Cameron Mason's Reviews - Big Finish Audio Reviews Condensed

Big Finish Productions - Dalek Empire

Dalek Empire I - Invasion of the Daleks
The first of the Doctorless Dalek Empire stories gets the series off to a great start. There are links back to The Genocide Machine and The Apocalypse Element, tying this range further into the regular Doctor Who range. The human characters are well crafted and very believable, while the Daleks are as good as ever. Invasion of the Daleks poses many questions, and answers questions from the previous Dalek Empire stories. Terry Nation's claim that the Daleks could sustain their own series is proved in this story, even though it is the first of four in the sequence.
Preliminary Rating: 8.5 - 9.5/10

Dalek Empire II - The Human Factor
The Dalek Empire story steps up a gear in this story. Suz continues to play a very strong role here, as Alby and Pellan get great character moments. The Daleks continue to be on form, as their plans for Suz are slowly revealed. Questions from Invasion of the Daleks are answered, as The Human Factor poses more - What is 'Project Infinity'? A stunning cliffhanger rounds off this chapter of the Dalek Empire sequence.
Preliminary Rating: 9 - 9.5/10

Dalek Empire III - 'Death to the Daleks!'
This chapter of Dalek Empire sees a change in fortunes for all the characters: Daleks are winning, Earth and the galaxy are on the run, Suz and Kalendorf's plans with the slaves comes to fruition, Alby can finally make his search for Suz his official task, as more is revealled about 'Project Infinity'. The best so far in the Dalek Empire saga - The script is fantastic, the acting superb and another astonishing cliffhanger to round things off. One small gripe though, the passage of time is not really made clear in this story.
Preliminary Rating: 9 - 10/10

Dalek Empire IV - Project Infinity
The Dalek Empire sequence concludes, with the Dalek's true objective revealed: hijacking 'Project Infinity' for their own purposes, with the purpose of the invasion and conquest of Earth's galaxy being to merely distract from the Dalek's real scheme. Meanwhile, the truth is revealled about the narrator of the story with the telling of the full story of Suz's last hours. Ably is pretty useless for the first half of the story, preferring to spend his time moping about Suz. Dalek agents are revealled left, right and centre; an indication of how much effort had gone into the Dalek's plans, or just the author pulling out all stops to add excitement to the story? The more cynical listener would assume the latter, but given how the agents are used (such as against the Daleks), the former is the more likely reason. At the conclusion of Project Infinity both hero and villains are facing certain doom in a double cliffhanger. the end is a bit of a tease for Dalek Empire II: Dalek War, but as a conclusion to the Dalek Empire sequence, Project Infinity cannot be faulted.
Preliminary Rating: 8.5 - 9.5/10

Dalek War - Chapter One
Five years on from the events of Project Infinity, and the Earth/Alternative Universe Dalek alliance has got the Enemy Daleks trapped in Earth's Solar System - one last push will remove the Daleks from the Milky Way Galaxy. All should be going well, but a number of questions soon arise: Where is the Dalek Emperor? Why does the leader of the other Daleks; the Mentor, what Suz dead? What is Alby's secret mission? Why doesn't Karlendorf trust the Mentor? Where is Suz? The answers to these questions are soon revealed, but more are thrown up in their place. The follow up to Dalek Empire starts off well, setting up the events so far, and going into detail about how our heros survived the end of Project Infinity, with Mirana filling Suz in on what's been happening since her "death". The Mentor is an interesting character; her physical description makes her sound like a female version of Davros, but her motives aren't entirely pure. Dalek War gets off to an excellent start, with the trailer for Chapter Two promising the story twists to continue...
Preliminary Rating: 8 - 9/10

Dalek War - Chapter Two
The Enemy Daleks have captured Mirana's ship, and need Suz for a very good reason; meanwhile the Alliance Fleet discovers what the Enemy Daleks have done to Jupiter, as they make their first push into Earth's solar system... Chapter Two of Dalek War has much less going on within than previous chapters of Dalek Empire and Dalek War: Most of the action takes place on the Defiant, with only a few scenes looking at what Karlendorf is up to. This works well here, as if Chapter Two had kept up the pace of other Dalek Empire CDs, the events on the Defiant would have only taken 10 minutes in CD time. Suz is in an interesting position; in possession of what the Daleks want, so by threatening to kill herself, she can keep her friends alive. Even then this doesn't save her from the Enemy Daleks plans: Chapter Three is going to be VERY interesting indeed...
Preliminary Rating: 7.5 - 8.5/10

Dalek War - Chapter Three
As Karlendorf's forces in the Solar System trigger a trap, Suz prepares to deliver a message of great importance to the galaxy... The third chapter of Dalek War starts to tie up the story in order to head for a gripping conclusion - Morli's true motives are revealed, Karlendorf's duplicity is uncovered by the Mentor and Suz prepares to play the most important role to end the war. The sound design of the episode seems to me to be more expansive than the previous chapters, which aids to build up the epic feel to it. Rather than 'treading water' before the final chapter, Briggs has used this chapter to bring several ideas to a head in order to pull off one more twist in the lead up to the final chapter of Dalek War. The saga of Alby and Suz continues to play, and going by the end of the episode it has a tragic conclusion...
Preliminary Rating: 8 - 9/10

