Doctor Who Review: ‘The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Blood of the Daleks’ audio
By James Aggas
Big Finish
The Eighth Doctor meets a new companion and faces an old enemy, in the opening story of The Eighth Doctor Adventures, ‘Blood of the Daleks’!
The opening story of The Eighth Doctor Adventures, Blood of the Daleks, was a story with quite a shopping list. First, it had to introduce new companion Lucie Miller to the Eight Doctor and the audience. Second, it had to immediately establish that this was a completely fresh starting point for new listeners. This included a new shift in format, at least for the Eighth Doctor. Third, it also had to include the Daleks.
How quickly Blood of the Daleks establishes both Lucie Miller and her relationship with the Eighth Doctor is possibly its strongest point. Lucie Miller, within just the opening scene alone, is established as someone very different to most other companions. (With the possible exception of Donna. Interestingly, Lucie’s first episode was broadcast just a week after Donna’s first story, The Runaway Bride.)
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I absolutely loved the Eighth Doctor and Charley, at least in their first two seasons. The chemistry Paul McGann and India Fischer shared was brilliant to listen to, and the characters fitted perfectly together. But what I really love about Lucie is that the writers completely avoided copying that success. From the start, Lucie is rapidly established as her own companion.
A new relationship
For one thing, Lucie and the Doctor do not get on well at all. In fact, at this stage, they really can’t stand each other. Now, when taking an approach like this, there’s a risk of making one or even both characters unlikable to the audience. I think this was a problem that the Sixth Doctor and Peri had in their TV stories. There were times that the writers tried too hard to make their friendship as antagonistic as possible.
I think what really makes it work with Eight and Lucie is that, for both of them, there are understandable reasons why they don’t immediately like each other. Lucie literally arrives out of nowhere in the Doctor’s TARDIS. He didn’t ask for her to be there, and yet they’re stuck together. The reasons for this become clearer as the story goes on.
Lucie isn’t happy about this, either. She was just living her ordinary life on Earth before she was forced into someone else’s care. Someone she doesn’t even know and who becomes annoyed with her very, very quickly. So both sides are established as being equally sympathetic, which helps.
Great casting
What also helps make Lucie so likable? Sheridan Smith. Right from the start, she plays Lucie perfectly. I remember being very surprised by her casting when I heard about it back in 2006. While she has since performed in many high-quality TV dramas since then, at the time, she was more well-known for starring in very crude sitcoms, such as Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. So it was difficult for me to imagine her as a Doctor Who companion.
However, Blood of the Daleks very quickly changed that. It didn’t immediately make her one of my all-time favourites. (That came with time). But Sheridan Smith really did nail the role right from the first episode. She brought a lot of life and depth to the character and made her just that little bit more believable.
Speaking of actresses being great before they made it big, this audio also features Hayley Atwell as Asha. Made several years before she came to international attention as Peggy Carter in Captain America and her own spin-off, Agent Carter, it’s certainly interesting listening to it now and noticing how good she is in the role. It’s quite a complex role that she’s got in this story too. Listening to Blood of the Daleks again, I think she performs it really well.
Big Finish
Fresh starting point
I mentioned earlier that Blood of the Daleks was also meant to be a fresh starting point for new listeners. Overall, I think it does a very good job of that. While the Daleks do show up, there are very few references to previous continuity. Hardly any at all to the Doctor’s previous companions, in fact. (At the time this story was written, Charley’s and C’rizz’s exits had yet to be written.) Its primary focus is introducing the new companion and establishing her new relationship with the Doctor, which it does nicely.
Blood of the Daleks also establishes very quickly the new format of The Eighth Doctor Adventures, as influenced by the New Series. There’s a nice fast pace to the story and it immediately jumps into things straight away. There are also hints of an arc, too. Not just with Lucie’s past, but also with the new character known as “the Headhunter”. She only briefly shows up in this story, but it’s clear she’s going to be popping up quite a bit in this first season.
One thing I particularly liked was how important the Time Lords are from the start. They don’t show up personally, but they effectively make their presence known through Lucie. What I really liked about this was how clearly it established this series as a prequel to the New Series.
Admittedly, with its focus on the Eighth Doctor, that was obvious already. But I liked that the writers took full advantage of when its set. It feels very close to feeling like something out of the New Series at times. At the same, the Time Lords having such a strong presence also gives it more of a distinct identity. It was a really neat way of introducing a bit of Classic Series mythology to a new audience without overdoing it.
A low-key opener
As for the story itself? For a series opener, Blood of the Daleks is surprisingly low-key. In this one, they’re not out to conquer or destroy the whole universe for once. Instead, it’s something of a smaller, almost everyday scenario for them.
Set far in the future on a colony world called Red Rocket Rising, it’s a rather grim story of what happens when disaster strikes in a big way. And when the Daleks arrive, you know things are going to get so much worse.
I actually liked the approach this story took. In some ways, it reminded me of The Power of the Daleks, Patrick Troughton’s first story as the Second Doctor. That story was equally focused on a smaller scale battle between the Doctor and the Daleks. It also shows the old pepper pots to be more cunning and deceptive. Particularly as, in Blood of the Daleks, they actually turn up as “rescuers”. Overall, it’s a refreshingly different take on the Daleks.
Blood of the Daleks is a story that begins The Eighth Doctor Adventures on a very strong note. It’s a great starting point. The new companion is established rather brilliantly. Lastly, the Daleks are used in a refreshingly different way. It’s a new era for the Eighth Doctor, and it kicks off with a very effective opening story.
Next: Season 10 Superlatives: Cutest Couple…it’s a TIE!