 | Doctor Who Big Finish- The Genocide Machine (Dalek Empire I) |
The Genocide Machine
Story 07
Written by Mike Tucker
Released May 2000
The Seventh incarnation of the Doctor and Ace arrive on the planet Kar-Charrat to return a book that the Doctor had forgotten he had taken out of the largest repository of knowledge in the galaxy. Unknown to them, a small group of thieves are attempting to steal a precious archeological item from the planet. Few have ever braved a visit to Kar-Charrat for fear of the fabled ghosts that occupy its tropical world. While it houses the largest amount of data ever assembled in one place, the library of Kar-Charrat is a mysterious institution that only time sensitives can even gain access to. When the Doctor arrives, the chief librarian Elgin is anxious to show off the state of the art wetworks facility that the library has installed to store all of their data, making all other forms of storage unnecessary. The Doctor is of course interested, but Ace throws a fit and is left out in the rain where she hears strange ethereal voices and meets the only survivor of the ambitious group of thieves, Bev Tarrant. The pair soon find that they are not the only visitors to the secluded planet and encounter a lone Dalek scouting the area for time sensitives.
The debut audio story for the Daleks in a Big Finish Production is also a tie-in to the excellent Dalek Empire series running concurrently at the time (click here for my review of part one, I promise to get to the remaining three installments in due time). Written by Mike Tucker (better to known for his award-winning special effects work on classic and new Doctor Who, Red Dwarf and other programs), the script is very intelligently written, bringing new menace to the Daleks that had not been seen in Doctor Who since the 60's.
When I first heard of the audio adventures featuring the Daleks I was skeptical. How can listening to a distorted screaming voice be entertaining? How wrong I was. On screen the Daleks had become lackeys to their creator Davros in the 1980's, losing the spotlight to the megalomaniacal scientist. I was surprised to find that in audio format, the Daleks flourished. In their own serial Dalek Empire, the monsters proved that they could be manipulative and ruthlessly driven in their quest for total galactic conquest. This characterization carries over in the Genocide Machine, an adventure that builds upon a key component of their plan explored in Dalek Empire. In fact, all four of the Dalek Empire cross-overs (The Genocide Machine, The Mutant Phase, The Apocalypse Element and Time of the Daleks) deal with specific items that the Daleks have acquired in their master plan to conquer the universe.
Genocide Machine artwork by Lee Sullivan from DWM Issue 290
After the cancellation of the TV program, the Seventh Doctor and Ace had continued to develop in print through a series of books published by Virgin. This continuation of the ideas explored on-screen resulted in emotionally-charged and dynamic epics that built an entirely new universe of stories, most of which could not have been produced for television for various reasons. The New Adventures series has its ups and downs and when Big Finish decided to take up the mantle of Doctor Who, it was unclear to me if they would pick up from the novels or the TV stories. In the end, BF tried both, but personally I find that the New Adventures material works best in print rather than audio.
The Genocide Machine is set sometime after the final TV adventure, 1989's Survival, when Ace is still a spunky young woman and not a jaded ex-soldier with issues about trusting the Doctor. The Doctor isn't exactly the cosmic trickster that the Virgin novels transformed him into and is more of an explorer traveling the universe fighting injustice. McCoy and Aldred revisit the characters from many years ago like they had never left them. One of my favorite pairings on-screen, they had a special chemistry rarely seen in Doctor Who (with the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith being a prime example).
After getting kicked out of the library, the defiant and headstrong Ace soon finds herself neck-deep in trouble that is far too much for her to handle just as the Doctor discovers that he has arrived too late to stop the Daleks from visiting the library. Unfortunately, only the Doctor can seem to understand what it could mean should the library's knowledge fall into the Daleks' control.
The Genocide Machine is a well-paced adventure that never stops moving from start to finish. Much like Whispers of Terror and Land of the Dead, it also introduces stunning concepts that I will not mention here to avoid spoiling the surprise for first-time listeners.Veteran Dalek-phile and voice actor Nicholas Briggs once again brings his unique flair to Terry Nation's monsters, making them cunning and maniacal all at once. There are plenty of twists and turns in this four part story that further complicate matters and as I enjoy Doctor Who stories in which our hero appears to be out-gunned and out-classed, this earned top marks from me.
After seeing the Daleks on screen in countless stories, one would think that they would lose their appeal and power. In the case of the BBC Wales production, this is largely the case. However, in the unlikeliest of mediums, audio, the Daleks have discovered a new realm of fear.
Doctor Who - The Genocide Machine can be purchased at local retailers such as Mike's Comics and online from Big Finish.
Read other Big Finish reviews at the Daily P.O.P. here.
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