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Doctor Who spin-off review: Noel Clarke stars in Dalek Empire: The Fearless Part 1

By James Aggas

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The fourth series of Doctor Who spin-off Dalek Empire takes us back to the era of the first series, as we’re introduced to a brand new team when The Fearless begins.

There’s a clear reason why the fourth series of Nicholas Brigg’s Dalek-focused Doctor Who spin-off isn’t called Dalek Empire IV. While Dalek Empire III was successful, Briggs didn’t want to continue from its incredibly dark and uncertain ending. Instead, when he got round to writing the next series, he decided to rewind the clock back to the era of the first series: right in the middle of humanity’s long and brutal war against the Daleks.

But despite Sarah Mowat appearing in this series, the original characters of Susan Mendes, Alby Brook and Kalendorf aren’t the main focus here. Instead, the series focuses on an elite team of soldiers: the Fearless, lead by their bold leader Salus Kade.

It’s actually refreshing for the series to focus on some of the human warriors. Despite the first two series focusing on a full-on war between the Earth and Dalek Empires, we actually didn’t see that much of it, not up close, anyway. While Kalendorf was a natural born warrior, he was also a slave for most of the first series and a Supreme Commander for the second. So while he was a key part of the war, we didn’t get the average warrior’s perspective with his character.

So it’s great that Dalek Empire: The Fearless offers us that perspective. In fact, it gives us a very different look at the Dalek invasion altogether. Especially with how it introduces Kade.

Noel Clarke as Kade

Salus Kade is living a tough but rewarding life on the planet Talis Minor. He loves his wife and daughter very much, and isn’t interested in saving the galaxy. He also believes that there’s no way the war will affect him or his people. Talis Minor is a small world, one that’s not even allied with the Earth Empire. He highly doubts that either side would be interested in him or his people. Of course, he’s about to discover just how wrong he is…

The first chapter of The Fearless is primarily focused on introducing us to Kade and how he ended up becoming a soldier. He’s someone who’s used to a tough life, so he comes across as pretty tough himself. He’s a million miles away from Mickey Smith, despite being played by the same actor, Noel Clarke.

Clarke does a pretty solid performance as Kade. Like I said, the character’s tough, and Clarke plays that really well. Because he’s so radically different, it’s not too distracting that he’s played by the same guy who played “Mickey the Idiot”.

Maureen O’Brien as Landen

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He’s not the only Doctor Who actor to appear in this series, either. Maureen O’Brien, who played First Doctor companion Vicki, plays Commander Agnes Landen. As the creator of the Fearless, she’s looking for the best possible men to join her Spacer team. She thinks Kade would be perfect for it. But how far would she go to recruit him?

Once again, O’Brien’s new character is worlds away from her previous Doctor Who role. Landen isn’t as openly tough as Kade, and does seem to have a strong caring side. But she’s also desperate to win the war at any cost, and there are hints that, despite her almost motherly attitude at times, there’s a darker edge to her.

Overall, Part 1 of The Fearless is a really solid start to Dalek Empire‘s fourth series. Even while it’s firmly set during an era that we’re completely familiar with, it’s definitely a fresh take on the series, giving us a very different angle on the original story. An excellent jumping-on point for the series.

Next. Faith: How two key stories explore it. dark

Have you listened to Dalek Empire: The Fearless? What did you think of Noel Clarke and Maureen O’Brien in their new roles? What did you think of The Fearless compared to previous series? Let us know in the comments below.

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