Your Gateway to the Universe of Doctor Who

NB: This review was written before the animation was available

We all have our own ‘fan-minds’. Opinions on stories are formed often when we are newish fans. Sometimes its influenced by ‘fan wisdom’; sometimes from having read the novelisation first. For me, I’ve always had an ‘opinion’ on the two David Whitaker Dalek stories: Power and Evil. This opinion was formed from listening to the cassettes of the soundtracks way back when (yes, the cassettes, people – I’m that old). As far as I’ve been concerned, The Power of the Daleks was the stronger of the two stories. The Evil of the Daleks always left me a little non-plussed. Now, admittedly, I haven’t listened to The Power of the Daleks for a long time (and won’t, in this marathon, for a few years to come), but I have come to appreciate The Evil of the Daleks a little more. I don’t think I’m quite at the levels of praise given by some fans, but equally, I don’t have the issues with the story that some detractors can have (including a rather damning review by Graham Kibble-White in an issue of DWM a few years ago).

I will focus on the Victorian aspects of the story for the most part, but the opening makes for interesting watching/listening (I went, as is my usual, with the audio soundtrack – as well as the existing episode, of course). The pairing of the 2nd Doctor and Jamie is absolutely golden and this is evident from episode 1 onwards. I enjoyed the tracking down of clues and the mystery presented by Waterfield. His character is one of the reasons I decided to include the story now in my marathon. He is every inch the Victorian gentleman, even when supplanted to 1966. I love the stuff where he doesn’t understant Kennedy’s vernacular and seems wary of the telephone.

Episode 2, having been available for quite a while (since the release of the VHS, Daleks: The Early Years) has always stuck with me. The Doctor and Jamie arriving at the shop, stopping the bell from ringing and musing over the antiques is an iconic scene for me. I also love the bit where the Doctor deduces there is another room behind the bookcase. What’s less appealing in the slightly odd, campy performance of Geoffrey Colville as Kenneth Perry. His delivery of the ‘they seem to have disappeared’ line which segues into the Victorian part of the story is so camp, I’m surprised scouts aren’t having a gang show in the shop. Quite why the Doctor and Jamie can’t have just left the shop rather than ‘disappeared’ is beyond me (the viewer knows they have done just that but Perry has no reason to be quite so ‘spooky-voiced’ about it).

Another reason I plumped for sticking this story here, was the fact that I realised the Victorian-set section is easily my favourite part of the story. From Mollie Dawson’s first appearance to Maxtible’s bubbling laboratory to Kemel’s silent yet powerful friendship with Jamie, most of this part really works. I say most of it because there are a couple of niggles. Ruth Maxtible, Arthur Terral and Toby are superfluous to requirements. Brigit Forsyth, as Ruth, has a thankless role as she contributes absolutely nothing to the story. Frankly, Mollie does more. Arthur, although linked to the plot, has a role in it which doesn’t seem to make any sense. Why is he being controlled? Is he a test subject? Why does he get Toby to kidnap Jamie? Nothing to do with him is really explained. Even his mood swings don’t really make sense as he seems confused/nasty/apologetic/desperate depending on what the scene requires him to do rather than any consistency with how his implant is affecting him.

But if we leave those three characters aside, the rest of this section has a lot to enjoy. Maxtible is a fun creation and his interplay with Waterfield is fascinating. One man driven by greed, the other by desperation, makes for a good contrast. The introduction of Victoria is also nicely handled (although the stuff with her mother’s portrait is a bit of a non-sequiter). Isn’t it good that we have Deborah Watling’s first appearance on film still? I realised, in this story, that Watling is actually very, very good. Her performance hasn’t yet reached the hysterical heights it will do as Season 5 progresses. Here she delivers a very convincing performance; even if her look (huge dress aside) does smack more of a 1960s girl than and 1860s girl (particularly the hair).

Another character I like is Kemel. I know there is much that could be written about the implicit racism – much as we have seen with the character of Toberman in the following story – but here I think, inability to speak aside, we have a better version of the muscular yet sensitive henchman trope. It is frustrating that Kemel is mute, particularly as much of the fourth episode involves Jamie and Kemel fighting and avoiding traps with very little dialogue (not a great match for audio). But his bond with Jamie is convincing as is the way Maxtible treats him like a simpleton. Maxtible’s attitude is consistent with the way he treats everyone, including Waterfield and Mollie. There is no trace of this condescension in Victoria, Jamie, Waterfield or the Doctor. The upstairs/downstairs aspect of Victorian life is something not much explored by Doctor Who but it is interesting to see the division of characters in this story: Mollie, Kemel and Toby are all treated as intellectually inferior to the Maxtibles, the Waterfields and Terrall; but it is done in a subtle way.

