The Tertiary Console Room > Miscellaneous > Article - War And Order: An Overview Of The Dalek War Series News | Audio Titles | Forthcoming Releases | Chronology | Cast & Crew | Reviews | Miscellaneous | Site Search | Links | Forum | E-Mail Related Links Dalek Empire II: Dalek War Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 War And Order: An Overview Of The Dalek War Series Written by Simon Catlow This article originally appeared in Bite 16 of the popular UK fanzine Shockeye's Snack in July 2003. It contains significant spoilers! As the Dalek Empire series concluded with the Dalek Emperor's attempts to establish supremacy over the universe, he opened a portal into another dimension where the Daleks of that universe had already gained absolute power. His gravest miscalculation was underestimating the alternative Daleks for they believed that in conquering and subjugating the galaxy, the Daleks of this reality had committed the greatest crimes their universe had ever known. The Dalek War had begun… By showcasing some very human characters, struggling against the oncoming tide of the Dalek invasion of the galaxy, Nicholas Briggs's Dalek Empire series became one of Big Finish's most critically acclaimed spin-offs from its Doctor Who range. Wary of treading the same ground, for Dalek Empire II: Dalek War Briggs takes these characters and places them into a much more intense drama where the scope of the story is tightly focused on a specific phase of the war, rather than the planet-hopping excursions of the original series. Dalek War is a story where the humans are caught up in a battle between the two Dalek factions but it also addresses ideas of determinism by showing how the different ideologies of the Daleks impact upon an individuals freedom. Structurally, Dalek War is very different to its predecessor as its first three chapters are all closely linked and sequential although the fourth and final chapter is something of a throwback to the style of the first series where Briggs takes the listener into the far future to examine the conclusion of the story through the eyes of history, but because previous chapters have included 'flash-forwards' to this scenario, it flows together well. These flashes of discussion between Siy Tarkov and Saloran Hardew are used to emphasise elements of the main linear narrative to either cast a different interpretation of the actions taken or to stress their importance in the unfolding drama. The first two of the three main elements to the plot of the Dalek War series are focused predominantly on the characters of Kalendorf and Suz, with the third being the future events showing the context of the Great Catastrophe, which Kalendorf seems intimately involved in bringing about. This last plot is entwined into the earlier threads but Briggs is careful not to play his hand to early and it is only with the final chapter that the answers about why Tarkov and Hardew are examining the past become clear. The war began because of the Dalek factions' opposed ideologies. While the Daleks of this universe are dedicated to conquest and destruction, the alternative Daleks are seemingly diametrically opposed with their commitment to peace and order. After forming an Alliance with the enslaved races, the alternative Daleks, led by their creator the Mentor, managed to capture the Emperor of the Daleks, but their attempts to use him to take control failed after he powered down. After years of struggle, the Alliance has pushed the enemy Daleks back to their stronghold of the Earth's solar system and it is the battle for control which forms the main thrust of Dalek War's narrative. Kalendorf, the Knight of Velyshaa who befriended Suz in Dalek Empire and led the rebellion against the Daleks in the wake of the Angel Of Mercy's battle cry, is the main focus of Dalek War and it's very much his story. After being freed from cryogenic suspension (along with Alby Brook and Mirana) by the Mentor's Daleks, Kalendorf soon becomes her fleet commander in the newly formed Alliance, leading the battle again and driving the enemy to the brink of defeat. During the first chapter, Kalendorf appears loyal to the Mentor and her cause, but the strong undercurrent of tension and mutual suspicion that is present between them foreshadows what is to come. Kalendorf's intent appears to be to destroy the enemy Daleks for good, and Briggs uses his future commentators to invite the listener to question and doubt his motivation for this, raising the tension of the drama. The level of unease and distrust shown means that it is no surprise when a flashback reveals Kalendorf informing his most trusted colleagues Alby and Mirana that he has uncovered evidence that the Mentor has been attacking planets that refuse to cooperate with her. The Mentor's Daleks are as ruthlessly determined about creating and enforcing the order as the enemy are in creating destruction. By showing this, it demonstrates why the other main characters have been acting contrary to the Mentor's wishes as well. After the surviving enemy Dalek forces destroy themselves in a suicidal bid to halt Kalendorf's progress, the change in situation forces Kalendorf to abandon his cautiousness and press home their advantage to strike and prevent the battle being prolonged indefinitely due to Dalek reinforcement. Kalendorf's reasoning makes sense, but this and his willingness to utilise the terra-formed planet Jupiter which the Mentor sees is clearly a trap, contributes to the deterioration of their relationship over the way the battle is being fought. It is this that convinces the Mentor that he is working to his own agenda. Dalek War - Chapter Three is the most crucial of the series as this is when Briggs advances the drama by revealing the truth of Kalendorf's plan. When