Doctor Who review: The Juggernauts is a grim but effective story
By James Aggas
With a slow but effective buildup and questions of morality, The Juggernauts may not be an epic adventure, but it’s certainly a decent Doctor Who story.
Davros, Daleks, and Mechanoids. The Juggernauts is a story that certainly throws in a lot of major elements for fans of the Classic Series. It’s also a bit of a direct sequel to Revelation of the Daleks, at least from Davros’s perspective, (it’s very possible that in The Curse of Davros, Six is meeting his old foe in the wrong order,) so there’s plenty of continuity for fans to enjoy. But does that make it a good story?
The first thing that stands out about The Juggernauts is that it’s a bit of a slow burn. Scott Alan Woodard’s story doesn’t immediately leap into the Doctor and Mel being caught in a war between the Daleks and the Mechanoids. Instead, it separates them at the start and jumps ahead several months later, at least from Mel’s perspective. We see Mel gradually get used to a life without the Doctor while waiting for him and making friends along the way.
At the same time, she also gets to show off her computer skills. Mel has often worked much better in Big Finish’s audios than on television. One of the main reasons for this is that the writers always remember how good she is with computers. So when she joins a team to work on the Juggernauts, she’s thrilled. Of course, the Doctor isn’t too keen on what they’re building – or who the chief scientist of this project is…
The Mechanoids had previously faced the Daleks in the rather fun story The Chase. But the take on them in The Juggernauts is much more grim.
(Photo by Len Trievnor/Express/Getty Images)
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Exploring morality
There’s an interesting exploration of morality in this story. Davros isn’t simply trying to breed a new race of Daleks like he often did in the TV series. This time, he’s trying to create a race of Dalek killers. On the surface, that sounds like a great idea. But what happens when the Daleks are wiped out? Does Davros really intend to bring peace to the universe? Or will he create something even more monstrous than the Daleks?
It’s not just Davros’s morality that’s explored in this audio. Along with her technical expertise, one of the brilliant things about Mel in the audios is her strong sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. So it’s always interesting to explore her morality and discover what happens when it gets pushed too far. And the final episode – where she truly discovers the worst of both the Daleks and Davros – definitely pushes Mel to breaking point.
The Juggernauts is an interesting Doctor Who audio. It’s definitely not an epic adventure story like Remembrance of the Daleks. It’s a little closer to the dark, character-focused Revelation of the Daleks, but with a great deal less humor. If you enjoy a slow-burning story that raises interesting questions of morality, then you should enjoy The Juggernauts.
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Do you enjoy stories that explore issues of morality? Do you think Davros is a good villain to explore those questions with? Let us know in the comments below.