 | Doctor Who Big Finish- The Apocalypse Element (Dalek Empire II) |
The Apocalypse Element
"How terribly observant of you. No wonder you only need one eye."
Story 11
Written by Stephen Cole
Released August 2000
A disturbance in the temporal vortex draws the Doctor and Evelyn to a gathering of time travel experts on the planet Archetryx. Many years ago, the planet Etra Prime disappeared completely without any explanation, taking with it the then Lady President of Gallifrey (and former traveling companion to the Doctor, Romana, along with it). This alerted the Time Lords that there was a dangerous rival in temporal engineering as it appeared that Etra Prime was removed from the time stream entirely. However, the Time Lords aren't just trying to find the rogue planet, they are also eager to steal the advancements from other cultures in time travel as their complacence has finally caught up with their once great society, making them ripe for attack from any number of enemies.
This story makes for a turning point in regards to Gallifrey and the path that the Time Lords will take, in some ways leading to the vastly different race seen in the 2009 Doctor Who adventure, The End of Time... if you squint... really hard. From their first appearance in the War Games through to their last appearance on screen in the classic series in Trial of a Timelord: The Ultimate Foe, the Time Lords are shown as decadent and regressive, a people that are outside of time but have grown flaccid in mind and body from lack of activity.
The Doctor is aghast at the desperate measures that his people have been driven to in gaining new knowledge. Unable to find Etra Prime and the missing Romana, the High Council is obviously paranoid that anyone could understand time travel more than the Time Lords and are anxious to regain their stature as the all-powerful beings they once were. When Etra Prime finally does re-appear, it is driven back into existence by an army of Daleks who have arranged the entire affair to gain access to Gallifrey. Through the use of a deadly new weapon called the Apocalypse Element, the Daleks seek to hold the universe ransom to assault Gallifrey and gain access to the secrets of the Time Lords, finally defeating the once mighty civilization.
The second of the four Dalek Empire cross-over stories, The Apocalypse Element embodies the spirit of other overly violent Dalek tales such as Resurrection of the Daleks. There's a lot of techno-jargon and parts of the narrative are quite difficult to grasp over the screaming and explosions as the Daleks fire their death rays throughout this four parter. Colin Baker once more proves his prowess as the proud and mighty Doctor in all of his resplendent glory. It's difficult to put my finger on what is so different about his portrayal of the character in the Big Finish audios compared to the TV adventures, but it is like the Sixth Doctor was created for the audio format. It is also clear that the Big Finish material is far superior to the 1984/6 programs. The dialog is intensely smart and sharp, offering up plenty of bon mots for Mr. Baker and the wonderful Maggie Stables.
Her third outing as Evelyn and Maggie Stables has me loving her portrayal of the forthright and gutsy academic. On the screen an older companion would never have made it, but it's the loss of the TV audiences to be honest. Her character is just so much fun and she matches the intelligence and determination of the Sixth Doctor perfectly. Colin Baker displays such range of emotion and a new depth to his performance that he practically carries the whole story on his own.
Back for the first time since 1980, Lalla Ward as Romana II is an unexpected surprise. Her character has gone through some big changes, held captive by the Daleks on a secluded planet and dehumanized into slavery. Back in her own dimension, Romana makes a defiant stand against the Daleks with such ferocity that the Doctor is understandably worried about his friend. As Romana appears in later adventures, I am sure that I'll see her character undergo still more changes. To be honest, I prefer the first incarnation of Romana played by Mary Tamm, but Ward gives some new facets to her incarnation of the brilliant Time Lady, no doubt making fans of her on screen portrayal jump for joy.
As always, the music (including the outstanding Dalek Empire signature tune) and voice acting is exemplary with Nicholas Briggs embodying the Daleks with such gusto that it is difficult to remember he is quite a pleasant chap. The more that I listen to Dalek Empire, the more I respect and enjoy his enormous skill at modernizing the Dalek voice while paying homage to what has come before (via the late Peter Hawkins, Roy Skelton and Michael Wisher to name just three of that long legacy of modulated screamers).
I have discovered that I quite enjoy Apocalypse Element and have listened to it several times... perhaps to understand just what is going on. The sequences on Archetryx are clear enough, but when Romana notices the Daleks using crystals to communicate, it all gets a bit hazy. It took me ages to understand that the Daleks hijacked Etra Prime in order to harvest the crystals native to that planet (the basis of the Monan Host's temporal engineering) allowing them to build a weapon so powerful that it can reshape reality. Against an army of Daleks, the Time Lords are woefully unprepared.
Not so much a war, the conflict with the Daleks on Gallifrey is a blood bath. In the end, most of the Chancillary Guard are dead in the halls, at least one gutted of his eyeball in order to gain access to the main citadel through the retina scan-based security. Perhaps this is why the Time Lords resurrected their Warrior King Rassilon during the Time War? I'll stop because I'm in danger of thinking back to the 2005-2009 era of Doctor Who which will only make my head hurt.
The activation of the Apocalypse Element in the Seiphia Galaxy puts the Doctor into an emotional fit as he attempts to stem the tide of destruction. By attacking Gallifrey, the Daleks force the Time Lords to collaborate and create a method of controlling the forces, thus giving the Daleks exactly what they wanted all along, the creation of a new universe. In the annals of all the Dalek's schemes, this could be their boldest and most staggering.
With so much action conveyed in sound only, at times I found myself thinking that I was listening to the audio track of a 'missing episode' of the classic Doctor Who series and I needed some visual basis to understand what was going on. For a four part story full of explosions and Dalek screams as well as the return of Romana, The Apocalypse Element is a lot to digest in a short period of time. But if you can keep up with it, this can be an exciting and nail-biting adventure.
Fan-made animation based on Doctor Who- The Apocalypse Element
watch?v=VcF5VhOtp18
Doctor Who - The Apocalypse Element can be purchased at local retailers and online from Big Finish.
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