FDA 1.4 Energy of the Daleks

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

The Doctor and Leela find themselves in the middle of London at the time of a new energy crisis. The GlobeSphere Corporation seems to have all the answers – but several thousand protestors beg to differ.

What is the connection between the National Gallery and a base on the Moon? Has radical thinker Damien Stephens simply sold out, or does he have a more sinister agenda?

The Doctor has detected a mysterious energy reading. Could it be that the most evil creatures in the universe have returned to claim ultimate victory once and for all?

Rate and Discuss the latest new adventure starring Tom Baker and Louise Jameson alongside writer Nicholas Briggs as the voice of the Daleks.

[Alex Me]

Got 4/5 for the novelty factor of having Tom face off against the Daleks for the first time in in over 30 years. It was still a fun story though, but I still maintain that two parts is not long enough to tell a proper story, a lot of characters and concepts seem undeveloped.

I'm not too sure the dalek plan made much sense, but their plans rarely do so there is no problem there.

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

I'm not too sure the dalek plan made much sense, but their plans rarely do so there is no problem there.

So that wasn't just me struggling to connect then. Why exactly were the Daleks trying to wipe out humanity rather than enslave them?

Like the previous entry this was a great story trying to be told but it definitely got wrapped up a bit too quickly.
Louise still on great form though albeit having fewer scenes this time around. Mary T is going have a lot live upto next year.

[Nyder]

She certainly has! Throughout this range, Louise's performance has been the one constant, i.e. very good!

I enjoyed this story. Mark Benton's character makes a great pairing with the Doctor and manages to deliver all the "what's happening Doctor" lines without it sounding too staged. As with all these stories, the second part is a tad rushed. I still reckon 3 parts would be the ideal length for a BF audio. Worst impression of a Roboman must go to the Doctor!

So out of the 4 Tom stories so far, this is how I rate them:-

1. The Renaissance Man
2. Wrath of the Iceni
3. Energy of The Daleks
4. Destination Nerva

[brandynigma]

I'm divided on this. It was a good romp and I really enjoyed it, but the Daleks' plot was greatly reminiscent of Fear of the Daleks...

[Anthony Williams]

If I were unfamiliar with vast swathes of Doctor Who, I probably would have really enjoyed this. Yet, being as familiar with the show as most of us are, this was a distinct disappointment.

Anyway, let's start with the good. Well, both Tom and Louise are very good, as is Mark Benton. But let's start with Tom - his performance is wonderfully somewhere inbetween the seriousness of Genesis of the Daleks and his more bonkers performances of stories like Nightmare of Eden. He genuinely seems to be having fun with these, and hearing him doing them is one of the best things about them. Likewise, Louise Jameson is just superb, really bringing Leela back to life, and not sounding much older than she did in 1977. Their pairing is really one of the best things about these stories.

Onto the bad. Well, this is very typically Briggs. Unfortunately. He said that he wanted to give the Fourth Doctor a traditional Daleks story. But did he? What is a "traditional" Daleks story, anyway? What we have here owes so much to The Green Death it's ridiculous. A hypnotised man called Stevens who's found a source of cheap energy? Then there's the Daleks using Robomen and attempting to turn the Doctor's companion into one of them. Haven't we heard all this before? And that's the fundamental problem with Nick Briggs' work. It's all very derivative. Look at Destination: Nerva. Heck, Look at Sword of Orion - 11 years later, and his penchant for writing very cliched and derivative stories hasn't changed at all. I'm sure he runs a tight ship at Big Finish, and much as I appreciate his real passion for the show... really, I think he shouldn't write unless he genuinely has a great idea.

Ultimately, that's the problem with the whole "It's Saturday night tea-time in 1977 all over again" idea. That era was one of the most innovative eras in Doctor Who's history, comparatively few returning villains. What've we had so far? A return to Nerva and a Dalek story that's essentially a cross between the Green Death and BF's own Hothouse. Over the next few months, we've got both The Master and the Kraals returning. I realise that Big Finish are trying to go for nostalgia with these, but honestly, if they're trying to be similar to the era that they're set in, then they should have maybe only one story with any sort of returning villain or monster.

All in all, this isn't good, but it isn't bad. Sadly, only a 3/5 from me.

[SiHart]

i actually rather enjoyed this story. It doesn't really do anything new, granted, but sometimes it's nice to have a good cosy story. It all made sense, it was all played rather well and we came away agreeing that we'd enjoyed it- which in itself is something of an achievement these days.

[Rob McCow]

The Daleks have done every imaginable kind of plot for BF by now, so if this was reminiscent of an earlier play then it's only to be expected. However, Fear of The Daleks was kind-of fun, it had some good stuff for the Daleks to do, it was nice to hear Mark Benton in a BF play and Leela's reaction to the Daleks was pretty well done too.

Not Earth-shattering, but enjoyable. Nothing awful happened.