You know how the Last
Great Time War was this unspeakable period of Time Lords versus Daleks plus all
sorts of indescribable nasties that (until recently) we had no idea of what occurred? Well The
Apocalypse Element is a story that could easily be taken as an early battle
in the Time War like Genesis of the
Daleks was the opening shot that started it all and Resurrection of the Daleks was the Daleks’ retaliation. This and The
Genocide Machine fit very nicely as a backup plan for the Daleks. They were trying to build themselves an
empire in The Genocide Machine while
here they attempt to invade Gallifrey and try to take down the Time Lords after
kidnapping the president a few months into her term. Yes if ever we got a story inside the Time
War The Apocalypse Element is most definitely
that tale. The plot allows its mystery
of the council at Archetryx and the twenty-year long disappearance of President
Romana to sink into the listener throughout the first part with the Doctor and
Evelyn landing in the midst of the conference on a whim getting themselves
entangled in events. By Part Two you see
what Romana’s been doing as prisoner to the Daleks which has inevitably changed
her from the wise-cracking know-it-all we knew from the Tom Baker era. As Lord President you would think that she’s
become a politician, but no she still has her wits about her yet is hardened
somewhat by her period in captivity. The
final two parts of the story are Doctor Who as directed by Michael Bay minus
all the sexism and racism as the Battle for Archetryx is in full swing and the
Doctor, Evelyn, Romana and the Celestial Intervention Agency are taking full
part in the proceedings.
Stephen Cole gives us a
great script to work with that is brought to life masterfully by Nicholas
Briggs in the director’s, sound designer’s and music composer’s chairs allowing
for what can only be described as an aural feast as you consider every little
detail shoved in. Brigg’s sound effects
are reminiscent of classic Dalek stories such as The Chase, and The Daleks’ Master
Plan. You can really feel what
Briggs is going for and is using this script as the backdoor pilot for the Dalek Empire spin-off as things start to
come together from The Genocide Machine
and the echoes of the past just resonate as you listen.
The story also has a
stellar cast and the best start of analysis is of Colin Baker’s Sixth
Doctor. Now here is really where the
redemption of the Sixth Doctor actually comes to fruition. It only took four total stories but it was
able to get the character to become my second favorite incarnation of the
Doctor. The Doctor here is immediately
appalled when he finds out the Celestial Intervention Agency is involved with
the conference especially with Coordinator Vansell having his hand in the
pie. He finds Vansell and the CIA extremely
arrogant for interfering for their own selfish game. When Evelyn suggests putting herself in
danger he has a hard time allowing her to do it as he actually cares about what
happens unlike some of the things we saw in his television career. Colin Baker gives the tour de force
performance as he is trying to figure things out. Moving on to the companion of the piece,
Maggie Stables’ Evelyn Smythe continues to be one of my favorite Doctor Who
companions just under the amazing Ace McShane and Professor Bernice
Summerfield. Evelyn is relishing being
on another planet and tries to get into the space-lingo that is hilarious. She even allows us to visualize the different
alien species of the conference. Her wit
is the one that matches the Sixth Doctor and she could never work with any
other Doctor. Of course I also have to
mention how she is the one to save the day.
Moving on to the pseudo-companion of the piece President Romana to round
out our main cast who I’ve already touched on.
She’s trying to make her best out of the world going to hell, but is
unable to. Lalla Ward has barely aged a
day from when she left Doctor Who and whenever she is in a scene she steals it
from the other two of the main cast and just gets you right into the emotion of
the story.
The supporting cast of
the story is large with only three main important parts. First we have Anthony Keetch reprising his
role as Vansell who gets much more fleshed out here. He is a scumbag through and through, but
still has the best of intentions. He still
seems like he has ulterior motives in what he does. Next you have the President, also making a
return from The Sirens of Time and is
obviously the man in charge of getting Romana to the Presidency. He wants to see Gallifrey get better, but
wants to have Romana be the one to do it.
Finally you have the Daleks, voiced by Nicholas Briggs, who are much
better here than in The Genocide Machine
as they kill and torture anyone they come across. They’re responsible for some of the more gruesome
bits as people get their eyes torn out so the Daleks can continue in their
invasion. You really feel their power.
While I’ve spent this
review praising the story there is one flaw in it. This is that it’s caught in the trap of being
part of a miniseries and obviously the best part. There are obvious plot thread set ups left for
the sequels which causes a lot of problems for the overarching story. Also it flaws into the trap of using too much
sound causing jarring transitions to dialogue scenes following big loud
battles.
To summarize The Apocalypse Element shows just how
much of a threat that the Daleks can be.
The story is almost perfectly acted, written and directed, but falls
flat in its transitions and trappings of its story arc. 85/100
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