Straight after leaving Skaro, the Doctor and Jamie encounter a human colony under attack – but can it really be by a Dalek?

The genesis of the plot for this early 2nd Doctor tale – set literally moments after the TARDIS dematerialises from Skaro at the end of The Evil of the Daleks, so presumably in the fade to black early on in The Tomb of the Cybermen – comes from producer Ian Atkins’ idea of something that the Daleks themselves fear. It’s an idea that has been expressed before, and grew through the New Adventures into the RTD era of the television show – at least, that it’s the Doctor who they fear, their “mortal enemy” as the 7th Doctor goaded in Remembrance. But what if it isn’t the Doctor?

George Mann’s script sets up the evil that’s going on Tersimmon and provides the clues to the solution from early on (you can sympathise with the Doctor being surprised at Jamie not keeping up). The Doctor’s guilt at events on Skaro plays into this heavily and Mann uses the way in which Jamie’s faith in the Doctor was sorely tested during the past few days to add an element of uncertainty to proceedings, with Frazer Hines getting a chance to show some different sides to the Doctor en route.

Emma Samms is the principal guest star as Anya, who initially seems from a similar mould to many other leaders from the period, with Nick Briggs’ Dalek getting some unusual dialogue. Lisa Bowerman allows the potential ambiguities to build and there’s some clever use of sound design by Richard Fox.

Verdict: Although it somewhat  takes the shine off the finality of The Evil of the Daleks for the Doctor and Jamie, this is a good look at the consequences that the era didn’t always allow. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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