With a wonderfully temporal twist at its heart, this is the second in a trilogy of post-Trial stories for Peri and the Sixth Doctor.

Materialising in the Scottish Highlands of 2163, the time travellers discover they are on an Earth under the Dalek control – the very same regime which the First Doctor helped to overthrow a year later, seen onscreen in ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’.

The pair arrives in time to stop a stoning of Ross Nicolson, a petty thief. Mob rule has taken hold and power is wielded by local Magistrate Alan Weir (Brian McCardie), a cowardly bully of a man. When the Daleks appear to press gang recruits for their refinery, Peri is abducted along with both Weir and Ross.

To further complicate matters, and in time honoured tradition, the Doctor loses access to his TARDIS as it sinks into a muddy bog. Resorting to more mundane transport, he sets off to rescue Peri on a ‘borrowed’ motorbike.

Taking its cues the black and white adventures of the 1960s, we encounter some familiar threats; Robomen, the brainwashed slaves of the Daleks, feature heavily as do the infectious Varga plants and the fearsome Sylther.

The comics provide inspiration too; while the characters embark on a cross-country chase, they encounter Daleks on transolar discs – personal hover platforms from a time before they gained the trick of levitation. Indeed, their less sophisticated nature is commented upon by Peri, noticing the little “satellite dishes” on their sides.

Placing an Eighties Doctor in the midst of Sixties Dalek action is a masterstroke. It nourishes the nostalgia we have for that era and at the same time prompts a fascinating dilemma. How far can the Doctor go to save people without disturbing the future, which is his own personal past? While his knowledge of future events usually gives him the edge, here it becomes a dangerous and limiting burden.

Not realising the Doctor’s predicament, Peri feels he wants to run away and it causes her to question how well she really knows the Time Lord after their period of separation.

Supported by an excellent guest cast including Hugh Ross and Tracy Wiles, plus the usual pitch perfect Dalek vocals from Nicholas Briggs, this tale is a great homage to the heights of Dalekmania and dares to ask a very important question… Is the word ‘Dalek’ actually just Kaled for stubborn?

Extras: A music suite plus seven and a half minutes of interviews with the cast and crew.

Released in November 2014 by Big Finish Productions Ltd.

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