the fleet discovers that Jupiter is alive with Vaarga plants (a nice use of existing continuity from The Daleks' Master Plan) which quickly infect the soliders sent down to the planet, causing them to turn against their former allies. In the chaos that follows as the Alliance vessels begin tearing each other apart, this is a turning point in the war as the enemy Daleks, who seemed almost defeated, have regained the upper hand almost as if they knew what was going to happen. It is no coincidence that Briggs chooses this moment to highlight that Kalendorf is thought of in the future as the Dark One, who brought about the Great Catastrophe that devastated the universe but Tarkov's harsh view is tempered by Hardew's belief that perspective is important in understanding Kalendorf's decisions, as to win the war he must first be prepared to risk everything. The Mentor relieves Kalendorf of his command, convinced that he has betrayed their cause by willingly leading their forces into destruction and she also knows that he has acted against her wishes by saving the life of the dangerous enemy Dalek agent, Susan Mendes, and has been passing information to the enemy. Despite being accused of treachery, Kalendorf remains extremely calm and manages to escape from his ship and heads towards the approaching Defiant where Suz and Alby await. His personal alliance with the Dalek Supreme comes as a shock and it is on Kalendorf's signal that he commands the destruction of the surviving Alliance fleet. Kalendorf believes in his goal and he is prepared to sacrifice as many lives as necessary to attain a universe free of the Daleks forever. The other main plot running through the first three chapters is the story of Suz's recovery and examining the effects her cryogenic freezing and Dalek conditioning had upon her. Dalek War - Chapter One shows the extent of how far the other characters are prepared to go in order to accomplish Kalendorf's plan by retrieving her, even though the Mentor had ordered her destroyed as the Dalek conditioning was thought too far advanced to be undone. Alby destroys an Alliance freighter carrying the body of Suz and others set for destruction, while Mirana arrives later to retrieve the debris and the pod containing Suz's body. When Suz is finally awoken, Briggs uses the situation to bring both the listener and the character up to date by using Mirana to relive the past through a series of flashbacks, showing Kalendorf, Mirana and Alby's revival and subsequent meeting with the Mentor where she explains the rationale behind their war. By keeping the image of the Mentor back until this point, Briggs keeps the revelation of who she is a surprise as she seems to be the opposite of this universe's Dalek creator. While this was happening, Alby had been distracted by a strange signal which he followed back to a hidden medical space station, where there is evidence of a massive battle between the two Dalek factions. This brings him into contact with a woman named Moril, who appears to be the only survivor and has a naivety about her which hints at the darker purpose for which Briggs intends her introduction. Somehow though, the enemy Daleks, who always know more than they should, are aware of Alby's presence onboard the station and capture him, forcing him to take them to the Defiant and Suz. While these flashbacks punctuate the drama during Dalek War - Chapter Two and Chapter Three this part of the story is very leisurely paced because nothing can happen until Kalendorf makes his move, which renders the drama more introspective as Briggs examines how these characters cope under pressure. Suz had an opportunity to kill herself but elected not to take it to save the lives of the other humans onboard the Defiant and this thought will play on her mind during these chapters as her death will mean the end of the enemy Daleks as the recovery of their Emperor's consciousness housed within her own mind is their only means of salvation. She feels selfish for putting her need to keep others alive at the expense of her own life and feels like she's given in to the Daleks again as she did so long ago on Vega VI when she agreed to take the first steps on the road to becoming the Angel Of Mercy. With the Defiant's crew imprisoned by the Daleks in the hold, Briggs shows the strength of feeling and belief amongst the Alliance in the Mentor and their cause. Mirana's first officer, Marber, believes strongly that the Alliance is the only reason they have been able to defeat the enemy Daleks and as the Defiant takes them closer into the solar system, he comes into conflict with Mirana over Suz's continued existence. He knows her significance to the Daleks and believes they cannot let them recover their Emperor. He has become blinded to the truth of the Mentor's course of action, despite having heard the rumours of the ruined worlds, because his hate for the enemy Daleks means he cannot see beyond that to the danger of the their own ally whose offer of freedom is an illusion. The Mentor offers a universe where everyone will be free to do whatever they want provided it is line with her vision of peace and order, otherwise they will be dealt with for the good of the many. The human factor shows itself as the Defiant hostages decide to fight back against the Daleks, when it becomes clear that they plan to gas them. In the resulting melee, Mirana and Marber flee in an escape pod, while Alby shows his devotion to Suz in that he refuses to leave her again as he did before. Suz in turn shows how much she values Alby when the Daleks stun him, but she believes him dead and with her love gone she sees no reason to go on living. This act provokes a sense of desperation in the Daleks, demonstrating their need to recover the Emperor from her mind and