The Dalek Audio Annual: Dalek Stories from the Doctor Who universe

To those fortunate few such as myself who have in their possession original copies of these 'Dalek Annuals' from the 1970's, the stories, pictures, trivia and minutia are fondly-recalled. Created at a time of renewed interest for all things Daleks in the wake of the watershed broadcasting of arguably the finest 'Doctor Who' TV story ever, 'Genesis Of The Daleks', these annuals represent the maturation of the Dalek concept in print in much the same way Terry Nation did so on screen in that classic story. Gone were the goofy Dalek schemes of the past; in stories of these annuals, the Daleks ruthlessly employ chemical warfare, cut down any and all opposition with overwhelming firepower, manipulate lesser races into aligning with them with the proverbial fingers crossed behind their backs, and perform hideous and inhuman radiation experiments on their hapless victims. There is even a story detailed in this volume that details the Daleks committing total genocide on a peace-loving race. Clearly, once given the ability to flex his creative muscles and return his creations to the position of evil incarnate that had been lost over the years on televised 'Doctor Who', Terry Nation oversaw and commissioned stories and features in these Annuals that reflected a decidedly more sinister and dark depiction of the Daleks than had been seen in print form before. The average dad buying these annuals at newsagents of the time for their Whovian child probably wasn't aware of the adult nature of the contents, packaged as they were in hardcover tomes similar to children's storybooks! The 'mature content' appeal of these stories, presenting the Daleks as creatures worthy of such morbid fascination, is what stands these Annuals apart from other spinoff material from 'Doctor Who' of this era (it was, after all, not so many years removed from comic strips featuring 'Dr Who' and his, for unexplained reasons, human 'grandchildren' tussling with and catching an escaped monkey thanks to The Doctor's ingenious plan of...throwing his Edwardian coat over it!). The material remains fresh and engaging to adult readers, and, in this case, listeners. The Daleks are taken deadly seriously, and not as objects for The Doctor or anyone else to ridicule. I will not expend much words slavishly promoting the audio wizardry of Nick Briggs: the man has been a creative driving force within Big Finish Productions, producing authorized 'Doctor Who' audio-plays for decades now; he's also the voice of the Daleks (and Cybermen, and every 'other' monster real or imagined) in New Series TV 'Doctor Who'. His work has, and does, speak for itself. His recreations of the stories and features assigned to him in this work are excellent; his tone is serious, factual, and he presents it as a seasoned veteran voice actor would and should. Top marks. Matthew Waterhouse (who played doomed companion Adric in the Classic TV Series), is surprisingly excellent. I say 'suprisingly' because this marks the first time I've heard him portray a character 'other' than Adric. The nasal, braying Adric, still written and performed as the petulant child he was in his TV episodes as if the character is like a fly trapped in amber, is utterly absent here. Waterhouse is absolutely the right choice, and in stories such as 'Time Chase', and the features he reads involving Dalek weaponry, are fantastic. Louise Jamieson (who played Leela in the Classic TV Series), has a husky and weathered voice, but still it suffers from her inability to adequately sound like 'male' enough, in stories in which males are main characters with a lot of dialog. That's not her fault, of course, and perhaps in some of the stories it may have been a better option to have Waterhouse and Briggs share in the duties of reading those parts. But her work in this is the weakest; not the material itself, which remains excellent throughout. Just her reading of the material. I thoroughly enjoyed the study in minimalism this is presented as: well worth the money snent.