Time of the Daleks

I would probably like this just because you get to hear Daleks quoting Shakespeare. There's something about that, like the "Spitfires in Space" moment in Victory of the Daleks, that appeals to my giddy inner child.

Fortunately there is much more to this story than just Daleks doing Hamlet. It all starts when the Doctor realizes that Charley doesn't know who William Shakespeare is. A quick scoot around the vortex identifies a rip in time that stretches backward from New Britain. Whatever - or whoever - eliminated Shakespeare from time happened then. So off they pop.

It wouldn't be unfair to compare this to that pair of brilliant Troughton Dalek stories: Power of the Daleks and Evil of the Daleks. Indeed it takes aspects of both those stories and adds its own touch, which is the Shakespeare mystery.

The Doctor and Charley are mistaken for PR consultants, as opposed to Earth Examiners. There is a leader, General Mariah Learman (Dot Smith), who thinks she is using the Daleks for her own ends; there are rebels doomed to be Dalek fodder; there's an almost 'steampunk' time travel a la Evil. Just replace static electricity with mirrors and there you have it. None of the science probably makes much sense but it sounds fun and the idea of popping in and out of mirrors traveling in time and/or space is an appealing one.

It also takes an element from Day of the Daleks. That it is the actions taken by a rebel to prevent something happening that cause it too happen. So perhaps I am being too nice about this story because of its Shakespeare Daleks. After all reading back it does sound like a 'Dalek's Greatest Hits'. But sod it. It's done well and it is fun.

And again it has lots of timey-wimey stuff going on, which makes it feel like quite an up to date take on the Doctor. You could see this as a 'New Who' story.

Charley is back to being finely combative and sarcastic as opposed to hectoring and lecturing, which makes her rather lovely. Her realization that she might be the cause of all the paradoxes and problems with Time that they have recently been caught up in is very well done and her little 'I'm scared' is rather moving in its way.

McGann is up to his usual high standards. And it is nice to hear him go head-to-head with the Daleks, especially Daleks with proper Dalek voices. Each one of these stories that I listen to makes me feel a little sad that McGann's only televised Doctor Who is still the rather disappointing TV Movie.

As usual, there's a fine support cast but special applause here for Nicola Boyce as Viola who gets a lot of stuff to do and does it well. Dot Smith's General Learman is a bit too obviously Thatcheresque for my liking. It's as if no one can do a strong female leader in British drama without doing a Thatcher. [Although maybe the fault is mine and it is me that can't see beyond Thatch.]

Nicholas Briggs does his usual high standard of work on the Dalek voices and seems to enjoy himself when he has to do the Shakespeare stuff and when...actually I won't spoil that. I know this has been out since 2002 but I feel mildly obligated not to go too crazy with spoilers. If some sneak in, I apologise. I like it when the Daleks are devious and sneaky in addition to their normal murderous shouty stuff.

So to conclude this is a good one, even if it does riff on elements from other Dalek stories. It also adds an extra layer, which makes it all the more fun. I just wish I had an appropriate Shakespeare quote to end on.