admit Alby is merely stunned but will be exterminated unless she surrenders. Suz, again finds herself with no choice but to give in to them. As Chapter Two ends, Suz cannot resist the Daleks as they enter her mind and bring the Emperor to the forefront of her consciousness - they are part of each other, one and the same… This proves to be more foreshadowing of what is to come than a permanent change for Suz, and it leaves her, Alby and Morli as the prisoners of the Daleks again. Morli's naivety and her tendency to ask inappropriate questions at difficult moments, make her appear rather simple and harmless but it does shatter the mood of the scenes of intimacy between Alby and Suz. In the following scenes involving the escaping Mirana and Marber, Briggs illustrates how even one of Kalendorf's closest allies abdicated responsibility of being involved directly in what he was planning. They have little air and fuel left, while their hope of tracking down Alby's abandoned scout ship seems a forlorn hope which means they are characters who know the end is near. Mirana, pressurised by Marber who wants to know what Kalendorf is up to before he dies, she admits that she doesn't know because she feared how far he'd go to rid the universe of the Daleks. As she confesses her worst fear that Kalendorf would change sides, it is a very poignant moment yet shocking because one of the central characters has died a most inauspicious death which also stresses the idea that death in war isn't always heroic. This is also a foreshadowing of where Briggs is taking these characters as he is showing that as the story reaches its conclusion, no one is safe. It is a testament to the quality of Briggs' plotting that it has the ability to surprise, which is what happens when the seemingly innocent Morli very quietly suggests to Suz that it is time to do what she wanted and kill herself. It transpires that Morli had been subjected to the Mentor's conditioning at the station where Alby rescued her, and she is symptomatic of life under the Mentor's protection. She sees thing extremely clearly and knows that the only way is to be on the side of the good Daleks and the bad Daleks must be destroyed at any cost. She cannot allow them to get their Emperor back and Alby is powerless to stop her as she begins to choke the life out of Suz. It is only the arrival of the Daleks who exterminate Morli that saves Suz, and her reaction to what happened contrasts Alby's brilliantly in that she sees Morli as brave because she died for a cause she believed in, something which Suz couldn't do, and Alby dismisses Morli as being simply brainwashed. Alby becomes increasingly suspicious when he discovers that Kalendorf is in contact with the enemy Daleks and his level of incredulity is intensified when the Dalek Supreme agrees to Kalendorf's request to remove the Daleks from the Defiant before his arrival. When Kalendorf seems deliberately to exclude him from his reconciliation with Suz, it fuels Alby's suspicions to the point of paranoia. Kalendorf communicates telepathically with Suz and while she is appalled by his actions, she understands the need for pure destruction and agrees to help. The final scenes of Dalek War - Chapter Three are some of the most emotionally charged and intense seen in the whole series as after Suz informs Alby that Kalendorf is going to use her reputation as the Angel Of Mercy to form a new alliance with the enemy Daleks against the Mentor's forces, he is stunned and believes Kalendorf has been selling them out all this time. When Kalendorf refuses to justify his actions, Alby threatens to kill him but Kalendorf keeps his calm. Alby, maddened with rage, believes Suz is under Kalendorf's influence and she must trust him and see Kalendorf as a traitor. As Kalendorf begins the transmission, a weapon is fired… The obvious parallels to the Blake's 7 finale, emphasised further by Gareth Thomas' involvement, ensure the listener is likely to make the wrong assumption here and Briggs springs yet another surprise as Suz demonstrates that sometimes love isn't enough as she kills Alby to ensure that Kalendorf's plan to save the universe and destroy the Daleks can go ahead. She sacrifices Alby because she can now put her love behind her as she sees in the greater scheme of things it is not as important as the good of the galaxy and without this she has put everything she has on the line to enable Kalendorf to live and complete his plan. Dalek War - Chapter Four is distinct from the other instalments in that it takes place mostly in a bleak and desolate future, the result of the Great Catastrophe. It clears up who Tarkov and Hardew really are and what their role has been in aid of by showing the context of their recollections. With the emphasis that this is the final chapter of the whole story, Briggs infects the drama which a harshness which emphasises the fact that this is the endgame. Tarkov's arrival at the outset on the planet Velyshaa automatically connects the events to Kalendorf, as he himself was a Knight of Velyshaa. Tarkov is searching for Hardew because he needs her help. She is an embittered figure, angry with those who laughed at her for suggesting the Great Catastrophe was really a war which left a heavily populated universe in ruins. She has been planetside for ten years, researching into its secrets but the Galactic Union has no interest in looking to the past, preferring to concentrate on building the future. Tarkov brings with him a rogue transmission which was intercepted showing something alien, which is similar to an artefact Hardew discovered. He wants to know whether the images on the transmission will pose a threat to the Galactic Union's safety and has spent a long time travelling to see her. Hardew shows Tarkov the burial chamber, the