Corruption

There's a lot to love about this script. It expands nicely on the "flashback" portions of Lance Parkin's "Davros" by re-introducing the character of Shan. It adds a wonderful element of black comedy to Calcula's machinations, adding a macabre sense of fun to the whole story. And it also shines a light on how the language of evolution is so often distorted and misapplied. I really appreciate this. A "mutation" is a genetic variation that develops in a species from one generation and the next. It has nothing to do with a specific individual turning into a monster after being exposed to radiation. This story also establishes that Kaleds and Thals aren't merely different races, but are in fact entirely different species, which is something I've always wondered about.

Following the more-or-less standalone adventure of "Purity", "Corruption" puts us back on Davros's inevitable path to immortality. This story doesn't simply relate a key incident in Davros's life. It shows how his thinking developed along lines which will ultimately lead to the Daleks. Parkin had previously sketched this out in "Davros", but here he has the opportunity not just to expand the point but to deepen it. We can see him taking ideas from other people and rearranging them, breaking them down and re-integrating them. He takes his mother's interest in future generations, and re-imagines it in terms of the genetic development of the Kaled race, and hits upon the central idea that will lead to the development of the Daleks: genetically engineering Kaleds into a new kind of creature better suited for the world that Skaro has become.

Thinking back over the history of the Daleks in "Doctor Who", it's almost shocking how relatively undeveloped they were in their initial appearance. Years later, Terry Nation added immensely to their backstory through the introduction of Davors in "Genesis of the Daleks", but gave very little detail to Davros himself. "I, Davros" doesn't simply do for Davros what "Genesis" did for the Daleks. In addition to that, as a kind of side-effect, it further develops the Daleks themselves.

'Corruption' was written by Lance Parkin and directed by Gary Russell. This audio drama was recorded on 2 August 2006. Davros' star is in the ascendance. 'Corruption' has Davros discover how invaluable manipulating people can be. Frustrated at what Davros sees as the inefficiencies of his people's leaders Davros seeks to gain control. The interplay play with a frustrated Davros and his fussing mother is often amusing. There is more dark humour in this one and it's one of the more macabre instalments of the series. Davros starts to bring life to his creations; yet brings death to everything he touches. This was Gary Russell’s final project with Big Finish.

(Cross-posted from my blog at finishbig.tumblr.com)

Last episode saw Davros toiling in obscurity, desperately trying to claw his way up to a position of power. This episode, Davros has that power, and the wheels finally begin turning on the creation of the Daleks.

Corruption contains Terry Molloy?s best performance yet, as we finally learn about the event which transformed him from a normal, humanoid Kaled into the disfigured monster seen in Genesis of the Daleks. It?s great how well Molloy establishes continuity between Davros with and without the vocal treatment.

Throughout I, Davros I?ve been thinking of it somewhat like the Star Wars prequels, as we track Davros? arc from childhood through to the events that made him a disfigured monster. Except? y?know. Good.

The play also does a pretty good job of providing a rationale for some of the odder parts of Genesis of the Daleks, namely the pretty poor understanding of evolutionary science in that story, which actually seems quite sensible in light of the way it?s treated here. So that?s good too.

I didn?t realize this at first, but this play apparently ties into the events of Davros, another Big Finish play featuring the sixth Doctor that I?ve not yet heard. Perhaps I should have listened to that first, but regardless I?m still enjoying this completely, and I?m looking forward to the final installment.

The weakest of the series for my money, but that said, I still really enjoy it - The series is just that good. There's more dark humour to this piece than the other three (and after all, this is the guy who wrote Davros). That doesn't bother me in and of itself; it's a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, there were a few times where I felt a wrong note was hit. I also recall thinking that Fenn and Calcula's plotline felt a little hard to credit in places, but I can't recall the specific reasons for thinking this. Still a good tale, though, and the development of the Shan subplot from Davros is perhaps the highlight of the piece until the last ten minutes, when the game is raised considerably. The climax really belts it out of the park. 7/10