Doctor Who review: The Eighth Doctor joins forces with the Daleks in The Enemy of My Enemy
By James Aggas
When the whole of history starts to change, the Doctor is forced to make a desperate action in The Enemy of My Enemy, the latest audio in the Doctor Who series Time Lord Victorious.
The Eighth Doctor’s part in Time Lord Victorious continues with The Enemy of My Enemy. Continuing directly from the last episode, the Doctor finds himself a prisoner of the Daleks. It looks to be a pretty desperate situation – but then he discovers that they need his help…
The Enemy of My Enemy is an extremely solid story from Tracy Ann Baines. Exploring what happens when the Doctor allies himself with his oldest enemies has been done before – in fact, it’s already been told in Time Lord Victorious, specifically in the comic story Defender of the Daleks.
But what makes this story so enjoyable is how open each side seems to be. The Doctor knows that the Daleks haven’t simply turned over a new leaf. The Daleks know that the Doctor will never truly trust them. But Baines’s story makes it work, for several reasons.
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The worst of allies
First of all, The Enemy of My Enemy makes it extremely clear that the stakes are incredibly high this time. Bit by bit, the history of the entire universe is changing, and both the Daleks and the Doctor are at risk of being erased. The only way to survive is for them to help each other.
What really works about this is that each side avoids trying to hide who and what they are – they’ve known each other for too long to do otherwise by this point. That doesn’t mean that they don’t try to deceive each other throughout. In fact, finding out how each side tries to gain an advantage over the other is a key reason why this partnership is so intriguing to listen to.
On top of that, we’re also introduced to a brand new race in this story: the Wrax. The Daleks want to form an alliance with them, while the Doctor has never even heard of them. Why would the Daleks want to ally themselves with this race? And what are they really after? The Enemy of My Enemy is an audio that asks a lot of questions, answering most, but leaving just enough at the end to hook listeners deeper into Time Lord Victorious.
The Enemy of My Enemy builds on the decent opening story He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not and takes us even further into the larger mystery of these audios. At the same time, it also establishes some clear ties to the rest of Time Lord Victorious (including one of the Master’s short stories from last month). It’s also a genuinely solid Dalek story in its own right, and I’m eager to see where this leads.
Next. Eric Roberts’s Master will face the Daleks in his own audio spin-off next year!. dark
Have you been following Time Lord Victorious? Have you enjoyed the Eighth Doctor’s audios so far? What are your favorite stories that have seen the Doctor ally himself with his greatest enemies? Let us know in the comments below.