Gallifrey review: Extermination begins series six in a big way

As series six of Gallifrey begins, Romana, Leela and Narvin have found a way home through the Axis. But the Daleks have got there first…

Arbitration, the final episode of Gallifrey: Series Five, ended with a massive cliffhanger. For the entire series, Romana, Leela and Narvin have been stuck on a parallel version of Gallifrey. But a portal from the Axis – the way they got there in the first place – suddenly opened.

At first, they were hoping that their old friend K9 had found them. But something else came through instead. And, based on the title of the series six opener, Extermination, you can probably guess what…

This was actually a huge moment for the series, and indeed, for Big Finish. Because it wasn’t just the fact that the Daleks had finally shown up in the popular Doctor Who spin-off series. It was also the fact that these Daleks were distinctly of the New Series era. From the covers to the very sounds used, it’s clear that these Daleks are the bronze ones that later fight in the Time War.

We don’t get a Time War story with Extermination, though. This is simply a survival story, as a group of eight Daleks invade Gallifrey. The Regenerators – the Time Lords of this world – have had no experience of enemies so vicious and so dangerous. How can they – and indeed, our heroes – hope to survive?

Narvin faces the Daleks for the first time in Extermination. But not for the last…

(Image credit: Gallifrey/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Romana’s darker side

Scott Handcock’s episode features a lot of great character exploration. Especially with Romana. Because this isn’t the first time that she’s met the Daleks. In fact, it’s not even the first time that she’s seen Daleks on Gallifrey.

In the Sixth Doctor audio story The Apocalypse Element, Daleks were able to invade the real Gallifrey. It was a real struggle for the Doctor and his friends to fight them back, and there was a lot of destruction caused by the pepper pots. But eventually, they won.

However, it wasn’t just the Dalek invasion then that made the story so significant, at least for Romana. It was also revealed in that story that she had been a slave of the Daleks for twenty years. We haven’t seen a great deal of focus on how that affected her since then.

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However, that changes in Extermination. We get a really great glimpse of Romana’s trauma here. It’s clear that, even so long after the events of The Apocalypse Element, she’s still deeply affected by what the Daleks did to her. There’s one particularly brutal scene she shares with just one Dalek that highlights this, and Lalla Ward plays it brilliantly.

Narvin – a changed man?

However, while Romana’s exploration is fantastic, I think one of my favorite scenes is shared between Leela and Narvin. Narvin has always been a coward, eager to save his own life. Ever since Reborn, when he lost most – if not all – of his regenerations, he’s been even more aware of his mortality. So facing one of the deadliest races in the universe doesn’t exactly appeal to him, to say the least.

However, there’s a wonderful little moment where his true colors are revealed. It’s surprising to both Leela and the audience, and it shows just how much this particular character has grown since his first appearance in Weapon of Choice.

Extermination kicks off the final series of Gallifrey‘s original era in style. Like I said, this episode doesn’t exactly begin the Time War. In fact, the core conflict is still a long way off. But it does highlight how much the series is really approaching its ending. Especially when our heroes, finally, make it back home…

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Have you listened to the sixth series of Gallifrey? What did you think of Extermination? Were you excited about the New Series Daleks finally showing up in a Big Finish audio? Let us know in the comments below.

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