The trappings of Victoriana, from evidence of the existing episode and the telesnaps, are well-realised. I rather like how we have the bubbling, equipment-filled laboratory of Maxtible. A mad scientist’s lab, ala Jekyll and Hyde, is something we haven’t seen very much on our 19th Century journey. As I’ve commented before in my reviews, there seems to be an obsession for 19th Century-set Doctor Who stories to focus on the supernatural and spiritual fascination of Victorians rather than the scientific advances. It’s touched on a little in stories such as The Crimson Horror, and in the Jago and Litefoot series, but there are far more ghostly adversaries in this century for the Doctor to battle than mad scientists. Maxtible, therefore, stands out in this century, as a proper bonafide bonkers villain. He becomes steadily more unhinged as the story progresses and its almost a shame that he is ‘Dalekised’ in the final act as this robs his character of any nuance; or grand insane Zaroff moment for that matter. The almost fantastical science of this story – alchemy and mirrors that allow time travel – though, still fits with the obsession Victorians had with trying to marry the scientific and the supernatural.

To be honest, I sort of lose interest once the story arrives on Skaro. The Daleks are one of the least interesting monsters for me and whilst I quite enjoyed their being juxtaposed against a Victorian mansion, once we get back to their home planet I’m not as bothered. The Emperor Dalek is a good creation although I’ve always found the Doctor’s line about wondering when they would meet a little odd as there has been absolutely no indication up to this story that such an entity exists; but then the Doctor’s relationship with the Daleks has always been a moveable feast, what with their first encounter more or less being retconned by Nation and subsequent writers so that they could quickly become the mortal enemies we recognise them as now.  I’m also not convinced by the ‘human Daleks’.

It’s a nice idea, but the whole ‘dizzy Doctor’ stuff is a bit irritating. I think better use was made of these characters in the DWM comic strip Children of the Revolution. That said, it’s interesting that the humanised Daleks are used as a means of finishing off the Daleks, apparently for good (although I wonder how many viewers at the time, actually believed it was the final end proper for the series most loved and well-known monsters).

Something I do like, though, is the edge to Troughton and Hines’ performance of the scenes where Jamie loses his trust in the Doctor. Troughton really does come across as ‘alien’ and there a couple of times when it isn’t fully clear whether the Doctor has Jamie’s best interests at heart. It’s an enigmatic portrayal of the Doctor which doesn’t really appear again till Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy’s time – certainly it’s not something I feel we get from Pertwee or Tom. Yes, Tom plays up the ‘alienness’ of the Doctor, but I think its in a different, less sinister way. Some of Troughton’s scenes in this have an edge which is a little uncomfortable. Hines pitches his reactions as Jamie perfectly. These two really are a dream team of Doctor and companion.

The DWM review points out that The Evil of the Daleks is the show’s first visit to Victorian England and how surprising this was to the reviewer. Of course, technically the show visited the Victorian period in The Gunfighters, but he is right that it took so long for the series to visit this era. Can you imagine the 1st Doctor pitching up in Victorian London; how interesting would that have been? The ‘Edwardian gentleman’ persona of the 1st Doctor would have melded so easily into Victorian society that I think there could have been some interesting story possibilities.

I’m not falling over myself with praise for The Evil of the Daleks – I do think it’s too long at 7 episodes; I don’t think Maxtible ends up as a convincing character (having started out quite interesting; the lack of visuals is always going to hurt any serial; and I’m a self-confessed ‘not-a-huge-fan’ of the Daleks). However, I did find much to enjoy this time round.

Animation update June 2025:

The animation for this story is a really good production and does bring the story to life.  The all but silent episode 4 is convincingly animated (although it does remain a little clunky due to the this animation style's limitations).  I still don't think, though, that any animation can truly reflect the nuances and brilliance of Troughton's performance.  I tend to watch the colour versions of the animations but have decided this creates a slight disconnect for me as the stories were never shown originally in colour.  I will continue to watch the colour versions to begin with but on repeated viewings I think I will be more inclined to watch the black and white version or, indeed, the telesnap reconstructions.

Something Chris Chibnall does really well is setting up a story, and this episode is no exception. There’s a lot going on, but it’s interesting.

The Halloween Apocalypse starts off with a burst of chaotic fun as the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz are already in the middle of an adventure.

