A Genius for War

This is Davros calling Gallifrey…

Davros

Synopsis

In the midst of the Time War, the Time Lords have received a communication from Falkus, the prison moon of Skaro. Its sole inmate, Davros, wishes to make them an offer.

He will help them win the Time War… but only if the Doctor comes to his rescue.

Review

It is perhaps inevitable that the Daleks would have some role to play in the 60th Anniversary celebrations for Doctor Who, being almost as old as the show itself. A Genius for War certainly seems more action-packed than the previous two stories in this range, thrusting the Doctor, still in the midst of his degeneration crisis, into the Time War.

I liked a lot of A Genius for War, and there are some really nice moments and ideas here. Jonathan Morris ties together a couple of plot elements nicely, and I think that this is generally a good story. The Daleks want to keep Davros alive, but don’t necessarily want him around, so they’ve packed him off to a prison moon of Skaro, where he is having clones of the Kaleds run around as if they are still fighting the Thal-Kaled war. There is no doubt that Morris knows his Doctor Who history, making references from everything from The Five Doctors to Genesis of the Daleks, via The Evil of the Daleks and even to the Hybrid arc from Series 9. I was really surprised to see this element revisited, although thinking about it more having listened to the story twice now, it makes more sense. Morris sets out that the Time War is only going to be won by the Time Lords and Daleks destroying each other, or by working together to create a creature which will destroy both of them, but ensure that the legacies of both races live on into the future. The story shows this – the Daleks destroy Space Station Zenobia, whilst the Doctor assists the Time Lords in destroying Falkus. These are two sides who are destined to continue cancelling each other out for no tactical advantage. Ultimately though, we’re no closer to finding out the reason for the Doctor’s current crisis, and I’m starting to feel as though we should at least be starting to see signs. I suppose at the moment, we’re crossing off likely culprits and solutions, with the Time Lords unable to help the Doctor due to their focus being on the Time War, and Davros does not seem to be aware of the Doctor’s crisis. I’m holding out for hope for some answers in next month’s installment.

If I have to pick a flaw with A Genius for War, it would be that it feels as though it was originally written for a different Big Finish range, and more than any other story we’ve had in Once and Future, it feels as though it has been parachuted in. Whilst the Doctor’s ongoing degeneration is ultimately key to the Doctor unravelling Davros’ plans and defeating the Daleks, it does feel as though this story could have fit into an Eighth Doctor Time War story. The other references to the Doctor and the mystery at the heart of this arc feel a bit like they’ve been attached later, like when the Doctor explains that he hasn’t degenerated during this story due to the presence of his oldest enemies stabilising his mind. Ultimately, this feels like a bit of an afterthought.

Wonderful! We’re being incarcerated in a Dalek theme park!

The General

The performances are rather good here from the guest cast. Beth Chalmers does a solid enough job as Veklin, even sometimes her character slots into the pseudo-companion slot, whilst Ken Bones does a good job as The General. Fundamentally, Ken Bones has the perfect sonorous voice for audio plays and I think I could probably listen to him read the phonebook. The General is a character who has ingratiated himself to me for some unknown reason since his debut in The Day of the Doctor and seeing him crop up in various Big Finish plays, voiced by Ken Bones, is something of a delight and he gives the General a sardonic charm. This helps when the General is willing to do terrible things in the name of winning the Time War for Gallifrey.

You know me too well, Davros.

As you know me, Doctor.

The Seventh Doctor and Davros

Ultimately though, we’re here for the confrontation between the Doctor and Davros and Terry Molloy and Sylvester McCoy do not disappoint and it makes sense for this Doctor to be in this story, as both he and Davros are chess players. Ultimately, Davros does appear to be one step ahead of the Doctor for large stretches of this story and is certainly several steps ahead of the Supreme Dalek, tricking them into returning him to his prison on Falkus, ultimately playing into his hands and allowing the creator of the Daleks to continue his experiments. At their core, though the Doctor and Davros are marked by their uncertainty. Davros has been left to rot in a Dalek prison, and the Daleks only really want him back from the Time Lords simply because they don’t want anyone else to have him rather than through any greater sense of loyalty to their creator. Meanwhile, the Doctor doesn’t really know who he is, having flitted through past incarnations quickly between stories. Ultimately though, it is the Doctor’s degenerative crisis that saves the day, with the instability in his genetic sample being so catastrophic it causes the destruction of Falkus. It is, however, a joy to hear McCoy and Molloy push each other’s buttons a bit more.

Verdict: I’ve flipped back and forth on A Genius for War. I enjoyed it, but was torn between giving it a high 7 or a low 8. Ultimately, I think that the feeling that this story had the degeneration element bolted on means it can’t be any higher than a 7. The performances are good, though. 7/10

Cast: Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Terry Molloy (Davros), Ken Bones (The General), Beth Chalmers (Veklin), Yasmin Mwanza (Aldan), Esmonde Cole (Bosco), Nicholas Briggs (Daleks/Dalek Supreme), Stephen Noonan (The First Doctor), Michael Troughton (The Second Doctor) & Tim Treloar (The Third Doctor).

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Director: Helen Goldwyn

Producer: David Richardson

Composer: Howard Carter

Release Date: 20th July 2023

Behind the Scenes

• The first story in ‘Once and Future’ to only contain cameos for the first three Doctors, and not one who will have a solo installment dedicated to them.

Cast Notes

• Yasmin Mwanza also appears in The Slaying of the Writhing Mass (Charlotte Pollard: The Further Adventuress), The Seas of Titan (The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Hidden Depths) and The Minaturist (The First Doctor Adventures: The Outlaws).
• Esmonde Cole has also appeared in Beserker (The War Doctor Begins: Comrades-in-Arms) and Nemesis Express (Master! Nemesis Express).

Best Quote

You are an enemy of the Daleks.

That’s what it says on my CV. Current occupation: the Oncoming Storm.

Dalek and the Seventh Doctor

Once and Future

Past Lives

The Artist at the End of Time

For more Seventh Doctor reviews, click here.