The Time Lords send the Doctor on a mission to Skaro…

There’s been a lot of chatter about this release in recent weeks, particularly since the launch of the trailer. This isn’t a Lost Story in the traditional way that Big Finish has presented them – scripts from the show’s past that didn’t make the cut for whatever reason (in some cases, it has to be said, because they’re not very good and no amount of polishing up disguises that!) but which present a different take on the eras from which they came. It’s not even similar to The Ark or Return of the Cybermen releases deriving from the same season – the versions that were delivered by the original writers before Robert Holmes did some drastic surgery on them. This is the original script for what became episode 1 of Genesis of the Daleks, followed by the outlines of the remaining five instalments.

It’s presented in an unusual way too with the stage directions written by Terry Nation read out by Nick Briggs (and not in a Dalek voice… which could have been fun!) and Tom Baker, Sadie Miller and Christopher Naylor playing the Doctor, Sarah and Harry, alongside Terry Molloy’s Davros and a full cast directed by Samuel Clemens. The differences are noticeable, not purely because of the way the dialogue is divided (so lines we expect to hear from one character originally were spoken by another, and some of the best known dialogue isn’t actually there yet), but also the performances. Baker sounds incredibly weary in the early scenes but livens up once the action moves inside the Kaled bunker; both Miller and Naylor are uncannily like their predecessors at times, but there are elements that aren’t quite as we’ve come to know them (Harry’s not just stubborn but positively bolshie at one point, for example). Jaspreet Singh’s sound design cocoons the listener at times in the devastation of Skaro, while Briggs’ music emulates Dudley Simpson’s score.

Parts two to six are read by various members of the cast – with Miller and Naylor’s contributions written as if by their characters, which is slightly disconcerting initially – and again, it feels familiar yet slightly askew from what you might expect. The one thing you might expect from the trailer that isn’t present is Baker narrating any of the existing episode.

The second disc is an interview with Genesis of the Daleks’ producer, Philip Hinchcliffe. This is a wide-ranging and highly enjoyable chat and Samira Ahmed brings a forensic knowledge of the era to bear – not simply with regard to Doctor Who, but more widely in society (if you’ve not heard it, find her documentary on Mary Whitehouse which is fascinating listening). Sure, there are some well trodden anecdotes, but this is very much the audio equivalent of Toby Hadoke’s Collection interviews, bringing together familiar and unfamiliar aspects of the period. It’s a real shame that this is the only such interview feasible for the 1970s era of the show now.

Verdict: An unusual treatment for a piece of Doctor Who history, coupled with a strong interview with one of the key players of the era. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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