Renaissance of the Daleks

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Circular Time: Summer

I was really concerned going into this story that it would be another generic "______ of the Daleks" story but I was gladly surprised. I can definitely see why people wouldn't like this one but I thoroughly did. It's extremely silly and that's why I like it. I appreciate Dalek stories that don't try and make them some ominous near-unstoppable threat only them to get defeated anyway because they always do.

Besides the silliness, there are actually some really good elements in this. The supporting cast that act as the Doctor's companions are really interesting and I wouldn't have minded them as a TARDIS team. It's a very refreshing mix of characters and the way they interact is good fun. They all share something in common being soldiers but are otherwise completely different. A medieval knight, a confederate soldier and an American soldier from the Vietnam war. I really like how they don't question their surroundings too much and jump straight into action.

To compensate for the large and diverse cast of characters though, the Doctor and Nyssa are generally quite bland in this which is a real shame as they've been on an excellent streak of stories. I also find it odd that this is their second story set during the events of The Daleks' Invasion of Earth with the Daleks trying to change the events of said story so that they win. Atleast this one is better than The Mutant Phase but not by that much.

Next Story: Circular Time: Autumn