Enemy of the Daleks

Main Range #121

Released: May 2009

Listened: 12/29/20

This is a different sort of Dalek story, faster-paced and relentless, by David Bishop, in his only writing for the Main Range. The Daleks aren’t pursuing an elaborate plan, either; they’re at war, and simply trying to kill all the humans. The TARDIS crew ends up in a military research base that’s developing a living weapon that may be even worse than the Daleks, and we know how that always goes. A lot of the drama is psychological, with the Doctor moralizing at a scientist who’s doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, and soldiers with a commander who’s lost her nerve. The biggest contrast is between Ace and Hex -- this is Hex’s first encounter with the Daleks, and it takes him a while to get the hang of “cannot be reasoned with,” as he tries to follow his instincts and protect the patients at the base and the wounded soldiers. It shakes him up quite a bit, which leads to the next story. Ace is very much the character from the New Adventures; she has experience in Dalek-fighting, and knows several tech tricks that even the soldiers don’t. It’s a little tricky to reconcile this Ace with the version we’ve seen lately, but even Sophie Aldred admits she can’t tell where in Ace’s timeline this story falls, or how old she’s supposed to be. Even though it’s another “Hex goes through the emotional wringer” story, there’s an overall lighter tone to it. Most of the dialog is zippy, and even the soundtrack has a driven, dynamic sound to it, making it seem a bit like modern-series TV pacing.