Doctor Who review: The Dalek Empire arc begins with The Genocide Machine
By James Aggas
We look back at Big Finish’s first ever Dalek story for their Doctor Who audios: The Genocide Machine. Was it a decent return for the Doctor’s worst enemies?
When Big Finish began telling Doctor Who stories almost twenty years ago, they weren’t able to tell Dalek stories, at least not straight away. But they didn’t have to wait too long. In April 2000, Big Finish released their first ever Dalek story: The Genocide Machine. Does it begin the Daleks’ reign at Big Finish with a bang?
Not exactly. This story is in some ways a low-key return for the Daleks. But I actually quite like that aspect, particularly during the first two episodes. You see, while epic Dalek invasion stories are great, the pepper pots work just as well – if not better – when they’re forced to use their cunning and their wits to achieve their goals. And that’s exactly what we get with The Genocide Machine.
The story begins with the Doctor needing to return some out of date library books. These aren’t just from any library, however. They’re from the one on Kar-Charrat – one of the greatest sources of knowledge in the universe. Naturally, the people running it want to hide it from dangerous races that would abuse that knowledge. But – despite the place featuring an incredibly high level of security – the Doctor is still worried. Especially when he finds out that the Daleks have been interested in this world…
Outside of novels and comics, The Genocide Machine was the first Dalek story made in over a decade. Was their rematch against the Seventh Doctor a strong one?
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
A strong sense of buildup
The first half of The Genocide Machine works really well. There’s a lot of buildup to the inevitable. The Daleks are revealed surprisingly early, at least to the audience. But it is intriguing finding out not just what their plan is, but how they go about it.
What I particularly like is that the Daleks get to really use their intelligence in this story. This was especially important considering that, in the latter half of their TV appearances in the Classic Series, they had usually been overshadowed by Davros. But not this time, and we’re given reminders of why they’re the Doctor’s greatest enemies in the first place.
However, while the first half does feature a lot of tension and buildup, the second half is more straightforward. Once the Daleks reveal themselves and take over, they do admittedly lose a little of their threat as the story goes on.
The Power of the Daleks saved the Daleks being openly evil for the very last episode, and it’s a bit of a shame that we didn’t get that here. Because the Daleks do seem to work at their best when they’re plotting from the shadows, at least in this story.
Just the beginning…
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However, there’s still a lot to like about The Genocide Machine. There’s an intriguing mystery throughout regarding phantoms, and how the knowledge of the Kar-Charrat library could literally change the Daleks raises some interesting questions.
And it’s fantastic listening to Nicholas Briggs’s first ever official performance as the Daleks. Even here, he not only captures the spirit of previous voice actors, such as Peter Hakwins and Roy Skelton. But he’s still able to make each and every Dalek voice distinctive, a talent that I’ve always been impressed by.
Overall, as a Dalek story, The Genocide Machine might not be one of my favorites, but it’s still an enjoyable one.
However, as well as working well as a standalone story, The Genocide Machine also starts a brand new arc: the “Dalek Empire” arc. The consequences of what the Daleks achieve in this story will have repercussions. Not just for later in the Doctor’s life, but earlier, too…
Next. How the movie helped to make me a fan. dark
Have you listened to Big Finish’s first ever Dalek story? What did you make of it? Do you think it sets up the Dalek Empire arc well? Let us know in the comments below.