Whose destiny will be decided in the confrontation between the Dalek Supreme, the First Movellan, Davros and the Doctor?

SPOILERS

And so we come to the end of Dalek Universe, Big Finish’s homage to and extrapolation from the epic Dalek Masterplan that unfolded 55 years ago. The Doctor and a member of the Kingdom family are on Kembel and seem to be the only ones standing firm… but in this case, they may have an unlikely ally in the First Movellan.

You did see the spoiler warning?

I didn’t believe for one second that we wouldn’t hear Joe Sims in this final box set – he’s been far too important a part of the story to date that even if we got a Peri-esque mention that somehow he’d survived certain death (and of course, yes, I had confidence that it would be far more than that), there’d be something. But what we learned at the end of the previous episode came as a shock. The First Movellan? It’s a genius idea, and establishes Mark Seven firmly in the Doctor Who universe as a key component. We’ve had alternate ideas for the Movellans’ genesis before (in W** of the D*****) but this one fits everything neatly into place.

Everyone brings their A game to this finale, from Matt Fitton’s script (with a great summation of the 10th Doctor’s, if not every incarnation’s, philosophy) to David Tennant, Jane Slavin, Joe Sims, Joseph Millson, Nick Briggs, Ajjaz Awad and Terry Molloy. Howard Carter’s sound and score are beautifully balanced – and he and Ken Bentley use the music almost as a character in the last few minutes. All involved – including producer David Richardson and script editor John Dorney – deserve the praise that’s come their way for this series.

Verdict: A cracking conclusion to a terrific series. 10/10

Paul Simpson

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