We’re now up to part three of I, Davros, a potted biography of the inventor of the Daleks and the universe’s least politically correct villain. Cos, you know, those disableds are all evil cos they’re not like everyone else, you know, and they wish they were.
Not at all offensive, no.
Anyway, we’ve already had his slightly twisted childhood in Innocence, his slightly more rational 20s in Purity, and now, in Corruption, we’re up to his halcyon days, running the elite Kaled scientific corps.
Power’s going to his head though.
Plot (genetically enhanced from the Big Finish web site)
‘Logically, the war ends with one form of life in utter control of the world. All other life forms gone. That is the goal that is the only true victory!’
Now established within the Science Elite, Davros and his team are pushing the boundaries of Kaled experimentation further and further forward. Access to Thal DNA spearheads an entirely new field of research for Davros, and as he becomes more and more intrigued by genetic mutations, others around him begin to fear him, his drive and his obsessive need for power.
Meanwhile he must learn to cope with betrayal and political manoeuvrings that will leave him changed forever…
Is it any good?
It’s amazing how hazy you can get about something you only listened to a couple of days ago. I’ve just finished listening to the final part of I, Davros (Guilt – review coming tomorrow) and I’m already having trouble remembering what went on in Corruption. So forgive me if I seem a bit patchy in places.
Anyway, of the three parts we’ve had so far, it’s certainly the best written and probably the one of most import. It’s all about Davros’ political manipulations and the attempts to kill him off by the Thals, including that fateful rocket attack that turned him into the bathchair-confined nutter we all know and love.
Since this is essentially I, Claudius done with Daleks, we’re now seeing the bit where Claudius slowly pulls the threads together to become emperor. Unfortunately, It’s a little hard to believe, since Davros seems able to run rings round everyone else, when clearly he’d have had his head chopped off at an inopportune moment if he’d actually carried on in the ways depicted over the last two stories.
All the same, the bits that concentrate on how he starts assembling all the science necessary for the Daleks are quite well done, even if the rest of the scientific corps are really there just to man the phones and so provide no real help whatsoever. We thus have a genius at biology, physics, chemistry and every other science, yet one who doesn’t believe there’s life in the rest of the universe by the time of Genesis of the Daleks. It works on its own terms, I suppose, but not really in terms of what we’ve seen on TV.
Otherwise, there’s a reasonably natural progression towards the Genesis of the Daleks conclusion, some nice continuity touches and some good innovations around that continuity (or maybe they’re all really derivative and appeared in Dalek Annual 1968 or something) that should appeal. If you’re going to buy just one episode, buy this one.
Listen to the trailer (Windows Media Player)
Series cast
Davros (Terry Molloy)
Lady Calcula (Carolyn Jones)
Colonel Nasgard (Richard Franklin)
Yarvell (Lizzie Hopley)
Young Davros (Rory Jennings)
The Supremo (John Stahl)
Lieutenant Nyder (Peter Miles)
Scientist Shan (Katarina Olsson)
Scientist Ral (David Bickerstaff)
Tutor Magrantine (Peter Sowerbutts)
Councillor Quested (Sean Connolly)
Councillor Valron (Sean Carlsen)
Section Leader Fenn (Daniel Hogarth)
Major Brogan (Richard Grieve)
Major Brint (James Parsons)
Colonel Murash (Lisa Bowerman)
Tashek (Rita Davies)
Baran (Nicholas Briggs)
Renna (Lucy Beresford)
Saboteur (Scott Handcock)
Tech-Ops Reston (Andrew Wisher)
Tech-Ops Ludella (Jenifer Croxton)
Writer: Lance Parkin
Director: Gary Russell
RRP: £10.99
