Masters of War (audio story)

Masters of War
Main character(s):	The Doctor (Unbound 2)
Featuring:	Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Unbound)
Main enemy:	Davros (Unbound) The Daleks (Unbound) The Quatch
Main setting:	Skaro (alternative timeline)
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::Big Finish Productions]]
Writer:	Eddie Robson
Director:	Jason Haigh-Ellery
Producer:	Martin Johnson
Release details
Release number:	8
Release date:	December 2008
Format:	2 parts - 2 CDs
Production code:	DWUN08
ISBN:	ISBN 978-1-84435-331-1

Publisher's summary

The Doctor and his travelling companion, retired army officer Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, take a random trip in the TARDIS - and land on the planet Skaro. The Doctor helped the Thals to defeat the Daleks years ago, so he is surprised to find the Thal city under Dalek occupation. He determines to help them again, but what is the Daleks' purpose in keeping the Thals alive? Does it have anything to do with the Daleks' mythical creator, named in their teachings as Davros?

Cast

• The Doctor - David Warner
• Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
• Davros - Terry Molloy
• The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
• Nadel - Amy Pemberton
• Gillen - Sarah Douglas
• Delt - Jeremy James
• Toloc - Christopher Heywood
• The Quatch - Jeremy James and Jason Haigh-Ellery

References

• The Thousand Year War and Davros' history are different (to the proper timeline), most notably that the war was considerably shorter than a thousand years and started closer to the end. The Quatch's involvement - and the Quatch - do not seem to be caused by any difference in the Doctor's timeline.
• The Doctor uses a sonic screwdriver at one point.
• The Brigadier gets food from the TARDIS's food machine.
• The Quatch are from another dimension.
• The Daleks mobilise several saucers to attack the Quatch.
• The Dalek's gunsticks are detachable and can fire independently of the Daleks.
• The Thals remember the Doctor. (DW: The Daleks)
• The Doctor has realised that he has much lot of chaos in his wake, and according to the Brigadier, he is now almost desperate to make amends.

Notes

• The Daleks in this story were created by Davros to have a degree of compassion so they would not exterminate him on sight and attempt a coup. This led to them developing the idea that because Daleks were superior to all other life, they had a duty to protect that life. They enslaved the Thals and made them work to strengthen them (via a process of social darwinism) and to strengthen the Daleks, thus protecting the Thals by making the Daleks stronger.
• This would be the final Big Finish audio drama to feature Davros until BFA: The Curse of Davros in January 2012.

Continuity

• Masters of War is the sequel to BFDWU: Sympathy for the Devil.
• The Doctor's absence from the events of DW: Genesis of the Daleks meant the Daleks abandoned their creator Davros instead of taking the chance to exterminate him. The Daleks featured in DW: The Daleks are retroactively made out to be a second batch, programmed with feelings of mercy and pity to ensure loyalty. All other Dalek stories are said to have featured the original Daleks, here referred to as Renegade Daleks.
• The Brigadier fought three Daleks on Earth in 1972, seemingly a reference to an alternative version of the events of DW: Day of the Daleks.
• The Doctor mentions having met the Daleks several times previously. These encounters were depicted in DW: The Daleks, DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, DW: The Chase, DW: The Daleks' Master Plan, DW: The Power of the Daleks, DW: The Evil of the Daleks and CC: Fear of the Daleks as this Doctor's timeline diverged following the events of DW: The War Games.

Timeline

• Masters of War occurs after BFDWU: Sympathy for the Devil

External links

• Official Masters of War page at bigfinish.com
• Masters of War at the Doctor Who Reference Guide