good start to the excellent dalek empire series, showing us how the daleks usually operate of course, but also including an alternative take on resisting them which i found quite interesting

I feel a bit conflicted on this Story. Technically speaking it’s a solid Opener, setting up Bits and Pieces in place which will (I am sure) later pay off. Susan is honestly a pretty great Character from the Bits we have gotten here, and a lot of the Things presented here are Concepts which I do genuinely like (especially the second Half of the Story). The big ‘but’ here is sadly that I really couldn’t connect much with this Story that much, maybe my Opinion will change on it as I continue this Series/Spin Off Series, but I don’t know.

Solid Story, just not one, which doesn’t do much for me sadly.

I’m not a huge Daleks fans at all, especially on audio where I find I zone out if they have lots of dialogue. But something about this series just works.

The humans characters are great - Alby with his ‘everyman’ attitude but with secrets under the surface and knowing more than he lets on. Kalendorf, another man with secrets and powers and Suz - a woman thrust into an unenviable position.

The three main cast members, Mark McDonnell, Sarah Mowat and the incomparable Gareth Thomas give their all and Nick Briggs is on his A game as the many different Daleks (I’m especially fond of the booming Emperor).

The humans are what makes this work - their plight (which rattles along giving the audience hardly time to draw breath) is horrific. Suz and Kalendorf are literally at the rock face of Dalek occupation. Alby meanwhile is thrown from near death situation to near death situation. Self-preservation almost makes him seem selfish but his knowledge of the Daleks means he knows he has to play the long game if he is to survive long enough to find Suz and complete his mission.

But what surprises me here is the Daleks. As I say, they often lose me on audio but this group are fascinating. This is the scheming Daleks of David Whitaker. Their manipulation of Suz is astounding but the subtle in-fighting gives them an edge rarely seen in the Daleks. Lower ranked Daleks questioning how Suz is being allowed to dictate Dalek policy and being shouted down by the Supreme but then the Emperor shouting down the Supreme - the hierarchy is fascinating and really makes their scenes something worth listening to.

Even though I’ve listened to this before, I can’t actually remember many of the details as to where the story goes so I’m looking forward to exploring this world again.

(It would help, though, if they didn’t have Nick Briggs and Ian Brooker obviously playing so many different parts in the same episode though…)

I really liked this, I wasn't sure at first but over the course of the episode I found myself really buying into this new corner of the Whoniverse. Really liked Susan and Alby! I'm intrigued as to how this spin-off manages to last for so many series, but it has me excited!

A strong start to the story, but it's definitely the start.

The daleks themselves are portrayed really well here, and Susan hits the ground running as our newly introduced protagonist. Other than her though this story definitely feels more like it's setting the groundwork for things to come rather than being a fully compelling story on it's own.

That said, it's not a major critique at all, sometimes you do need to lay that groundwork, and I think for a story that's going to be an ongoing one in a setting thats very much alien to us as listeners, it's a good idea to make sure we understand everything that's going on before continuing on.

There's a nod in here to The Apocalypse Element which I haven't listened to. I get the impression it's not a super-major requirement, but might add to the story. Still, even knowing it exists is nice, I love it when the universe is tied together like this.

Overall, Susan is the high point, and I can't wait to listen to the rest!