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"Is this a Dalek I see before me?"

 The Fifth story of this second 'season' of stories, starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and India Fisher as companion Charley Pollard, is titled "The Time of the Daleks". As the title suggests the Daleks are back. This story has been written by Justin Richards, directed by Nicholas Briggs and was recorded on the 22nd and 23rd January 2001.

Audio - The Time of the Daleks
The Time of the Daleks
(Justin Richards)

 With the Web of Time at breaking point, and the Daleks seemingly in full control, can The Doctor and Charley save Shakespeare?

 The answers lie in the Eighth Doctor's debut audio adventure with the dreaded Daleks - and for this, a crucial component of their 2002 Paul McGann season, Big Finish co-producer Gary Russell turned to writer Justin Richards who knows the Eighth Doctor (and indeed, Shakespearean drama) very well.

 "The Time of the Daleks" is Justin Richards' first Doctor Who audio play since May 2000's "Red Dawn", which featured the Fifth Doctor, Peri and the Ice Warriors. However, Justin Richards is better known for his role as consultant for the BBC Books' range.

 The cast list includes: Don Warrington, Dot Smith, Nicola Boyce, Julian Harries, Jem Bassett, Mark McDonald, Lee Moone, Ian Brooker, Ian Potter and Robert Curbishley. Nicholas Briggs and Clayton Hickman have supplied the Dalek voices.

"A world of conformity. No individuals, just a mass of humanity following orders.
A world where there's no thought. No imagination. No love."


Eighth Doctor
Eighth Doctor
 As the Dalek Empire continues to spread through the galaxy, the Daleks are experimenting with time yet again. This time they are attempting to conquer the fourth dimension and travel back to the post-apocalyptic 21st century Earth to find a particular leader who can aid them in their quest which involves Shakespeare - which could explain their strange dialogue. But the Daleks are not fully aware that the consequences of doing this can have very unpredictable results especially when The Doctor becomes involved.

 The Doctor and Charley arrive in 21st century Britain and find a country torn apart by rebellion, a leader obsessed with Shakespeare and a time machine that has been made from clocks and mirrors. And then there are the Daleks...
Daleks

 To The Doctor, this time device is crude and unworkable, and yet it does - leading him to wonder if the Daleks know more than they are letting anyone else to believe. However, inadvertently the Daleks trigger an explosive series of events which The Doctor is forced to mend before everything is destroyed by the Dalek's meddling with time. And then, when he the terrible truth about the Dalek's plan begin to dawn on The Doctor, he becomes distracted by his concern for Charley, who finds herself trapped in the past.

 But in General Maria Learman's New Britain, others are also conducting time experiments of their own. A tempest in time has brought the Skarosian 'scholars' here, which creates extreme turbulence in the Vortex that was responsible for the buffeting The Doctor and Charley experienced before they even reached New Britain.


India Fisher
India Fisher
 What connection do these events have with the gradual, unexplained disappearance of Shakespeare, 'the greatest playwright in the universe' from England's history? Could this account for the unusual vocabulary of the Daleks that The Doctor and Charley meet in Learman's palace? What connects the array of mirrors in Professor Osric's breathtaking Hall of Clocks with a trapped Dalek time ship? Can The Doctor trust General Learman - and with rebels close at hand, can the General trust her own niece, Viola? Has Shakespeare really disappeared from Earth's history and if so where has he gone?

 With rebels attacking the palace, the Daleks agreeing to help Learman - but on their own terms - and The Doctor unwilling help, it looks as if nothing is going to stop the Daleks in their preparations to become the Masters of Time.

 But could The Doctor have overlooked something. Something very important - Could Charley herself be at the very heart of all the recent events and time distortions which could threaten her very existence? There is only one person who can stop the Daleks. But can he also save Charley?

