The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Dalek Empire III - Chapter Four

"All will change and the Daleks will once again become the masters of this galaxy!"

The focus of the first three Dalek Empire III stories was on creating a sense of prolonged mystery but chapter four The Demons is almost wholly concerned with filling in the background, from the histories of enigmatic characters like Galanar and Amur to answering how the Daleks survived the Great Catastrophe and why their leader speaks with the voice of Susan Mendez...

In my review of The Survivors, I felt that this fourth chapter really need to "cultivate a greater sense of urgency" if it was to bring the series back on track. While The Demons is certainly an improvement over that slightly lacklustre instalment, it's hardly progressive as there is a very backward looking tone as Briggs seeks to flesh out how some of his characters came to be where they are. While this does add depth, by devoting nearly all of the play to this the momentum of the series is brought to a virtual standstill which only begins to recover during the last fifteen minutes. The biggest question - what is the Daleks' ultimate goal - is still no closer to being answered but with this story there are now enough clues secreted amidst the drama to make a good guess as to what they're up to.

The explanation offered for how Suz became the Dalek Supreme (I keep wanting to call her the Dalek Suzreme) is very typical of the fragmented approach Briggs has developed through Dalek Empire as it's the true context of the isolated pieces of dialogue we've been given that show how she came to lead the Daleks as a result of their solution to halt her destructive rampage. While Briggs never really resolves why this merged creature takes control of the Daleks (surely Suz's compulsion for "victory or death" would defeat the will of a single Dalek?) it does give a good rationale for why their galactic conquest plans in this series are so atypical compared to their usually less subtle methods. The origin of the Dalek Supreme seems to account for her split personality, one minute whispering with in cold, menacing tones and the next bellowing violently, but hopefully Briggs will avoid using the two facets to create conflict as that would be far too similar to what happened to Suz in Dalek War.

There are a couple of issues that undermine this character. The first of these is consistency as the Dalek Supreme can be extremely perceptive, such as when she anticipates Galanar's knowledge that he is being observed, but can also seem extremely dense - when her agent is with Galanar, she states that he is falling under their power when it's quite clearly the other way around - making her astonishment when the agent turns against the Daleks incredulous. Secondly when Sarah Mowat is narrating as Suz she's absolutely fine but as the Dalek Supreme the harsh abrasiveness of the aggressive side of the personality becomes annoying very quickly as loud shouting does not make a powerful presence. Briggs seems to be aiming for a synthesis of the sheer scale of the Dalek Emperor of the first Dalek Empire blended with the cultured sinisterness of Dalek War's the Mentor, but it lacks the impact of either.

It's revealed quite early on that Galanar is one of the Demons of the title and his backstory is more intriguing as it leads unexpectedly into an area of Dalek Empire's past (although the reappearance of Dannie Carr as Morli is hardly surprising given she's been credited since the first CD) but it's his realisation that he's not alone anymore as he finds a kindred spirit in his fellow Demon, Amur, that makes this aspect more memorable. This is where Briggs begins to build some tension back into the drama as Amur's loyalties currently lie with the Daleks but the way in which Galanar highlights the inhumanness of what she's done to achieve her mission provokes her into turning. Briggs is clever enough to realise that hasty changes of allegiances can be unconvincing and recognises this through the dialogue but also by creating a sense of unease that Amur might be leading Galanar and Tarkov into a trap. The last ten minutes as they attempt to escape Scalanis VIII is the most exciting thing to happen in Dalek Empire III since the end of The Healers.

One of the reasons for the success of Dalek Empire was its focus on human characters fighting overriding odds, embodied by the stories of Suz and Alby Brook, and Briggs provided a group of characters in the Graxis Wardens (and also Siy Tarkov) who could occupy a similar role in Dalek Empire III. And yet with both The Survivors and The Demons limiting their involvement, perhaps it is the absence of these very human people that explains some of the dissatisfaction which has set in over these chapters. Tarkov spends most of his time unconscious here but his "quiet determination to do the right thing" makes him a remarkably enduring character when coupled with Steven Elder's exceptional performance, particularly considering his evolution from the seemingly incidental figure he first appeared in Dalek War. The Wardens make only a brief appearance here, but it's enough for Ishia Bennison's Commander Saxton to steal the show (again) with a heartfelt confession to Culver about her doubts on whether she's doing the right thing by taking the surviving Wardens and trying to make a difference against the Daleks. At least it seems the Wardens will have greater involvement in the next chapter as they enter the Scalanis system themselves - presumably just in time to rescue Galanar and company...

Selestru and Mietok feature in a small capacity but it adds little and serves only to allow flashbacks to augment the backstory of Galanar. And with the predominance of expository scenes dominating the drama, other interesting characters like Carneil and (most crucially) Kaymee are disappointingly squeezed out completely.

It would be wrong to say that Briggs has too many characters and too many plots for Dalek Empire III, but it does seem he may have overstretched himself with the six part structure as the story has become unfocused and the balance is not maintained well enough to keep the momentum flowing over such a sustained period. The exploration of the backstory would surely have been more digestible had it been fed piecemeal rather than as one huge feast as offered here. But with signs that Briggs will bring the various plot strands back together in the penultimate part, there is hope he can pull off the strong climax Dalek Empire III now desperately needs.

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