Freedom Of The Daleks (2014) Review

Some intense s**t.

Continuing with voice actor Chris Thomson's Second Doctor audio series...

Freedom Of The Daleks is an excellent companion piece to The Evil Of The Daleks, making it one of the best Dalek stories I've heard by default.

WRITTEN BY

Benji Clifford and Christopher Thomson, two smart cookies.

PLOT

The Doctor has been captured by the Thals and the Human Factor Daleks to gain access to a human colony, who have inadvertently rescued and nursed the Dalek Emperor. As mutual hatred and distrust between the three sides start boiling over, it's up to him to prevent or at least contain a terrible war...

ANALYSIS

It's truly disheartening, but also fitting(considering what ultimately happened to this incarnation due to his meddling) to see the Doctor's previous victories over the Daleks come back to bite him in the backside.

The main theme here is fear, and how it distorts good things for the purpose of survival from some perceived threat. In this case, all of the Doctor's efforts are for naught as the various factions twist his intentions to justify their own killing.

On the effects side, the music and sounds are terrific(I particularly like the soundtrack used during the Dalek Emperor's cliffhanger speech) and the story feels 100% professionally made.

CHARACTERS

Once again, Chris Thomson kills it as Patrick Troughton's frumpy, kind-hearted Second Doctor. It's kind of funny to see the more light-hearted version of Troughton's Doctor in a story that's a callback to his comparatively dark and brooding first year. In this story, the Doctor is absolutely miserable, almost as if he's crying out "I was on such a roll, why u do this, life?"
It was also nice to hear the good old recorder again. I wonder who played it?

Thomas Rees-Kaye's Reginald King and Christel "most excited show presenter ever" Dee's Geldra serve as the story's moral centers on opposing sides(the Daleks naturally lack such a character) and interestingly enough, also the orchestrators of the future Dalek stories, since they're the ones to survive and report back to their leaders with (chortle) fake news.
Also, does this mean we can totally blame the Time War on Christel? Just kidding, she's awesome.

The one notable thing about Olivia Douglas' Commander Carter is that she has the haughtiest voice I've ever heard. She'd put the Queen to shame.

Daniel Sherratt's Demitus is a bit of nasty business, eh? But his utter lack of scruples in taking down the Daleks does have its roots in tragedy, as all good villains do, so it's hard to really blame him. He's just another victim of the cycle. Sherratt does a good job of making you hate to hate him with that jerky, stiff voice.

Billy Treacy's Dr. Bowman seems to be a minor callback to Lesterson from The Power Of The Daleks, except with the twist that he's actually not quite as insane or cowardly as he seems. Great choice of actor in this case, as I could swear I heard the clamminess in his voice alone.

Benji Clifford does an overall great job on the Dalek voices, although I would have personally preferred more actual emotions from the Human Factor Daleks. I know this is where they sort of take over the Empire(so there can't be any Dizzy Dalek stuff), but still.

I guess it wouldn't be fair to leave Sam Dimitrijevic out, but all I can say is that he did a solid job with the minor character of Vadon. The babysitter gag was amusing.

NOTES

*There's a neat meta moment where the Doctor berates the Thals for placing their hopes in the legend they'd composed of him, a "fairytale, a fictional character!".

*Reginald King has to be the most hilarious name ever composed. Points if you get it. Also, it was really neat to hear the Doctor say things like "Come on, Reginald!", because that also happens to my (woefully out of date) name.

*I love the moment where the Emperor tries to fix his doctor's anxiety by giving him a Dalek pep talk.

*What ultimately convinced the Doctor to go down to the colony? It seemed like he was firmly set against it until just saying "oh fine, if you stop nagging".

*As in The Power Of The Daleks, the Second Doctor is utterly useless at convincing people to do what he wants. Instead of simply telling them about the Daleks' racism and their desire to exterminate all other life forms, he wastes time shouting "they are utterly evil! FACT!" and provides random examples that he can't properly back up.

*Okay, so it is the early days, but it still seems kind of thick of the Doctor to try and appeal to the Dalek Emperor's (nonexistent) sense of honor.

*I won't spoil what it is, but the cliffhanger of Episode 1 is such an awesome, classic Dalek moment.

*I'm surprised that the Human Daleks do not treat the Doctor as their own personal Davros, given that he is technically their creator. I think that would've been an interesting place to take the story.

*Are there more Human Dalek survivors? Because the story seemed to indicate there's only two, meaning that at the conclusion of this story, there are only two Daleks in existence. How are they going to take on the Human Empire, I wonder?

*Also, if the Daleks know they're half-human, why do they become obsessed about purity later on again, and why is being human so despicable to them in Series 1 of New Who?

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) The Doctor reacts with shock upon hearing that the Dalek Emperor is alive and reminds the Thals that he was on Skaro to witness the "final end" 30 years ago, as seen in The Evil Of The Daleks.

2) Since the events of The Daleks, the Doctor and his human companions have become a Thal legend(actually, now I wonder how this story ties together with Planet Of The Daleks).

3) The Doctor protests Dr. Bowman's insistence to protect the Emperor and reveals to them that the Daleks conquered Earth in 2164 to scoop out its core and drive it around, as depicted in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth.

4) The Doctor is asked what he would do when faced with the murderers of his own kind, something that would ultimately happen many incarnations down the line in Dalek.

5) Demetus is part of the "Captain of the Alydon Temesus". Alydon was one of the Thals who helped the TARDIS crew in The Daleks(and probably became a hero after that).

6) The conclusion of this story provides the explanation as to how the Daleks resumed their empire after their final end in The Evil Of The Daleks.

7) The Doctor is still trying to get back to Jamie and Victoria, as the possessed TARDIS took him away from them in Red Snow. Interestingly, it also let him have this adventure, which is a bit odd, but I'm sure we'll learn more next time...

BEST QUOTE

"Fear drives you to doing terrible things. Fear of death, fear of difference and fear of losing who you are." - The Doctor after witnessing a meaningless massacre.

CONCLUSION

A spectacular addition to the Dalek mythos that captures their personalities better than most professional adventures.