It may surprise you to discover this story at the bottom of the Worst Stories list, considering the Honourable Mention we will give to Mission to the Unknown at the top of next week's list. But while Mission works entirely because it creates a palpable feeling of dread over the course of less than half an hour, The Dalek Masterplan takes ten times that long to get to the point. Even for a diehard Dalek fan, ten weeks of Daleks is a lot to deal with, even with Nicholas Courtney and Jean Marsh in them. Granted, there's a lot to love about this story, even in those episodes we have in audio form only. Kevin Stoney takes the part of Mavic Chen, who in the hands of a lesser actor could have been simply another Yellow Menace stereotype, and makes him into a decent villain - all while wearing press-on nails. The little we see of Katarina we like, and what other companion besides Sara Kingdom has gotten her own audio series after the character has been dead for nearly five decades? But boy, does it drag. When a non-story-related Christmas episode is considered the high point of the story, you know there's a problem. Also, while the story does manage to rehabilitate the Daleks from their poor showing in The Chase, they're simply not as frightening here. Since when do the Daleks need a coalition to conquer Earth, for example? One single line stands out from this story, though, a line which will form the basis for the (arguably) best Dalek story ever, Rob Shearman's eponymous offering from 2005: "One Dalek is capable of exterminating all!" Such a shame that this massive monstrosity of a story doesn't help that claim much.
Tony Whitt has previously written TV, DVD, and comic reviews for CINESCAPE, NOW PLAYING, and iF MAGAZINE. His weekly COMICSCAPE columns from the early 2000s can still be found archived on Mania.com. He has also written a book of gay-themed short stories titled CRESCENT CITY CONNECTIONS, available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format. Whitt currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
