''Energy of the Daleks'' is an
audio drama
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...
based on the long-running British
science fiction television
Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''. This audio drama was produced by
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...
.
Plot
The scene is set in London 2025. An
energy crisis
An energy crisis or energy shortage is any significant bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In literature, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, in particular, those that supply n ...
persists and The GlobeSphere Corporation plans to alleviate it with
solar panels
A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...
on the
moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
and a satellite dish on top of the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
. The Doctor has detected an even more incongruous energy in the vicinity.
Cast
*
The Doctor –
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Wh ...
*
Leela –
Louise Jameson
Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951) is an English actress with a wide variety of television and theatre credits. Her roles on television have included playing Leela in ''Doctor Who'' (1977–1978), Anne Reynolds in ''The Omega Factor'' (1979), ...
*Damien Stephens –
Alex Lowe
Stewart Alexander Lowe (24 December 1958 – 5 October 1999) was an American mountaineer. He has been described as inspiring "...a whole generation of climbers and explorers with his uncontainable enthusiasm, legendary training routines, and sig ...
*Jack Coulson –
Mark Benton
Mark Benton (born 16 November 1965) is an English actor and television presenter known for his roles as Eddie in ''Early Doors'', Howard in '' Northern Lights'' and Martin Pond in '' Barbara''. Benton has also starred in the BBC One school-based ...
*Lydia Harding –
Caroline Keiff
Caroline Keiff is a British theatre performer, best known for her portrayal of Nessarose in ''Wicked''. She was member of the original London cast and performed on the show's opening night of 27 September 2006. She performed in the ensemble and ...
*Kevin Winston –
Dan Starkey
*
Robomen
This is a list of henchman, henchmen, fictional characters serving List of Doctor Who villains, villains and/or List of Doctor Who monsters and aliens, monsters and aliens in the long-running British science fiction on television, science ficti ...
–
John Dorney
John Dorney is a British writer and actor best known for stage roles at theatres including the National Theatre, the BBC Radio 4 sitcom ''My First Planet''; and his scripts for the Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' range. His script ''Solitaire'' was ...
/ Alex Lowe / Dan Starkey
*
Dalek
The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 ''Doctor Who'' ...
s –
Nicholas Briggs
Nicholas Briggs (born 29 September 1961) is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is associated with the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Dale ...
Continuity
*The Daleks converted humans into electronically controlled mind-slaves called "Robomen" in their second television story, ''
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' is the second Serial (radio and television), serial of the Doctor Who (season 2), second season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Richard Ma ...
'' in 1964.
Notes
*This is Tom Baker's first Dalek story since 1979's ''
Destiny of the Daleks
''Destiny of the Daleks'' is the first serial of the 17th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 1 September to 22 September 1979. The story introduces ...
''. He also faced them in 1975's ''
Genesis of the Daleks
''Genesis of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the twelfth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was written by Terry Nation and directed by David Maloney, and originally broadcast in six weekly parts from ...
''.
*Mark Benton played Clive in the first episode of the revived Doctor Who television series, ''
Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
'', in 2005.
*Dan Starkey has played
Sontaran
The Sontarans ( ) are a fictional race of extraterrestrial humanoids principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. A warrior race characterised by their ruthlessness and fearlessness of death, they w ...
s in several recent Doctor Who television stories, such as ''
The Sontaran Stratagem
"The Sontaran Stratagem" is the fourth episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as The Doctor. The episode was broadcas ...
'' and ''
A Good Man Goes to War
"A Good Man Goes to War" is the seventh episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and was first broadcast on BBC One on 4 June 2011. It served as a mid-series finale. The episode was written b ...
''.
*Although the fourth in this series, ''Energy of the Daleks'' was the first story Tom Baker recorded with Big Finish Productions. The recording took place on 22 April 2011.
Critical reception
Paul Mount, writing for ''
Starburst
MicroPro International Corporation was an American software company founded in 1978 in San Rafael, California. They are best known as the publisher of WordStar, a popular early word processor for personal computers.
History Founding and early su ...
'', gave the story 7/10, describing it as a "cracking little romp".
References
External links
Energy of the Daleks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Energy of the Daleks
Fourth Doctor audio plays
Dalek audio plays
Audio plays by Nicholas Briggs