MR 93: Renaissance of the Daleks

It's interesting to do a bit of research in to the somewhat troubled history of Renaissance of the Daleks, where the plot needed rewriting, in part, to ensure that overall it made sense.

One thing that is apparent is that the story, which involves an alternate Earth history where the locals in London are preparing for a Dalek invasion (which according to the 5th Doctor should have already happened), is slightly bonkers.

The characters are a bit marmite; an over-the-top US military General, a noble knight from the time of the crusades, a female Vietnam war helicopter pilot and a southern slave called Floyd who is found on the side of The Confederates during the American Civil War...and that is just the Doctor's new team.

As for Floyd, a few people have expressed surprise as to why he would be with the pro-slavery southern states, but this is explained within the story that he had to follow his 'master' to the war and although his master died, he was still on that side when the Tardis turns up. A quick google search shows that 'after war broke out in 1861, thousands of enslaved men were forced to accompany their masters into the army as body servants or camp slaves'. I doubt Floyd could just say 'right, I'm off' when his master copped it.

Throw in toy Daleks and a large alien consciousness, weird timelines and an even weirder ending involving a big dalek building made from loads of daleks (!) and it could be argued that the rewrites maybe didn't do their job. But it is pretty good fun and kept me more than engaged for 2 hours!