Last month, Big Finish Productions celebrated their 200th regular monthly release. Across those stories, they’ve created their own in-depth mythology, gave the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors their own companions and in some stories, tied to some of their other series altogether, including The Eighth Doctor Adventures and Dalek Empire. Understandably, it can be difficult to know where to begin with Big Finish. Thankfully, for their 201st story, ‘We Are The Daleks’, they’ve aimed for a very fresh starting point for new listeners to jump on board with.
However, when I heard what that starting point was going to be, I was just a little bit sceptical. Season 24 with the Seventh Doctor and Mel is, for me personally, one of my least favourite seasons of the classic series. It just seemed too shallow, too juvenile, and dare I say it, too cheesy, even for Doctor Who. It’s an even bigger contrast compared to the two seasons afterwards, which brought a lot of depth and mystery back to both the show and the title character.
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I needn’t have worried. Big Finish have a way of taking some of the arguably weaker aspects of the classic series and turning them into greatness, and this story is no exception. Yes, in tone, this story is closer to the lighter hearted season 24 than 25, but this is season 24 done right. There are big and mad ideas such as an office building distinctly shaped like a Dalek, and the Daleks trying to take over the world using a plan that involves economics and video games in 1980s Britain, but all of this is mixed in with a lot of rich and believable characters, plus some excellent political satire.
The last element is probably what I love about the story the most. There’s an excellent character, Celia Dunthorpe, who’s not only a clear parody of Thatcher-era politicians, but amidst all the 80s nostalgia is a clear commentary on how things are in Britain now. There’s a speech she makes about how humanity at their core are little different to the Daleks that I found rather chilling.
I’m continually impressed by how Big Finish continues to write Mel as something she wasn’t on television: an interesting character. Her character is fleshed out, she’s clever with knowing how both computers and also people work, and she gets a lot more involved in helping the Doctor out, too. This is a great improvement over the character who got captured or screamed a lot during her time on television.
It’s also great hearing McCoy’s Doctor at this point, too. In some ways, he’s a lot more innocent than the scheming, grand manipulator that he later becomes through the TV and audio stories, but there are certainly hints that he’s pushing himself in that direction. He’s not as overall foolish or indecisive as he is in the earlier stories of season 24, either. It’s nice to hear Seven at a time in his life when he doesn’t quite have the weight of the universe on his shoulders as he later does.
There are some nice references and hints to ‘Remembrance of the Daleks’ in there, nicely setting up events in that story in a very subtle way, plus one or two nods to other stories as well, including another favourite of mine, ‘The Evil of the Daleks’.
But if you’re someone relatively new to the classic series, then these nods aren’t anything to worry about. At its core, ‘We Are The Daleks’ is a great, light-hearted science-fiction story with great characters and great satire. If you want to jump on board with Big Finish, then this is an excellent story to do so.