7. The Genocide Machine

The daleks was pretty boring but a special dalek was very scary

A story completely lacking, event, point, or substance, it does slip by but not in the way of ease, more just slipping by like time does while in a coma. I do not think I could force myself to listen to it again, as it is just so boring that I see no value, not so bad it’s funny, just so bad it’s tiring.

Big Finish's first Dalek adventure is a solidly enjoyable story that, despite not doing anything massively original or unique, manages to be mildly entertaining. Certainly, it's a total contrast to the Seventh Doctor's previous Dalek story, Remembrance Of The Daleks.

The plot feels like a tick-box of various elements that Terry Nation used ad-nauseum in his scripts. This element of the plot can be a little wearing, as it means that very little original is used in this story. However, this is turned on it's head by a revelation in the final episode that produces some wonderful conflict. The characters are rather thinly sketched, but rather enjoyable and quirky all the same. The Daleks are, at least, treated seriously in this story, although they do have a tendency to come across as a little incompetent.

Sure, it's not a Big Finish classic, nor even essential listening, as there's plenty of better Dalek tales out there from Big Finish. However, it's a decent, by-the-numbers Dalek story, with an interesting twist in the final episode. It's a shame it couldn't have been more ambitious, but what we have isn't bad in it's own right.

After getting off to a reasonably good start, the plot begins to fall apart in the last two episodes, ruining what could have been an entertaining but uninspiring story. Instead, we're left with a jumble of mishandled ideas, sloppy plotting, weak characters, and really poor dialogue. For the first two episodes, the Daleks are in top form, having pulled off an audacious plan that required centuries of patience. But starting in Part Three, they're suddenly under tremendous time pressure, apparently to justify the series of stupid decisions they make for the rest of the story. The Doctor actually accomplishes very little, as the Dalek plan is largely self-defeating for reasons never adequately explained.