Main Range 121: Enemy of the Daleks (spoilers)

Week 6 of the Hex listen through

notthebigfinishforum.freeforums.net/thread/4463/oh-god-hex-listen

I love this one. It's a straight-forward Dalek romp with some freak of nature science experiments. The concept of a predator designed to kill Daleks is inspired, and while we've seen races adapted to deal with Daleks or their abilities used against them, a species specifically created for the exact purpose of eliminating them is new. There are definite touches of Alien and Aliens, in that the Kiseibya are parasitic entities that grow in a host and are worryingly intelligent. The whole story carries a New Adventures tone, with Hex in the role Benny would most likely have had as someone who hasn't lost perspective of individual lives. The characterisation is Ace is a highlight, a more balanced version of the character from the mid-New Adventures. Highly competent with military operations, but not Space B*tch.

The parallels between Davros (not named, but heavily referenced) and Shiruma are obvious, but need to be there. Both scientists in a time of war were forced to use their research for military applications, at the cost or potential cost of every other species with no regard as to what would happen afterwards. They both underestimate their own creations, who were made from the flesh of their own people. No wonder the Doctor calls the sound of the Kiseibya the sound of "history repeating".

There are a few touches that I love, and those are the New Zealand references. Two of the ships destroyed at the beginning are the Ashburton and the Tarawera, both locations in New Zealand (a town near Christchurch and a mountain near Rotorua). Hex recalls a game show called It's in the Bag, and one the patients in the isolation ward is called Te Kanawa, presumably after New Zealand singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Yes, David Bishop is from New Zealand, and one of his Virgin Missing Adventure novels is available for legit legal free on the Doctor Who New Zealand Fan Club website.

Love this story straightforward action with one of the best Scores ever.

Regards

mark687

An extremely 'adult' Doctor Who adventure, which fits more with the style and tone of the New Adventures rather than the television series. Considering how Seventh Doctor adventures usually turn out when they try a more 'adult' approach, this one comes out incredibly well.

It's a simple enough story. A desperate scientist tries to come up with a new 'weapon' to deal with the threat of the Daleks. This leads to the creation of a new species, which, arguably, are far worse than the initial threat they were designed to deal with. Clearly reminiscent of Alien (especially the idea of the creatures breeding within other species), I never found the Kiseibya that interesting. The shock factor with these creatures is good, but not much else. It was great to see the Daleks have the tables turned on them for a change - ironically, even the Doctor begins to feel sorry for them.

Hex is definitely developed here. As a nurse, he sees the full 'horror' of what is happening in a way that is lost on Ace, the Doctor, Shiruma, the Daleks and the Kiseibya. Hex's anger at the Dalek's wanton extermination of sick prisoners is impressive as is the fact that Hex doesn't fully appreciate the severity of his challenge to the Daleks - its almost as if he's 'heard' the Doctor talk about them but doesn't think they are that 'bad' (a bit like young people tend to roll their eyes at old people's war stories!) As Hex is a BF character, it is entirely possible that he could be exterminated. Having witnessed the slaughter of innocent casualties, he then sees the full horror of the Kiseibya - especially towards the end with the Black Dalek. You get the feeling that if there was one Doctor that you perhaps wouldn't want to travel with, it would be the Seventh. Hex's adventures haven't, thus far, been all that great/enjoyable and the realities of Time Travel and the Doctor's world come across fully here. Unlike Ace, Hex isn't immune to all the horror he has seen and acts as the 'conscience' for the TARDIS crew.

McCoy does a very good turn here and is on form as the chess-playing manipulative Seventh Doctor. He clearly knows (or has heard rumours) about the horrors of Bliss and decides to put his companions through the ringer in investigating it. Ironically, it's the Daleks that 'save the day' through sacrificing themselves to wipe out the Kiseibya - perhaps sometimes it really is 'better the Devil you know?' Interestingly, this allows the Doctor to have 'clean hands' (no accusations of genocide this time like Terror of the Vervoids) and a good inversion of the Caves of Androzani (someone else sacrifices their life for the Doctor). 

The ending is totally bleak. No one really wins. Both the Daleks, the Kiseibya and, to an extent, the Doctor do not come out well here. I suppose the irony is that the Daleks end up protecting the cosmos for something far worse. A clever, Dalek story that goes into the more darker areas of Doctor Who that are seldom explored.

For me, it's the first Main Range story for the Daleks that really tapped into the ethos built up by Dalek Empire. This is what people usually face when the Doctor isn't around. The idea of the events to unfold on Bliss being a predetermined historical event fascinates me as well. The same rules applied to the Napoleonic Wars or ancient China, all transferred here to the world of starships, genetic engineering and galactic ecology. You can't change history as you're already a part of it. A part of someone else's history in this case.

I think this could only have been told with the Seventh Doctor, on that knife's edge between right and wrong. There was something very fundamentally alien about his NA interpretation and it really shines here in how he becomes the nudging observer in Shimura's experiments. His humanity is there, but it's deceptively guarded. It's nice to see the more mature, world-wary Ace again and Hex shines in his role as the nurse under fire. I don't think we'd get as much of a sense for the brutal goings on in Roarke 279 if not for Philip Olivier's performance.

The Dalek story the Virgin range never had. Complete with a morally grey Doctor, gun-wielding Ace and an ending that leaves us in the perverse position of thinking: "All that will somehow make things better?" Worth the purchase for providing the Dalek equivalent of Die Hard, a thrilling action-adventure with a welcome degree of substance behind its delightful whizz-bangery.

The 20th Anniversary Edition of Who Killed Kennedy with a surprise appearance from NuWho Doctor. It can be found alongside a few really splendid Target novelisations that tackle missing stories like The Pirate Planet and Resurrection of the Daleks. Easy to find, *thumbs up* definitely worth the read.

I'm flattered, but no, sadly not. I have considered putting up a reviews blog, but I don't think I'd have the stamina to keep it running with regular worthy content. Much more of the long-term projects kind of person me. Full-length stories and stuff you'd typically find in a reference book (which reminds me *clicks pen* map of Marinus...).

Hello everyone!

Here's a link to my review on 'Enemy of the Daleks' - bradleybasement.wordpress.com/sci-fi/doctor-who/doctor-who-timelines/the-doctors-timelines-index/the-seventh-doctors-timeline/enemy-of-the-daleks-audio/

Enjoy!

Tim.

It’s one of those stories that if BF ever did another Locum Doctor series, Ikd love to see revisited with the War Doctor.