last resting place of Kalendorf, which is imbued with psychic impressions of his memories. She believes Kalendorf is the Dark One, who brought about the Great Catastrophe, and as she tells him the story of the Dalek War the listener can see that Briggs is bringing all the loose threads together and showing how the fragments form the whole perspective. After Suz's broadcast, and the return of the Angel of Mercy, chaos broke out as the Alliance forces turned upon the Mentor's Daleks and the Dalek Supreme sent his Daleks into battle alongside their former vanquished slaves. With Suz returning to Earth, it was left to Kalendorf to wage the war against the Mentor but Hardew recognises that it was futile and no one could be victorious. She also knew that Kalendorf's strategy was based upon something created by Sancroff (see The Sirens Of Time), one of the greatest Knights Of Velyshaa ever born. As the drama progresses, Kalendorf's character becomes focused to the point of obsession with the destruction of the Mentor's forces, literally ripping a Dalek out of its casing at one point to prevent the Mentor listening to it as he speaks to it, warrior to warrior. He tells the dying Dalek how Sancroff was afraid of betrayal from his own people so he implanted a telepathic command into their minds so they would turn against their co-conspirators upon a given signal. This in particular gives the audio an ominous sense of impending closure as the listener can reasonably assume the nature of Kalendorf's plan. Briggs settles the war with the Mentor's Daleks in a most unexpected manner. The confrontation between Kalendorf and the Mentor is used by Briggs to illustrate her ideology that peace and order at any price are better than having freedom of thought, which would only be applied for war anyway. Far better to stop them thinking that way and let them live contented and peaceful lives on beautiful worlds than wage destruction upon one another. Kalendorf betrayed her because he knew he couldn't trust her as when their alliance was formed, he didn't know the price of destroying the Daleks would be the destruction of any world who didn't fall in line behind the Mentor. Kalendorf defends the individuals right to make their own decisions and not to live like mindless, obedient zombies. The Daleks of this universe are committed to conquest and destruction at any cost, but the Mentor will not pursue order with the same ruthless sensibility because she recognises that their current war will result in total obliteration with neither side winning. She has no desire to participate in pointless destruction and when she can see that Kalendorf is entrenched in his position, she withdraws her forces from the universe completely, returning to their parallel one. The whole of this discussion sums up the reasons behind the war and the series perfectly, and makes for extremely thought provoking listening on the motivations of war. Once this stage of the story is concluded, it may seem that the war is essentially over, but Kalendorf's plan was to eliminate all the Daleks and the seeds of another battle are already being planted as no one believes the Dalek Supreme will keep his word and they will have to fight again. This leads to the series climax with Kalendorf venturing to Earth where he confronts the Dalek Emperor, whose consciousness is still housed within Suz's body for he hopes to exploit the power of her image to fool the other races into a false sense of security before crushing them. Kalendorf planned to achieve death or victory via the mental command he implanted into Suz, and he exploits the human qualities of fear and paranoia the Emperor's new form possesses, playing on the reason why Kalendorf would walk into such an obvious trap. Once close enough to make contact, Kalendorf is able to bring Suz's mind back and when she receives the signal for death or victory, she transmits the order throughout the Dalek command net for total destruction. In doing this, Suz sacrificed herself to defeat the Daleks and died a hero's death, while Kalendorf survived and returned to Velyshaa. The destruction of the Daleks was at a price as the energy of their destruction tore the universe apart and created the Great Catastrophe that would put the universe back thousands of years. Dalek War may lack the epic scope which made the Dalek Empire series so memorable, but its strong focus on its central characters gives it a much more intimate feel which accentuates the impact of the drama. With the greater emphasis on Kalendorf, some of the other characters are more peripheral, most disappointingly with Alby who doesn't have anywhere near as important a role here as in the first series, but this is compensated for by the greater skill that Briggs demonstrates in drawing out the characters of those showcased. It could have been very easy for Briggs to give the listener more of the same as Dalek Empire but the different structure for Dalek War helps it to find its own identity and the result is vibrant and provocative drama. As the story ends, another one is set to begin (even if it's not one we're likely to actually hear [EDIT - famous last words!]) showing that even though the times, places and names may change, the war may never end as the transmission Tarkov brought shows an entire squadron of Daleks waiting somewhere. Despite the bleakness of the downbeat conclusion to Dalek War, it is surprisingly uplifting as the example of individuals like Kalendorf, Suz and Alby will guide fighters like Siy Tarkov to fight the evil and battle the Daleks once more, showing once again that the human factor can make a difference...   Home | News | Audio Titles | Forthcoming Releases | Chronology | Cast & Crew | Reviews  Miscellaneous | Site Search | Links | Forum | E-Mail