Maius Intra Qua Extra

This review of the three Dalek Universe Tenth Doctor Adventure series isn't going to be in much detail, as I listened to the nine audios over a course of about two months and I just don't have the details in my brain. This is just a bit of description and my general impression.

Also, note that I have not heard the prequel story "The Dalek Protocol" with the Fourth Doctor. When I was done with the three series, I went to go buy the prequel and the other related Fourth Doctor audios and... Big Finish had just updated their site and broken everything. They just announced that they're rolling back, but I don't expect that'll complete for at least another week, and I wouldn't advise buying anything through their site for at least a month (let other people encounter the bugs).

Slightly spoilerific review.


The first thing I will note is that with a title like Dalek Universe, I assumed that this was going to be nine full audios of Nicholas Briggs with a voice modulator screaming at people, and I was hesitant to buy it. However, I figured (I think - this was back in 2020) that there'd also be David Tennant screaming back, and that was enough to convince me to preorder. (Though apparently not enough to make me listen to it until now.)

It turns out, there are hardly any Daleks at all. I'm pretty sure that there aren't any Daleks in the first series, they might not show up until the second audio in the second series, and in the third series, while they are part of the story, they aren't the focus.

The series is called Dalek Universe because it is set before the Time War and deals with Earth's struggle with the Daleks, but the stories are about the Earth side of things, not the war with the Daleks itself. You might be wondering how the Tenth Doctor could be doing things before the Time War, so here's the situation, with only a couple of slight spoilers that you'll find out before the end of the first audio anyway.

During a visit to Bury St Edmunds, the Doctor finds himself yanked through time and space, landing on the planet Mira in the far future and meeting up with old colleagues Anya Kingdom and Mark Seven, who are investigating a crashed spaceship. He realizes that he has somehow gone back before the Time War and that he doesn't have the TARDIS to get him back where he should be, and must find a way back.

Really? That's it? It takes him nine audios to get back to the right time track? Yes, because, of course, nothing is ever easy. He comes up with a viable plan at the end of the first audio, but every step of the way goes awry, resulting in the next adventure. The progression felt natural, like each audio was a part of the overall narrative. This was much better than the way Once and Future did it, where it felt like the adventures were unrelated, but at the end of each audio, the Doctor would get a clue that ultimately meant nothing except that it got him to the beginning of the next audio.

That said, the individual audios were all excellent and I think this is where the series really shone. All of the adventures were engaging and interesting, and both logical and twisty without being obtuse. I came out of each one excited and happy, and there isn't a single dud. They delved into the relationships between the Doctor, Anya, and Mark, which have been contentious in the past, and the Doctor and Anya had a lot to work out. Additionally, as a listener who hadn't heard any of the previous audios, I felt I was able to understand what was going on between them all; the audios gave enough information about their issues for me to work with.

The audios also developed Anya's and Mark's backstories and had them confront the ghosts of their pasts. And if you're like me, wondering how Anya Kingdom is related (if at all) to Sara Kingdom, yes, that's addressed as well.

So, all in all, I highly recommend this series. Great individual adventures, phenomenal performances, and a lot of fun plus great character development. And you don't need to have heard the earlier audios to appreciate it (though I am itching to get them to complete my understanding of Anya and Mark).