Then we meet Dan, who gets a pretty charming introduction as he tries to pass himself off as a tour guide at a museum. He flirts a bit with Diane, who actually works at the museum. It’s cute.

Next up is the main villain. He comes across as powerful, but I hope we’ll get more insight into his motivations, right now, he just seems generically evil.

Karvanista (a dog-like alien) makes a sudden appearance at Dan’s house, which is one of the episode’s funnier moments. It's still unclear exactly what's happening, but the sheer strangeness of it all makes it fun. It ends with Karvanista kidnapping Dan.

One moment I really liked was in the TARDIS, where Yaz confronts the Doctor about keeping secrets. It’s rare that Yaz gets to show this much personality, and it adds tension to their dynamic.

We're also introduced to yet another character, Inston, who witnesses the destruction of a planet. At this point, it feels like a bit too much. The episode is crowded with characters, and it’s hard to connect with them all.

We later see the villain reunite with his sister. I’m not a fan of their design — they’re just kind of ugly, and not in an interesting or scary way. Plus, their “Thanos snap” trick of killing random people doesn’t have much emotional weight because we haven’t had time to care about those people.

We meet Diane again, and this time she seems to know the Doctor in some way. Her later scene stepping into a creepy house and meeting the villain’s sister adds to the intrigue, even if we don't fully understand her role yet.

Back to Yaz: I’d forgotten how angry she was at the Doctor in this era, but I liked that tension. It gives Yaz more depth, and their conversations feel more emotionally grounded.

Dan and Yaz’s first meeting is also a fun moment. Their banter works well and gives both characters some levity.

One twist I liked was the reveal that Karvanista isn’t kidnapping Dan he’s saving him from the Flux, whether Dan wants to be saved or not.

Meanwhile, Inston pops up again, still worried, while even more planets are destroyed. It’s all very dramatic, but a bit relentless.

I also enjoyed the gag where the Doctor returns Dan’s house in miniature form a nice bit of weirdness.

Then we get even more characters, including a couple of Sontarans. They seem pleased about the Flux. I know it’s a controversial opinion, but I prefer the Sontarans' look during the RTD and Moffat years. Being a clone race, it made more sense that they looked nearly identical.

The Doctor and her friends investigate the Flux itself, watching as it devastates world after world. It looks impressive, but it’s not that interesting though to be fair, large-scale threats are rarely the thing I enjoy most.

We meet the villain again, and apparently, he’s encountered the Doctor before but she doesn’t remember. I really like this kind of mystery being set up.

In the end, Karvanista and his people save Earth by forming a protective shield. Interestingly, the TARDIS doesn't hold up as well as his ships some parts of it start breaking down, adding to the sense that something’s seriously wrong. But it feels weird that the TARDIS is worse at protecting itself from the Flux than Karvanista’s ship, especially since we’ve heard so many times before that it's indestructible.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the mysterious bearded man who shows up with no explanation. He appears at both the beginning and end of the episode.

Overall, this is a pretty solid setup for the season. There’s a lot of promise here, and I’m curious to see where it’s all heading. That said, the episode tries to do too much at once. It might’ve worked better if they had delayed the introductions of Inston, the bearded man, and maybe Diane (after her first appearance) until later episodes. The constant stream of events leaves little room to breathe, making the pacing feel rushed and uneven.

Still, it's an engaging start, messy, but ambitious.

The second episode of Flux is a big step up from the first. Where “The Halloween Apocalypse” often felt chaotic and a bit scattered, “War of the Sontarans” delivers a much tighter and more engaging story. It’s not flawless, but it’s certainly more compelling.

The highlight for me is the Doctor’s storyline. The idea of the Sontarans rewriting history to take Russia’s place in the Crimean War is a classic Doctor Who twist. Watching the Doctor try to set things right is exciting, and the episode isn’t afraid to touch on darker themes. I especially appreciated the moment when humanity disappoints her by blowing up the retreating Sontarans, it felt like a great homage to classic Who.

Dan’s part is also fun. Running around Liverpool with a wok, trying to fight off aliens, he brings some much-needed comic relief. He’s quickly becoming a favourite.

The weakest part of the episode, for me, is Yaz’s subplot. Despite being in the show for three seasons, she still fells flat to me, I just don’t feel like I know her. Her scenes in the mysterious temple fall flat, they’re visually interesting but emotionally hollow. She’s told to “repair” something she doesn’t understand, then the big bads of the season show up, do something vague, and kidnap her. It’s meant to be a cliffhanger, but it didn’t really land for me, mainly because the villains are so underdeveloped. They feel like they’ve learned all the worst lessons from the MCU: flashy designd villans with no clear motivations.

