Brotherhood of the Daleks
Daleks. One word which, when most Doctor Who fans hear, they beam with excitement or jump up and down like a child. That is why Asylum of the Daleks is the most anticipated story of the new series, at least for me. (An episode that airs tomorrow in the UK). So Brotherhood of the Daleks was a story that would be a big sale when it was released, certainly for me, it’s one I have tried to buy many times since its release, but have never found the time or money when I want it. Unfortunately, Brotherhood has the misfortune of being in the middle of the ‘who is Charley Pollard to the Sixth Doctor’ storyline, which means it's a struggle for those outside of the loop.
This story is renowned among fans as being one of the most convoluted plots in history. So, to listen I stopped everything I was doing and relaxed into the mix. As part 1 was ending, I was following it confidently, confused by what was happening, but no more that usual at the end of the first part. Episodes 2 and 3 passed, and I was no more perplexed than before. As part 4 began, it really got into the tangle I was expecting. Part 5 ended (yes, there’s 5 episodes this time, but probably not in the way you might think) and all the pieces were picked up, all loose ends of this plot were connected and I was left satisfied, without any problem about it at all. I would say that it helped a lot doing nothing else at all, so my concentration wasn’t drifting. I would have struggled otherwise. Something I will say is that, if you have no past experience of Charley’s story then you will be perplexed by this. One of the biggest parts of the story is who she is, and why she was on Earth in the far, far future. The only story I hadn’t heard before this was The Doomswood Curse, and because of that, I was left scratching my head during a few key moments.
But don’t let head scratching put you off; this story is key to the development of the Sixth Doctor/Charley saga. Who she is plays a large part of it, but that is to be expected, since it is the underlying theme for most of her stories with him. And, because she met the Daleks in Time of the Daleks and Terror Firma before, havoc ensues. The creatures at the start remember her from one of those tales, and that is important later. The real threat doesn’t appear until the end of part 3, with a cliffhanger that blew the pants off me. I have never heard something so shocking in my life. All because of Folkestone.
The rest of the story is very good. Featuring the return of the mind-altering plants from the Minds Eye, it centres on a part plant Thal’s experiments on Daleks. For most of the plot, people are kept wondering whether what they are hearing is reality, a dream, a dream within a dream or goodness knows what else, and that’s what bewilders most people, but it is not that hard to follow. Get ready to hear the same character die three or four times, and then reappear a few seconds later, and many people shouting about the word or who the Dalek replicant is. Brotherhood takes chemical warfare and gives it a disturbing twist. Who is real? Who is behind it all? It takes a while to discover, but is very rewarding when you do.
Brotherhood of the Daleks is an incredibly hard story to review, because it gives away so much just speaking about it. An important story in the overall arc, it isn’t one to be enjoyed lightly. To get the most out of it, you have to have heard all her stories up to The Girl Who Never Was (or Absolution to understand that one, and the Minds Eye, not as nessacery, but it does help), otherwise nothing will make sense. So, should you wish to buy it, make sure you have nothing to do while listening and you are prepared for it. For me, it took far too many years to buy and is one of the most ingenious and convoluted plots ever. But it is worth it. Give it a chance, it will blow your mind.
Oh, and one more thing. Why Doctor of TARDIS?
This story is renowned among fans as being one of the most convoluted plots in history. So, to listen I stopped everything I was doing and relaxed into the mix. As part 1 was ending, I was following it confidently, confused by what was happening, but no more that usual at the end of the first part. Episodes 2 and 3 passed, and I was no more perplexed than before. As part 4 began, it really got into the tangle I was expecting. Part 5 ended (yes, there’s 5 episodes this time, but probably not in the way you might think) and all the pieces were picked up, all loose ends of this plot were connected and I was left satisfied, without any problem about it at all. I would say that it helped a lot doing nothing else at all, so my concentration wasn’t drifting. I would have struggled otherwise. Something I will say is that, if you have no past experience of Charley’s story then you will be perplexed by this. One of the biggest parts of the story is who she is, and why she was on Earth in the far, far future. The only story I hadn’t heard before this was The Doomswood Curse, and because of that, I was left scratching my head during a few key moments.
But don’t let head scratching put you off; this story is key to the development of the Sixth Doctor/Charley saga. Who she is plays a large part of it, but that is to be expected, since it is the underlying theme for most of her stories with him. And, because she met the Daleks in Time of the Daleks and Terror Firma before, havoc ensues. The creatures at the start remember her from one of those tales, and that is important later. The real threat doesn’t appear until the end of part 3, with a cliffhanger that blew the pants off me. I have never heard something so shocking in my life. All because of Folkestone.
The rest of the story is very good. Featuring the return of the mind-altering plants from the Minds Eye, it centres on a part plant Thal’s experiments on Daleks. For most of the plot, people are kept wondering whether what they are hearing is reality, a dream, a dream within a dream or goodness knows what else, and that’s what bewilders most people, but it is not that hard to follow. Get ready to hear the same character die three or four times, and then reappear a few seconds later, and many people shouting about the word or who the Dalek replicant is. Brotherhood takes chemical warfare and gives it a disturbing twist. Who is real? Who is behind it all? It takes a while to discover, but is very rewarding when you do.
Brotherhood of the Daleks is an incredibly hard story to review, because it gives away so much just speaking about it. An important story in the overall arc, it isn’t one to be enjoyed lightly. To get the most out of it, you have to have heard all her stories up to The Girl Who Never Was (or Absolution to understand that one, and the Minds Eye, not as nessacery, but it does help), otherwise nothing will make sense. So, should you wish to buy it, make sure you have nothing to do while listening and you are prepared for it. For me, it took far too many years to buy and is one of the most ingenious and convoluted plots ever. But it is worth it. Give it a chance, it will blow your mind.
Oh, and one more thing. Why Doctor of TARDIS?