Doctor Who review: The Fifth Doctor enters the Time War in Shadow of the Daleks 1

The Fifth Doctor finds hints of both his old enemies and a huge war – a war that he really shouldn’t be part of – in the audio anthology Doctor Who: Shadow of the Daleks 1!

Shadow of the Daleks 1 stands out as a rather unusual Doctor Who audio from Big Finish. It’s not just because it’s the first half of a story, as the title implies. Rather, it’s the strange mix of an eight-part story with a distinct anthology – with an admittedly larger focus on the latter aspect.

Big Finish has had some success over the years with the anthology format. In fact, some of their best stories have been told in just half an hour. So it’s easy to see why they went with this format when having to work with the conditions of lockdown – especially when you’re using the same actors for every episode.

That’s the biggest hook for Shadow of the Daleks. While it’s very common for actors to play several different characters in a Doctor Who audio, this is one of the rare times when the Doctor actually notices it! Across various times and places throughout the universe, the Fifth Doctor keeps encountering the same faces, all with different lives. But why? And what’s really going on? That’s what he wants to find out.

Establishing the arc

The anthology begins with Aimed at the Body by James Kettle. When the episode begins, it has the Fifth Doctor meet a rather famous cricket player while he’s in Australia. While we get to learn a little about the history of the sport – and exactly what this player did that simply wasn’t cricket – the episode also has the important role of establishing the arc of Shadow of the Daleks.

What’s common to all four episodes in this release is that the Daleks don’t exactly feature too heavily. Oh, the Doctor does catch little glimpses of them now and again, but that’s it. However, it’s enough to grab his interest.

The second episode feels a little closer to a traditional Doctor Who adventure, albeit one told in just half an hour. Lightspeed is a rather fun story by Jonathan Morris – barebones in many ways, but fast-paced and extremely enjoyable.

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Hints of something bigger

The Bookshop at the End of the World by Simon Guerrier might be my favorite episode of this release. It’s small – it’s literally set in just the titular bookshop – but it’s a fantastic mix of mystery with character piece. In some ways, it even works well at using the Time War, though in a very lowkey way.

Interlude is a strange little story by Dan Starkey. One with quite an unexpected ending. It reveals a little more of the arc going on, but not much. With its tale focused on actors and the Doctor finding himself cast in a play, you can’t help but feel that there’s more going on with this episode than what’s on the surface. I expect we’ll find out next month when we reach the arc’s conclusion – and finally discover what’s really going on.

Shadow of the Daleks 1 is an interesting mix of short stories, while also acting as a portion of a larger one. Fans expecting the Daleks to play a major role in this release may disappointed, but overall, it’s an effective anthology, one that does a very good job at building up the presence of the Doctor’s old enemies. I’m curious to find out how it all ends next month.

Have you listened to Shadow of the Daleks 1 yet? What’s your favorite story from the anthology? Do you have any theories as to what’s going on? Let us know in the comments below.