 Only time will tell. If there is any left…

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Notes:
  • Featuring the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard.
  • This story includes the Daleks.
  • Serial Number: 8K
  • Number of Episodes: 4
  • Cover Length: 110 minutes
  • Episode Lengths: 1 = 31'24", 2 = 30'02", 3 = 28'05", 4 = 32'00"
  • This story takes place after "Doctor Who: The Movie".
  • Cover Illustration: Clayton Hickman
  • Recorded: 22nd and 23rd January 2001
  • Recording Location: Christchurch Studios
  • Released: May 2002
  • ISBN: 1-903654-61-0

On the Back Cover:

 The Doctor has always admired the work of William Shakespeare. So he is a little surprised that Charley doesn't hold the galaxy's greatest playwright in the same esteem. In fact she's never heard of him.

 Which The Doctor thinks is quite improbable.

 General Mariah Learman. ruling Britain after the Eurowars, is one of Shakespeare's greatest admirers, and is convinced her time machine will enable her to see the plays' original performances.

 Which The Doctor believes is extremely unlikely.

 The Daleks just want to help. They want Learman to get her time machine working. They want Charley to appreciate the first ever performance of Julius Caesar. They believe that Shakespeare is the greatest playwright ever to have existed and venerate his memory.

 Which The Doctor knows is utterly impossible.
 

On the Inside Cover:

 THERE IS ALWAYS THE temptation to try to 'update' the Daleks. but the danger with reinvention is that you might invent-out the very elements that made the thing successful in the first place. So you have to tread carefully, and you have to decide what those elements are, and play to them. Having decided for myself what I thought they were, then I thought about 'reinvention'. Or possibly 'rediscovery'.

 The Evil of the Daleks has always been a favourite story of mine. One reason is that the Daleks work so well within their city, because they are so totally in-keeping with the surroundings. Yet they are equally impressive and striking in the Victorian manor house - because they are so out of place, so bizarre.

 As a starting point for The Time of the Daleks, tasked myself what the aural equivalent of this bizarre image might be - what could a Dalek say that is striking and frightening simply because it is so totally out of character? And having decided on that, all I needed was a story in which Daleks' have a plausible reason for saying it.

 Well, okay, it wasn't quite that straightforward. Nothing about the Daleks ever is. They are such stuff as nightmares are made on...
Justin Richards,
January 2002
 
FOR
JOHN NATHAN-TURNER,
WITHOUT WHOM...
 

Full Cast List:

Part One
The Doctor Paul McGann
Charley Pollard India Fisher
The Orator Don Warrington
Dalek Voices Nicholas Briggs
General Mariah Learman Dot Smith
Viola Nicola Boyce
Major Ferdinand Julian Harries
Kitchen Boy Jem Bassett
Priestly Mark McDonald
Hart Lee Moone
Professor Osric Ian Brooker
Mark Anthony Ian Potter
 
Part Two
The Doctor Paul McGann
Charley Pollard India Fisher
Major Ferdinand Julian Harries
General Mariah Learman Dot Smith
Viola Nicola Boyce
Dalek Voices Nicholas Briggs and
Clayton Hickman
Professor Osric Ian Brooker
Priestly Mark McDonald
Hart Lee Moone
Kitchen Boy Jem Bassett
 
Part Three
The Doctor Paul McGann
Charley Pollard India Fisher
General Mariah Learman Dot Smith
Major Ferdinand Julian Harries
Dalek Voices Nicholas Briggs and
Clayton Hickman
Hart Lee Moone
Viola Nicola Boyce
Kitchen Boy Jem Bassett
Priestly Mark McDonald
 
Part Four
The Doctor Paul McGann
Charley Pollard India Fisher
General Mariah Learman Dot Smith
Dalek Voices Nicholas Briggs and
Clayton Hickman
Major Ferdinand Julian Harries
Priestly Mark McDonald
Viola Nicola Boyce
Army Officer Ian Potter
Marcus Robert Curbishley
Professor Osric Ian Brooker
Kitchen Boy Jem Bassett

The Production Team:

Writer Justin Richards
Director Nicholas Briggs
Sound/Music Nicholas Briggs
Theme Music David Arnold
Producers Gary Russell and
Jason Haigh-Ellery
Executive Producer for the BBC Jaqueline Rayner
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