." It's him standing on his soapbox again, but he does it well.

The Daleks want to so a deal…

AW: Don't believe the Daleks you fool!

JF: Given the strength of all the performances here and you have formidable performers like Colin Baker, Lalla Ward and Michael Wade...I think Karen Henson sounds a little too normal and dull as Trinket - she should have been killed earlier!

A show of trust to the Daleks - how did that guy ever get to become President of Gallifrey?

AW: I'm glad Michael Wade has survived this long though, despite the President being so naive!

JF: I love it when you can hear Daleks in the distance...it really feels like you are there and they are way in the distance coming towards you

Evelyn is being dragged around to open every door…

AW: Poor Evelyn!

JF: 'A pretty face like mine could open a lot of doors for you...' - Evelyn you old flirt!

AW: With a Dalek too!

JF: Evelyn's Dalek impression is horrendous - don't give up your day job, dear!

The President gets gunned down by the Daleks…

AW: Well, the President had that coming!

JF: Oh no, the President has been shot!

AW: The old fool!

JF: I bet Romana arranged that so she could take over again - she probably whispered in one of the Daleks' ears

The Daleks have a new battle cry…

JF: 'Gallifrey belongs to the Daleks!'

AW: I don't think she'd have needed to! He was so weak and rather foolish.

Evelyn becomes the central force that can open the Eye of Harmony leading to a twist in another much loved (hoho) Doctor Who story…

JF: Yeah, there you go - stare into the light...its just like the TV Movie!

AW: "A human, opening the Eye of Harmony"

The Daleks have turned up in a familiar sounding time machine…

JF: Oh it’s the Dalek time machine sound from The Chase - awesome!

AW: Isn't that great! Just need Morton Dill now!

JF: The attention to detail is astonishing, one thing these audio drama reminds you of is how good the sound effects were for the classic series

AW: Such memorable sounds too.

JF: 'Howzat?' - he's channelling the fifth Doctor

Everything comes to head with a mahoosive bang…

AW: A big explosion and.... All calm again.

JF: A thousand Dalek minds...over estimating Gallifreyan tech and under estimating the element - so they got it all wrong, again!

Turns out that with their lack of control the Daleks have laid waste to a whole area of space…

AW: Those stupid pepper pots! Though they've wiped out an entire galaxy!

The Doctor is sad…

JF:  'So many magical worlds I'll never know...' - that's really poignant

But it turns out those dastardly Daleks have a trick up their sleeve, a galaxy in Serephia seeded with Dalek evil…

AW: But it's reforming into a new one!

JF: 'Life from death! Life wins!' Even when they've lost they still win, damn those Daleks!

AW: So, is that it? The Daleks win? (sort of)

JF: Oh that's Nick Briggs...imagine him saying 'Coming soon from Big Finish Productions...' Yeah I seem to remember this was set up for a new Dalek Empire - which is where the new Nick Briggs Dalek Empire saga steps in! If it is set up...it was some very exciting set up! I thought the first half was better than the second half but overall it was beautifully directed and written with some flair, and the performances of Baker, Ward, Stables and Wade were all exceptional. I would probably have made the overall story and hour and a half rather than two hours and cut out some of the technobabble. But I found the story engaging and I really liked the stakes...8/10

AW: I agree, the first half was better. The second seemed a little too long. A very good effort though.

JF: Out of ten?

AW: We don't normally do this, so I shall abstain!