‘These creatures have ravaged half the cosmos. They’re experts at this kind of thing. Nothing can stand in their way.’
The Doctor and Romana find themselves in the Proxima System, where enigmatic Conglomerate CEO Cuthbert has been conducting his infamous ‘experiment’. An experiment which might accidentally rip the universe apart.
Meanwhile, living conditions on Proxima Major have become harsh and hostile. Climate change has turned the landscape into a freezing wasteland and an alien power has condemned much of the population to life inside internment camps. For those still clinging to their freedom, the struggle for survival is now beyond desperate and outsiders such as the Doctor and Romana are only seen as a threat.
What is Cuthbert really up to in the Proxima System, and just how does he expect the dreaded Daleks to fit into his plan?
THE DALEK CONTRACT
After some improvement over the first series, but nothing even approaching classic status, the second series of Fourth Doctor Adventures from Big Finish comes to a close with a two-part Nicholas Briggs story, the first of which is “The Dalek Contract.” It’s a sequel to the “War Against the Laan” two-parter from earlier in the series, and unfortunately it’s just as uninspiring as its predecessor.
I’ve belabored this point throughout most of these Tom Baker stories, but it’s coming up again here: there doesn’t seem to be much of a point to “The Dalek Contract” apart from nostalgia and fan appeal. This is Briggs on blatant autopilot, with absolutely nothing unique on display. The Daleks are skulking around with a secret plan that nobody knows, there’s an evil corporation attempting to leverage new technology into massive profit, and there’s a destroyed planet on which a tough band of rebels struggles to survive and overthrow their oppressors. Into this throw the Doctor, Romana, and K9, mix well, and watch the results. Look out, the rebels think the Doctor’s working for the Daleks! The Daleks have captured Romana and are interrogating her! Cuthbert is being grumpy and mysterious! At no point during the entire running time did I take notice of anything. A computer program could have pumped this out.
I don’t know, maybe this just isn’t aimed at me. I noticed several people in the run-up to release expressing delight that this story would finally feature a confrontation between K9 and the Daleks. Is that something people have been longing for? They could have done it on TV but they left him in the TARDIS! Sure, it’s cool when K9 blows up a Dalek – though the strength of his nose laser is generally set at “whatever works for this story” – but after that, there’s a hilariously contrived sequence explaining why the Daleks don’t just blow him up that neatly sums up what a silly idea it all is. Briggs doesn’t capture the fourth Doctor especially well, though Tom Baker rescues the script by bellowing his way through the performance as though he’s drunk. And what’s with the excruciating expository dialogue? “The Proxima system? Isn’t that where Cuthbert’s experiment interfered with the Laan?” Really? After producing the Doctor Who range for years and writing dozens of audio scripts, that’s the best you can do? Really?
I’m basically going to stop here because I don’t have much more to say about it and thinking about it is just irritating me. The production is fine, the performances are good, but as the start to a series-concluding two-part story, “The Dalek Contract” isn’t good enough. There’s nothing compelling here, nothing interesting. There’s no particular reason to want to continue on to the second part. Oh, I bet Cuthbert will discover that the Daleks have their own agenda and aren’t really working for him! I bet the Doctor will save the day! I bet at least one major guest character gets killed off! Anyone want to take me up on those bets?
Yeah, thought not.
4/10