Review of Daleks! Genesis of Terror by OctaviaTheNerd
1 May 2024
Remember when The Lost Stories used to actually be full of unmade adventures? I do too. Unfortunately, the last 2 series of it have mainly been comprised of serials from Season 12 in their "original drafts" (barring The Doomsday Contract, a genuine Lost Story). This release, Daleks! Genesis of Terror, is once again a foray into the original drafts of Season 12. The main "sell" of this release is the full cast episode one and then the rest of the episodes are the story outlines read by other members of the cast.
This, quite simply put, is a release that does not need to exist. I very rarely give things a 1/10 but this warrants it. Very little has changed from the Genesis we saw on TV and the minutia that are different were taken out with good reason. To give this release some credit, Christopher Naylor as Harry is a delight as always and Tom Baker never puts in a bad performance. That is, unfortunately, all of the positives surrounding this release. The audio mixing is abysmal on this release, making it sound like they're all cramped in a cupboard. Yes, I know this was remotely recorded but Shadow of the Sun proves the mixing can be done well so there's no excuse for the shoddy mixing here. Also bundled with this release is an 80 minute interview with Phillip Hinchcliffe that I'm not sure anyone has actually listened to yet.
Overall, a disappointing and ultimately pointless release that I fear may spell the end of this revived series of The Lost Stories