TLV: The Enemy of My Enemy

 


The Enemy of My Enemy by Tracy Ann Baines

The Enemy of My Enemy is a bit of a predictable one. Oh, I enjoyed it quite a lot (and I would love to see more of the Eighth Doctor and Daleks as his companions, it's weird and wonderful) but there is a nagging bit in the brain throughout. It has great concepts of sci-fi but as soon as the weapon of the Wrax people is introduced, a few things are evident

1. Wow, the Wrax weapon can erase whole species 

 2. Huh, we haven't seen the Wrax since this story in the whoniverse's chronology and they seem like they would be major players 

3. It wouldn't be a Dalek story without some deviousness

And then instantly most of the tension in the second half of the story is  *snap* gone. As much as I liked The Enemy of My Enemy I figured out what it was going to do very quickly, and although I liked the writing individually, and that all of the characters were quite nice and whatnot, the whole story is supposed to lead up to a final brutal moment I already know is coming. Sometimes this works. Sometimes it doesn't. It's a bit like Beneath The Viscoid from the War Master in that regard. And where I felt that worked there, I'm not sure it does here. I think a little more subtlety and surprise would elevate this story massively. It would have been much better if the Tenth or Ninth Doctor stuff referenced the Wrax first and then the timeline is altered by the Daleks at the end here and it goes on as usual. Anywho, this is still one of the best Dalek stories in a millenium. I am so easily bored of them these days and this one actually captures their menace (wow!) and I shouldn't really be congratulating Big Finish for baby steps but it has been so damn long since a Dalek has really properly excited me, and I really do love that. 

The Enemy of My Enemy is my friend. It's a nice fun audio that won't surprise you (yes, I've harped on about that) but it will entertain very nicely. And McGann is stellar: 8/10

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