Dalek Universe 2

Cycle of Destruction by Roy Gill: I know people who have struggled with this one but I thought it was pretty involving for the most part. We've had a two parter about the Doctor, then a homecoming for Anya and now the same is true of Mark Seven and through these tales the core regulars are being fleshed out wonderfully, and coming to understand each other much better. It feels like a merging of classic (so much The Daleks' Masterplan is present in the tone, atmosphere and plotting of these stories) and new (the deeper characterisation and time spent developing these people). There's the suggestion that with the right programming, Mark Seven could turn from ally to foe in a heartbeat as he appears to here. Joe Sims has the hardest job of acting in this range because he has to keep that cool logical demeanour and still try and suggest some personality and he walks that fine line beautifully. This is one of those high concept science fiction settings that could feel like your average Star Trek The Next Generation world but thanks to Gill (and director Ken Bentley) it is a much more hostile and creepy location than that. Some sets start with a a bang, others with a quieter character piece. This set starts and ends in that way, which might suggest that this is the difficult middle album but I don't think there is a weak link in Dalek Universe 2: 8/10

The Trojan Dalek by John Dorney: You're in safe hands with John Dorney and if this isn't one of his absolute knockouts (to be fair to him he delivered that in the previous set), it is at least a very tidy and morally ambiguous piece of storytelling that raises some interesting questions. The twist that humans are being turned into Daleks might not be a new one, but its still a grisly one and it means that Tennant can gnash his teeth as he expresses the Doctor's horror about the whole affair. I've been impressed that so far in this 'Dalek Universe' that we have been spared too much of the main protagonist, which might seem like a strange comment to make since they are right there in the title but Big Finish has flogged the Daleks to death by now and the thought of Tennant powering through three sets of Nick Briggs screaming his head did not appeal. Instead they have added a little background colour to some terrific character tales. So their use here, and in such a horrific way, is welcome and rather refreshing. Kudos to the production team for forcing the listener to endure the horror of the process. I didn't think Big Finish had the nuts to push visceral horror that far anymore. Like The Daleks' Masterplan, this series has a bite. On a lighter note, the Doctor, Anya and Mark Seven are really coming along as mates and bantering like the best of them. In the previous John Dorney story he was stressing how these people have just come together. Now he is portraying just how comfortable they are together. Congrats on the shock ending that I did not see coming: 8/10

The Lost by Robert Valentine: This was wonderful, and a complete change of tone. The Doctor and Anya in a strange, beautiful, eerie realm walking around and failing to find any kind of plot. That is essentially the first half of this set that is eerie in its complete lack of incident and how it forces the pair of them to try and confront their feelings about Mark and how his loss has affected them. Tennant and Slavin are fantastic together; awkward and kind, unused to sharing this sort of pain. The landscape that they find themselves in is beautiful and odd, a far cry from the fast paced science fiction settings we have enjoyed to date and the contrast is jarring, deliberately so. Then, everything turns on its head as The Lost emerges and starts playing with their heads and for motives of its own tries to corner the Doctor and Anya into staying. It's not cod psychology that is deployed her but instead the series has held its cards to its chest with the Doctor's past experiences with Anya's family and now an unforgiving light is thrown on his part in their deaths and it seems like things might never be the same again. This might have played out like some dreadful old soap but what it provokes instead is a serious, mature discussion about keeping secrets, the weight of losing people you care about and as a result Anya and the Doctor are much closer and understand each other better. At this point I think we're looking at some of the best character development in a spin off range for some time. Leighton Pugh acquits himself extremely well. He reminded me of House from The Doctor's Wife but with a more sadistic edge to his voice. This is an extremely economic Big Finish release but instead of feeling like the cheapie of the set it uses its minimal characters to strip them bare and let us see new colours. This kind of quiet character drama is right up my street, especially when it is acted this sincerely: 9/10