Dalek War - Chapter Four
2500 years into the future historian Saloran Hardew tells Galactic Union representative Siy Tarkov of the final conclusion to the Dalek War, and how its concequences are still being felt... Nick Briggs concludes the epic story that began with Invasion of the Daleks in a grand way, neatly ending the story strand with the Mentor in an interesting fashion. As always, the focus of the story has been on Suz, and her story plays out very well, with Sarah Mowat giving it her all in Suz's final moments. Gareth Thomas' performance as Karlendorf underlines the tragic nature of the character, giving him a tragic nobility. Although the war with the Daleks is definitely concluded, the end shows that the Daleks can never be truely defeated... The bonus second CD is really worth a listen, as Nick Briggs takes us through the development of Dalek Empire and Dalek War, the cast discuss their roles, and a slight preview is given for third sequence of stories.
Preliminary Rating: 9 - 10/10

Dalek Empire III - The Exterminators
Twenty years after Siy Tarkov left Velyshaa, and his cryo-pod is discovered. The universe has moved on in this time; a plague is spreading throughout the Border Worlds, and the Graxis Wardens are about to get a rude awakening... Sensibly, Nicholas Briggs starts off Dalek Empire III with a recap of the climax of Dalek War, before picking up the story where it left off. With six CDs this time around, Briggs has chosen to ease listeners into the story, focusing on setting up the role of the Graxis Wardens, and filling both the audience and Tarkov in on how the galaxy has developed from Tarkov's time. The Graxis Wardens have an interesting story and are well characterised, with Ishia Bennison as Frey Saxton and Laura Rees as Kaymee particular standouts. Judging by the cliffhanger the Daleks are back to the deceptive best...
Preliminary Rating: 7.5 - 8.5/10

Dalek Empire III - The Healers
Galanar begins his investigation, as Siy Tarkov goes home and the Graxis Wardens experience life under Dalek control... The Daleks' plans are slowly revealed in The Healers, and not surprisingly they are connected to the NSF plague. The story on Graxis takes a stunning turn as the Daleks take charge, and there are some excellent moments showing how 'alien' the Daleks are; in contrast to these, there are many 'human' moments between the Graxis Wardens, with Frey and Kaymee developing a rapport. There's two sides to the Dalek presented here; the caring, sharing Daleks who want to cure the NSF plague with 'Variant Seven', and the ruthless Daleks who conduct an 'investigation' on Graxis - both 'faces' of the Daleks still retain a huge deceptive streak, an element Briggs capitalises on this episode. There's a chilling cliffhanger as an old voice is heard once more...
Preliminary Rating: 7.5 - 8.5/10

Dalek Empire III - The Survivors
Galanar experiences life on Scolanis Eight and Siy Tarkov and daughter go Dalek hunting, as the Daleks prepare to geo-form Graxis Major to create more 'Healing Zones' and the surviving Wardens leave the Graxis system... There are aspects of overall plot development to the story in The Survivors, as mysteries are revealed about Galanar and Amur; yet other plot lines seem to just be running on the spot, such as the mystery of Variant Seven and the Daleks overall plans; other plot lines shift focus, as the Wardens leave Graxis for regions unknown; and other plot lines just seem to end, as Selestru's luck runs out, with his plans discovered. It's another stunning cliffhanger as Galanar learns who his creators are...
Preliminary Rating: 7.5 - 8.5/10

Dalek Empire III - The Demons
Galanar learns of his origins as Siy Tarkov gets the full Variant Seven treatment and the Graxis Wardens strike at the heart of Dalek controlled space... The Demons follows up on a couple of plot threads from Dalek War, and delves into the events preceeding The Exterminators. After three episodes of fantastic performance by Steven Elder as a Siy Tarkov living with the early symptoms of the NFS plague, it is strange to hear him at full strength, but Elder takes the fully cured Tarkov to another level, giving Tarkov a renew strength. Sarah Mowat is startling as the Dalek Supreme, her perfromance building throughout the episode. The highlight of the episode is Amur and Galanar discussing their origins, a sequence well written by Briggs and acted by Claudia Elmhirst and David Tennant. Going by comments in The Demons, events are being set up for a climax on Velyshaa...
Preliminary Rating: 8 - 9/10

Dalek Empire III - The Warriors
On Graxis Kaymee discovers the truth about the Healing Zones and the full effects of Variant Seven, as the Graxis Wardens rescue 'the Demons' from Scolanis Eight and plan a trip to Velyshaa... The Warriors is bringing story threads together or to a conclusion; the whole story of Variant Seven is revealed, and it's Kaymee who is exposed to it in series of increasingly horrific scenes, which play out to a terrifying conclusion. Again David Tennant and Steven Elder are superb as Galanar calms downs a scared and paranoid Siy Tarkov, fed up with all the lies and deception he's recently faced. The only weak sequence seemed to be those scenes set on the refuelling station, but even then there was some subterfuge behind it; where ever the Wardens go, the Daleks aren't too far behind...
Preliminary Rating: 8 - 9/10

Dalek Empire III - The Future
The final stage of Variant Seven kicks in across all Healing Zones, and Velyshaa sees the last stand of the Graxis Wardens as the Daleks make their attack. As with previous Dalek Empire 'final' stories there's a lot of death and destruction, with a hint of ambiguity about how the overall story wraps up. Nicholas Briggs has gone all out with the sound design and incidental music, leading to action scenes that echo with the sounds of a desperate final battle and dramatic scenes a suitable undertone. On the acting side of things David Tennant gives a fine final performance as Galanar, but it's Steven Elder as Siy Tarkov in the character's final scene that really impresses as Tarkov goes from the cusp of triumph to the depths of despair fllowing revelations by the Daleks. From an audience perspective, the end of The Future is a bit of a let down, but from a themic perspective, it is the perfect end to the story.
Preliminary Rating: 10/10