|
|
|
Dalek Empire: On The Brink Of War
|
This article originally appeared in Bite 12 of the popular UK fanzine
Shockeye's Snack in February 2003.
Nicholas Briggs' Dalek Empire series is one of the most epic dramas connected to Doctor Who ever produced. Spanning a number of years and numerous locations as it follows the Daleks' conquest of the universe, where it really shines is in its characters, as without strong and believable ones which the audience can care about, epic dramas can come across as cold and hollow. With this series, the journey and progression of the principal characters Susan 'Suz' Mendes, Alby Brook and Kalendorf is the most arresting aspect as Briggs subjects them to the true evil of the Daleks…
For the bulk of the series, Sarah Mowat's Suz Mendes is the main character. After the Dalek occupation of the Vega system cut off her burgeoning relationship with Alby Brook, she found herself a slave of the Daleks. Her continued defiance brings her to the Daleks' attention, where she bargains for food to give the slaves hope in return for making them work efficiently. This begins her journey as the Daleks order her and Kalendorf, a fellow slave - with secrets of his own - whom she brings to give her hope, around all their enslaved worlds to inspire the workers into efficiency. As she becomes known as the "Angel Of Mercy", she and Kalendorf, unknown to the Daleks, are laying the seeds of revolution wherever they go. After years of work, the Daleks finally conquer all the entire universe, and on the planet Yaldos Suz is ordered to make a speech to all the slave worlds telling them of this. Suz uses this as an opportunity to utter the words "Death to the Daleks!" which begins the revolution on countless worlds, but she is seemingly exterminated in the process...
Gareth Thomas' Kalendorf is a Knight of Velyshaa, yet when he is caught up in the Dalek invasion of Vega VI it takes Suz's acts of defiance to persuade him to give in to his inborn survival instinct and go on. With his telepathic abilities, Kalendorf is a formidable ally to Suz and she insists he accompanies her when the Daleks wish her to repeat her inspirational speech on other worlds. Over the years, Kalendorf comes to resent Suz for making him help the Daleks, but he knows it must be done for their revolution to succeed. When the time comes to strike back, he begs Suz to let him make the message so he can die with honour and escape the shame of the years of betrayal, but she won't let him as she needs to say the words herself. After it has begun, Kalendorf is the natural choice for the leader and he soon realises the Daleks' retreat is too easy. After discovering the Daleks plan to take Project Infinity, he, with Alby, leads an attack on the Infinity complex in the Lopra System, only to be overwhelmed by the arrival of more Daleks and captured for placing into cryogenic sleep...
Alby Brook, played by Mark McDonnell, is an undercover Space Security Agent on Vega VI when he meets Suz for the first time, and his relationship with her drives his actions throughout Dalek Empire as she introduced beauty into his troubled life, and after loosing her during the Daleks' occupation, he's prepared to die trying to find her again. It is a quest that will take him years, and over that time he changes as a person, becoming more embittered and less jovial as he looses his legs in a Dalek attack on Guria and discovers that acquaintances he's come to trust are working secretly for the Daleks. When he finally catches up with Suz on the planet Yaldos, he's told that he's too late and the Daleks have already killed her as she began her uprising. Awoken from a deep depression over Suz's death only by the fact she left him a legacy to follow in discovering the Daleks' plans for Project Infinity, his and Kalendorf's attack on the Lopra System ends in more betrayal and their capture by the Daleks. An uncertain destiny awaits him, but as the Daleks prepare to put him into cryogenic sleep, he discovers that Suz may not be dead after all and may have suffered the same fate as he is about to be subjected to...
But what of the Daleks themselves? In using Project Infinity to open a gateway to an alternative universe where the Daleks have total control, the Emperor Dalek has made a grave miscalculation, allowing the Alternative Daleks into this universe, only to find that they are dedicated to peace. As the story concludes, the war between these two factions is only beginning. As for what happens next, the sequel series Dalek Empire II: Dalek War may provide the answers...
|
The Tertiary Console Room
> Miscellaneous
> Article - Dalek Empire: On The Brink Of War