Still, overall, this is a solid episode. Strong central storyline, some great character wok work with Dan, and enough mystery to keep things moving. I bumped my rating up to 4/5 on this rewatch.

A Liz Shaw story (yay!)… written by Trevor Spencer and read by Bill Baggs (ehhh…). It’s about what you’d expect. This is written to further tie Hellscape, the series that produced Mission: Find Lilith, to the wider universe. It does so by informing us thatLucifer - Spencer’s Venusian OC - is at some point a member of PROBE. His brother, literally named Satan, is not pleased by this and takes it out on poor elderly Liz and her wife-to-be. If you like Liz as a tough character, you’ll probably be disappointed. It doesn’t help that Baggs doesn’t have the emotional acting that Caroline John or even Hazel Burrows has when they play Liz, and his voice is so monotonous you almost wonder if it was AI or that British text-to-speech voice they used to use in YouTube videos. It’s your standard modern BBV work and yet it feels somehow worse than usual. What an achievement!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

"EMPIRE OF DEATH – A TARGET-SIZED TOMB FOR SUTEKH'S RETURN"

Scott Handcock’s Empire of Death—the novelisation of The Legend of Ruby Sunday and The Empire of Death—joins the recent crop of Doctor Who Target books that don’t just adapt their televised counterparts but enrich them. With Handcock’s insider insight as the series' script editor, this version feels like the definitive director’s cut of the 2024 finale. It may not fix every flaw from the TV version, but it adds texture, atmosphere, and thematic clarity in all the right places.

EXPANSIONS THAT BREATHE LIFE INTO DEATH

Right from the outset, Handcock adds value. The book opens with a newly written prologue that sees the Doctor travel to 1940s America and to several alien worlds (such as Vortis, from The Web Planet), hoping for a chance encounter with the ever-present mystery woman. It’s a compelling cold open that deepens the creeping paranoia surrounding Susan Triad’s many incarnations. Just a few chapters later, another clever use of structure emerges: a mid-book “prologue” that recounts Susan Foreman's adventures, grounding the Doctor’s emotional stakes and subtly introducing long-time fans to the novel’s mythic aspirations.

The core plot remains faithful to screen. Every major beat, from Ruby’s quest for her origins to the final confrontation with Sutekh, is here—complete with intact dialogue, as one might expect from a Target novelisation. But what elevates the book is the way it fills in the cracks.

Minor characters are fleshed out, notably Colonel Chodozie, whose fate on-screen was swift but shallow. Ruby’s adoptive mum Carla gets more room to breathe in an extended scene at home before being whisked away to UNIT, adding warmth and grounding. Susan Triad’s chilling transformation is granted more interiority, while additional glimpses of the “other Susans” across the universe being corrupted by Sutekh give the cosmic horror a grander sense of scale.

Rose Noble—sadly sidelined on screen—is given a touch more material here, and a few reinstated moments (like the origin of the dog whistle) help explain unresolved plot threads.

WHERE EVEN A NOVELISATION CAN’T SAVE EVERYTHING

For all Handcock’s efforts, some of the issues that plagued the TV episodes remain unsolved. The infamous “SUE TECH” anagram reveal is still as nonsensical in prose as it was on screen. The Time Window sequence—visually striking in the episode—loses a great deal of its mystique in pure description, and the longer 2046 interlude continues to bog down the pacing between Sutekh’s reveal and the final showdown.

Harriet Arbinger is no more developed here, remaining a cipher despite being the herald of death itself. And the final battle, while clearly described, just can’t match the punch of seeing the Doctor dragging Sutekh into the Time Vortex. The visual spectacle is too intrinsic to the moment to fully replicate.

Perhaps the biggest sticking point is the continued deflation around Ruby’s parentage. The story goes out of its way to suggest a monumental reveal, only to undercut itself by insisting Ruby is “just an ordinary girl.” This may be thematically noble, but it feels anticlimactic, and the novelisation doesn’t offer any additional insight to reframe it more satisfyingly.

📝THE BOTTOM LINE:

Empire of Death is a thoughtful and textured adaptation of the 2024 Doctor Who finale. Scott Handcock’s prose is clean and propulsive, and his additions offer new emotional depth and world-building flourishes that enhance the televised story without smothering it. While the novelisation can’t entirely salvage the plot’s more questionable choices—especially the SUE TECH twist and the drawn-out middle act—it delivers what fans come to Target books for: clarity, character, and expansion. Not a perfect resurrection, but a worthwhile one.

Rating: 7/10