Doctor Who review: Liberation of the Daleks is an epic first adventure for the Fourteenth Doctor

Back in Oct 2022, Doctor Who fans were left with quite a major cliffhanger. While we knew that David Tennant would be returning on-screen in the following year's anniversary specials, we were left with the shocking reveal that he was now playing the Fourteenth Doctor, not the Tenth. Of course, fans had to wait over a year to see the "new" Doctor's first story.

Or did they? While fans had to wait a long time to see the Fourteenth Doctor on TV, his first adventure would begin in the pages of Doctor Who Magazine. This was definitely a major first. Not in the sense that a post-regeneration story was told in expanded media - for example, the War Doctor's first chronological adventure was told in Light the Flame, the first episode of the audio series The War Doctor Begins.

But this was the first time that a post-regeneration story for a current Doctor would be explored in other media. On the one hand, it's an extremely bold move. After all, expanded media in general is enjoyed by a much smaller portion of the fandom compared to the TV series. So normally, there'd be the danger of locking a large portion of the audience outside of a major story.

But at the same time, this wasn't your typical "new Doctor" adventure. Fans had already seen Tennant as the Doctor before, so we basically had a good idea of what to expect from his character. The story also takes place over the course of an hour or so in the Fourteenth Doctor's new life. So while normally post-regeneration stories would be about the new Doctor discovering who they are, in this case, they're mostly familiar with themselves already, and any new moments (like being surprised at finding someone like Sir Isaac Newton "hot", for example) would be saved for the TV specials.

So which enemy does the Fourteenth Doctor face in his first-ever adventure? Well, just as Fourteen has a familiar face, they're also reunited with an even more familiar enemy...

Daleks!

It seems almost a cliche that the first monster a Doctor encounters is the Daleks. But in its own way, it also makes sense. Every numbered Doctor has encountered the Daleks at least once. (If not on television, then at least in expanded media.) Also, not only does the Fourteenth Doctor have an extremely short run on TV. His adventures also take place in an extremely short time frame, too. So ensuring that his first adventure is a Dalek story is a nice way of ticking a key box immediately.

And make no mistake, this story is full of Daleks. Not just in terms of sheer numbers, either. We see Daleks from across different eras, ranges, media. (One of my favorite moments was seeing a stained glass Dalek from Sixth Doctor audio Order of the Daleks make an appearance.) Amazingly, even the Daleks from the '60s comic strips have a key part to play in this one!

How all these different Daleks from different continuities exist is given an elegant and clever explanation. Liberation of the Daleks has a lot of major twists and turns thanks to Alan Barnes's fast-paced script, and it goes in directions you wouldn't expect. So if you haven't read it yet, I really don't want to spoil it. I'll just say that not everything is as it appears in this one...

Epic imagery

Liberation of the Daleks moves at an incredibly fast pace, and it's definitely easy to believe that it takes place just over an hour or so. From the very beginning, the Fourteenth Doctor is thrown into action, and there's not a single moment where he's given a break. So honestly, if you're looking for deeper, quieter moments, this story doesn't provide them.

But then again, it's not meant to. Liberation of the Daleks isn't your typical post-regeneration story. All of Fourteen's more reflective moments are saved for the specials. What Liberation does do is provide a fun, non-stop Dalek adventure, one that simply escalates until it leads to an all-out Dalek war. Alan Barnes clearly had a lot of fun writing this one.

Of course, I have to mention Lee Sullivan's excellent artwork for this story. From the opening installments, Barnes asks for a lot from the artwork, but Sullivan definitely delivers. The final few installments are particularly amazing to read. Sullivan gives us plenty of truly epic imagery that's a joy to see, especially for Dalek fans.

If you haven't read Liberation of the Daleks yet, then it's definitely worth checking out, especially the trade paperback edition collecting the whole serial. It's a short read that's a lot of fun, and along with providing fans one more adventure with the Fourteenth Doctor, it's also a great read for Dalek fans, too.