In the first of a series of new Tomfiles, I look back at one
of Big Finish’s earliest success stories and whether it stands up to the high
quality that Big Finish have become known for since it started making Doctor
Who stories fifteen years ago. This first part looks back at the first series. Dalek
Empire was the first thing that I listened to that was made in the Big Finish
world. I remember buying it at a Memorabilia Fair in 2003 not knowing much about
Dalek Empire or Big Finish. I also bought this along with a few Eighth Doctor
main range releases. Dalek Empire is one of the first big successes that Big
Finish had. There was the Bernice Summerfield series that Big Finish launched
first but this was the first series that they had created.
The Dalek Empire series started back in June 2001 and having
listened to it recently, the first thing that struck me was just how well it
stood up to todays standard of Big Finish storytelling. The only thing that is
missing from these releases is the noise that is made when the Daleks move.
It’s important (but not vital) to have heard two main range releases in the
form of ‘The Genocide Machine’ and ‘The Apocalypse Element’ (both from 2000).
The first instalment of this opening series was called
‘Invasion of the Daleks’ and the plot was exactly that. The Daleks invade Vega
6. The thing that is littered during this series is the narration done by Joyce
Gibbs.
There are three main characters introduced in this series
and they are Kalendorf (played by Gareth Thomas), Alby Brook (played by Mark
McDonnell) and Susan Mendes (played by Sarah Mowat). It’s Susan that becomes
quite integral to the whole thing because she soon becomes defiant in the face
of the Daleks and the Daleks use her to try and improve moral and productivity
levels of the slaves. She becomes known as the Angel of Mercy. I think that the
relationship between Kalendorf and Susan Mendes is one that works from the very
moment that they have a scene together. Thomas does a great job of making
Kalendorf sound ordinary at first and then to be a Knight and can communicate telepathically.
This opening story attempts to tell everyone that listens
what to expect and its pretty clear by the end of the first part that its going
to be a story on an epic scale. We know who the important characters are and
it’s a solidly written opening story and one that wouldn’t be out of place in
todays Big Finish output.
The thing that I noticed about the second part ‘The Human
Factor’ is that it feels like the foot has been taken off the accelerator a
little bit. That’s not to say that it’s a poor story or even a substandard
adventure but there is a definite change compared to the opening story. Susan
Mendes’ involvement becomes more important and clearer and this causes a nice
bit of tension between the two. This part is the first one that has what I
would class as a proper cliffhanger. Alby is shot at by unknown forces and it
seems like his involvement is not going to go on for much longer. This part is
also another one that has relations to the main range and that is the Garazone
System which featured in ‘Sword of Orion’ but there is a time difference
between the two stories. Whereas it might be necersary to have listened to The
Mutant Phase and The Apocalypse Element, I don’t think that is the case for
‘Sword of Orion’.
By the time you finish the third part ‘Death to the Daleks’,
there is no denying the epic scale of this story. The characters feel like they
are old friends with Alby Brooks coming across like the slightly rebellious and
likeable brother who despite letting his heart rule his head, doesn’t seem to
be as annoying as if he were in some Hollywood romantic comedy. At this stage
of the adventure the story needs some fresh blood in it and that happens in the
form of Mirana (played by Teresa Galagher). She is someone who seems to be a
running sore for Brooks and seems like the perfect person to be alongside
Brooks. The release builds to those famous words being uttered by the Angel of
Mercy and before this happens there is a lovely scene between Mendes and
Kalendorf which shows how close they have become even though they do take
swipes at each other from time to time. Her death is the ultimate shock in the
story and shows that even one of the central characters isn’t immune from the
axe. The penultimate story in a series or serial has to do a job of making the
final instalment to be an unmissable finale.
It’s interesting when the final part ‘Project Infinity’
starts because it would be interesting to see how the loss of one of the key
characters would affect the story. One thing is made clear is the purpose of
the narration that we had been hearing since the very beginning and its down to
the Angel of Mercy having formed a link with her.
Alby has gone a little bit crazy at the death of Susan
Mendes and seems to do some crazy things to try and prove that she’s alive.
What’s quite clever is that Briggs slightly distracts us with the possibility
that there is something else going on. The twist that Mirana is actually
working for the Daleks is something that I didn’t see coming (or remember).
The ending of this final part is not what most people at the
time would have been expecting. The Daleks are basically going to have a war
with each other. In the ‘Big Finish Companion Volume 1’ its explained that
Nicholas Briggs knew that there was going to be a Dalek Empire 2 and that’s
clear from the ending that this is the case and it’s the best ending to a Dalek
Empire release up until this point. What I like about the story at this point is
that there is still plenty of room in this adventure and with the addition of
new Daleks there is even more that can explored.
This series has been fantastic to listen to. Aside from the
lack of sound effect on the Daleks, this series is just as strong as ‘Counter
Measures’, ‘Jago and Litefoot’ or even ‘Graceless’. Despite it being made
thirteen years ago it sounds just as good as it did back in 2001. I look
forward to listening to the second series and the second of these new Tomfiles
I am going to see whether the second series suffers from the Big Finish version
of the difficult second album.
