Poison of the Daleks

Third Doctor Adventures #6.1

Released: 14 May 2020

Listened: 6/22/21

This was the first story with John Culshaw as the Brigadier, and they added in Sgt. Benton to give him someone to work with. Plus, it’s a Dalek story, which always means a good time, at least for Nick Briggs. There’s the usual evil industrialist / corrupt government official combo, except this time they’re one person, and nominally working to fight pollution. But of course it’s a trick, and as a result the Doctor, Jo, the Brig, and Benton all end up on another planet dominated by Daleks. Fortunately, they’ve all encountered Daleks before, so they grasp the situation immediately and join the resistance. In fact, the Brig and Benton pretty much take over the resistance, since they’ve got the military experience; it also gives those characters something to do, and a chance to look capable. The Doctor, unusually, gets paired with an alien scientist almost as smart as he is; it’s an intriguing character who just rubs the Doctor the wrong way. It’s fun to see him irritated, and I don’t think they would have challenged him like that in the 70s. In addition, a number of the secondary characters are women in leadership positions, which also wouldn’t have happened in the 70s. Unfortunately, the Daleks’ plan isn’t particularly complex, and having it revolve around Earth’s air pollution hammers the point just a little too hard, even if it’s something that Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks would have approved of. Excellent characters and portrayal, but not the best story.