Daleks Among Us (Alan Barnes)

The first release for September 2013 is called "Daleks Among Us" and sees Sylvester McCoy, as the Seventh Doctor, and Tracey Childs, as UNIT's scientific advisor Dr Elizabeth Klein, and Christian Edwards, as Will Arrowsmith, in the third and final release for 2013.

This story has been written by Alan Barnes and has been directed by Ken Bentley. It was recorded on the 5th and 6th February 2013 and features the vocal talents of Nicholas Briggs as the Daleks and Terry Molloy as Davros. Also starring are: Jonathan Forbes, Tim Delap, Jessica Brooks and Paul Chahidi.

This story sees the long-awaited encounter of former Nazi scientist Elizabeth Klein with the Daleks - a race who very much adhere to some on the principles Elizabeth Klein used to hold dear. This story also concludes Elizabeth Klein's and new companion Will Arrowsmith's sabbatical from UNIT.

Seventh Doctor

Elizabeth Klein - Companion to the Seventh Doctor and formally the terrifying Nazi scientist in the same story as Davros and the Daleks - at first this seems an irresistible combination 'But there's a massive pitfall there', writer Alan Barnes has revealed. 'Once you've got Daleks and Nazis, you're just aware that there's a massive trapdoor underneath you - overplay it, and it's horrible; underplay it, and it's glib. Hopefully we've trodden a very, very careful line down the middle'.

Closer to the heart of this audio adventure is Elizabeth Klein's own, personal journey, which has developed over more than a decade's worth of storytelling in the real world, and entire alternate timelines within the fiction. 'You get to hear Klein facing something for which she is completely unprepared and you find out how much she knows about her alternative existence. It's a play very much about trust as well. Does The Doctor really believe in her? Can a leopard ever change its spots? I felt very strongly that we had to answer those questions. It's quite trite, but you can't help but think of Old Klein as "Bad Klein" and New Klein as "Good Klein", so I wanted to show that they're the same character but shaped by different experiences'.

This story is also the first meeting of the Seventh Doctor and Davros on audio, following a single television encounter in the 1988 story "Remembrance of the Daleks", which kept the characters at arm's length. 'I was very conscious that in Remembrance, they only actually talk to each other over a screen, for a few seconds', Alan Barnes has revealed, 'so I wanted to give them a chance to have a good long chat face-to-face. This story has so much to do - so much to do, it's enormous! - but I was very aware Remembrance does tack Davros on at the end a bit, and although he makes an impact he doesn't play a massive part. So in Daleks Among Us he has his own story running parallel with The Doctor's, and with Klein's and with Will's. An awful lot of plotlines to weave together!'.

On the Back Cover:

AZIMUTH DEPARTMENT OF RE-EDUCATION REMINDER: TO ALL CITIZENS There are no Daleks on Azimuth. There have never been Daleks on Azimuth. Twenty years ago, the Daleks did not invade Azimuth. There was no war. There were no death camps. A man named ‘the Doctor’ did not help liberate Azimuth. There are no such things as Daleks. They do not exist. There are no Daleks among us. UPDATE: TO ALL CITIZENS A strange blue box has not appeared in Monument Plaza. Off-worlders named ‘the Doctor’, ‘Elizabeth Klein’ and ‘Will Arrowsmith’ are not at large in the city. For your own safety, should you not see any of the above, report at once to the Department of Re-education, Azimuth Central. NEVER REMEMBER