• The Enemy of My Enemy is Big Finish’s second full-cast Time Lord Victorious (TLV) drama, part of their contribution to the Doctor Who multi-platform crossover event. Picking up on the cliffhanger of He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not, the Eighth Doctor finds himself ambushed by a unusual bunch of Daleks. Forced into an unholy alliance, he joins their mission to the formerly dead world of Wrax.

This planet’s apparent revitalisation has the Dalek Empire deeply concerned; the rise of Wrax illustrates the growing threat of time anomalies, bringing hitherto unknown races to the fore. More importantly however, they are desperate to learn the secret of the Wraxian’s power!

The Dalek “Time Squad”

As the Doctor observes, the Daleks are running scared. It is a fascinating position to find them in and they are quite the diverse bunch; ostensibly led by the booming-voiced Time Commander, the true power here is the ancient Dalek Prime Strategist. It is the one which actively pursues and protects the idea of working with the Doctor. It also stars in the new YouTube animation Daleks!

Despite rivalling the Daleks, the Wraxians are not a militaristic threat. Instead, they exude an aura of superiority with confidence derived from the power of their super-weapon; horrific in nature, their President Sarathin (Rachel Atkins) coolly rationalises its devastating effect on their enemies. Effectively rebooting rival species is a lovely concept, linking back to the ideas of the Short Trip Master Thief.

Writer Tracey Ann Baines’ story sits the Doctor in the middle of the two species and the repartee between Paul McGann and Nicholas Briggs’ raspy Prime Strategist is delightful. Allying the Doctor with the Daleks is great fun – their common goal managing to temporarily override the usual hostilities. Might this be the closest we ever get to the idea of a Dalek companion? With a multiplicity of Daleks present, each with distinct personalities, our particular favourite is the Executioner; given that trigger-happy is the natural Dalek state, it is some achievement that this one is so supremely belligerent!

In the Extras, we hear from director Scott Handcock about the work involved to piece this production together. Each of the performers recorded individually, but you would never know from the final product; a testament to Big Finish’s consistently high production values. In addition to Peter Doggart’s immersive sound design, there is a pulsating score from Ioan Morris too, which is also provided as an isolated six-minute suite.

Coming Soon

Next month, the Eighth Doctor’s TLV trilogy will conclude with Mutually Assured Destruction, featuring more from the Dalek Time Squad. Additionally, the Fourth Doctor will feature in Genetics of the Daleks.

Also due in December, from BBC Audiobooks, is the Tenth Doctor tale The Minds of Magnox, to be released in a variety of formats. However the Eighth/Tenth Doctor crossover tale Echoes of Extinction, on Vinyl from Demon Records, and as a Big Finish download, has fallen foul of the pandemic and has been understandably postponed until February 2021.

Doctor Who – Time Lord Victorious: The Enemy of My Enemy is available on CD and download from Big Finish.