After the Daleks is a Doctor Who audio play released by Big Finish Productions and is one of the latest episodes in The Early Adventures range. Roland Moore is the scriptwriter with Lisa Bowerman back in the director’s seat. The Doctor has just left his granddaughter on 23rd century Earth where she is going to embark on a new life with David Campbell after the Dalek occupation was ended. Carole Ann Ford reprises the role and serves as narrator for the story of what happened to Susan just after the Doctor’s departure unfolds. Sean Biggerstaff, Lucy Briers, Jonathan Guy Lewis, Oli Higginson, and Nicholas Briggs make up the guest cast here.
What Susan does not know is that one Dalek is left behind, and an ambitious former collaborator with the Daleks has his designs on regaining power to reshape the recovery from the Daleks into something that would not benefit everyone. Susan gets her first real taste of dark side of politics, as if there is a real bright side. A couple of characters from the original serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth have ben recast. Lucy Briers is the daughter of the actress who played the character Jenny back in 1964. Sean Biggerstaff plays David Campbell, who is the man Susan stayed for.
It’s hard for me to appreciate a Doctor Who story without the Doctor, but I ended up getting more drawn into this one more than I expected. Ford really shines with this one, and gives Susan a bit more steel and courage than what was seen in the television series. Marcus Bray, played by Jonathan Guy Lewis, turns out to be rather shocking in his despicability and duplicity, which serves this tale mightily. Lewis can sometimes sound a little over the top. but this is all done with audio, so it may be rather unfair to fault him too much for that. There is a side plot about Jenny trying to find a way to restore her brother, who was converted into a Roboman. The Robomen were surgically altered serve the Daleks. The Doctor himself is not around, but his shadow remains, and his legacy carries on with his granddaughter’s commitment to helping the Earth recover from a brutal invasion.
Big Finish is pretty solid with the writing most of the time, but I am pleased to note that this episode was rather special. I still prefer having the Doctor around though.
Reviews, Musings, and Other Things... 