Energy of the Daleks (audio story)
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Energy of the Daleks was the fourth story in the first series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures.
Publishers summary
The Doctor and Leela find themselves in the middle of London at the time of a new energy crisis. The GlobeSphere Corporation seems to have all the answers — but several thousand protestors beg to differ.
What is the connection between the National Gallery and a base on the Moon? Has radical thinker Damien Stephens simply sold out, or does he have a more sinister agenda?
The Doctor has detected a mysterious energy reading. Could it be that the most evil creatures in the universe have returned to claim ultimate victory once and for all?
Cast
- The Doctor - Tom Baker
- Leela - Louise Jameson
- Damien Stephens/Robomen - Alex Lowe
- Jack Coulson - Mark Benton
- Lydia Harding - Caroline Keiff
- Kevin Winston/Robomen - Dan Starkey
- Robomen - John Dorney
- The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
References
- In preparation for their trip to London in the 21st century, Leela has followed the Doctor's advice and changes into clothing appropriate to the era. However, she finds high heels impossible to walk in, so the Doctor tells her that she should wear trainers instead.
- On the day before the Doctor and Leela's arrival, a holographic horse appeared outside the HMS Belfast in order to promote the Grand National.
- The Doctor had intended to take Leela on a trip to London in 2015. However, the TARDIS overshot by a decade and materialised on 30 January 2025 instead.
- The Doctor describes the Internet as "a 21st-century human obsession." By 2025, there is a holographic Internet access. As the Doctor does not have a bank account to pay for his Internet usage, he uses his sonic screwdriver on the terminal.
- There is a major protest in Trafalgar Square, led by Jack Coulson, against the GlobeSphere Corporation, the founder and CEO of which is the technology pioneer Damien Stephens. After the energy crisis worsened in 2021, Stephens had vast solar panel fields built on the Moon, which are intended to channel energy directly to Earth. The energy transfer was due to begin on 31 January 2025 from the GlobeSphere Moonbase. However, Stephens has seemingly made a deal with the energy companies and various governments, which has delayed the commencement of the energy transfer process until 2025. GlobeSphere HQ is the former National Gallery.
- By 2025, all of the theatres in London have closed due to the high cost of maintaining the required energy. By this time, portable, pocket-sized televisions are extremely common.
- Stephens and Jack attended the University of Durham together. Jack is surprised that it was Stephens who discovered the way to transfer the maximum level of energy from the Moon to Earth; Jack was the scientific genius, whereas Stephens was the radical. During the height of the energy crisis, Stephens' mother had died of exposure in her house, as the energy company had switched off all the power.
- The Doctor and Jack are able to access GlobeSphere HQ as there was an access tunnel built under the National Gallery during World War II through which the paintings were to be removed in the event of bombs damaging the building. The Doctor claims that only he and the Prime Minister Winston Churchill were aware of its existence.
- Leela is captured by the Robomen, surgically modified humans who are controlled by the Daleks, who were posing as GlobeSphere security guards. The Daleks determine that Leela is a time traveller as they are able to detect traces of chronon particles.
- This is Leela's first encounter with the Daleks.
- The Daleks recognise the Doctor in his fourth incarnation.
- After hearing the voice of a Dalek over the intercom, the Doctor realises that the anachronistic energy signature which has been detecting is the power source of a Dalek time ship. As it is a relatively small energy signature, the Doctor believes that it is most likely only a scout ship equipped with a maximum of six Daleks. Consequently, they converted humans into Robomen in order to bring their plans to fruition.
- The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to reprogramme Jack's miniature television into a device which can disable the Robomen.
- The Daleks have installed a transmat beam in Stephens' office in GlobeSphere HQ with a direct link to his bed on the GlobeSphere Moonbase.
- Stephens was converted into a high functioning Roboman
- The Daleks' plan is to exterminate the human race by channelling 100 times the required energy into the receivers on Earth. This will lead to the formation of a giant forcefield around Earth, which will counteract the effect of gravity. The Moon will be forced out of Earth orbit. This will in turn cause the Earth in shift on its axis of rotation, leading to highly destructive floods and tectonic events which will eventually wipe out all life on the planet.
Notes
- This is the first Fourth Doctor story in performed Doctor Who to feature the Daleks since TV: Destiny of the Daleks in 1979. Furthermore, it is the first performed Fourth Doctor story to feature the Daleks which does not also feature their creator, Davros.
- This audio drama was recorded on 22 April 2011. This was the first audio drama that Tom Baker recorded for Big Finish Productions.
Continuity
- The Doctor refers to the janis thorn. (TV: The Face of Evil)
- Leela recalls that the heavy fog made it difficult to see during her previous visit to London in 1889. (TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang)
- Leela once again refers to members of the Metropolitan Police Service as "blue guards." (TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang, AUDIO: The Renaissance Man, AUDIO: The Foe from the Future, AUDIO: The Hourglass Killers)
- The Daleks previously used Robomen during their occupation of Earth in the 22nd century. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
- The Doctor tells Jack that the Daleks were once much like humans until a "near lethal cocktail of war, hatred and technology" on their home planet. (TV: Genesis of the Daleks)
- The Daleks have converted Stephens into a high-functioning Roboman. The same technology was utilised in the aftermath of the Dalek invasion of Mutter's Spiral in 4162 to convert Gordon Pellan and Ernest Tanlee into Dalek agents. (AUDIO: "Death to the Daleks!", AUDIO: Project Infinity)
- The Daleks state that, in the future, humans will defeat the Dalek Empire on numerous occasions, often with the assistance of the Doctor. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, TV: The Daleks' Master Plan, AUDIO: Dalek War: Chapter Four, AUDIO: Lucie Miller / To the Death)
- During his seventh incarnation, the Doctor would visit London in April and May 2025 in the company of Ace and Hex. On that occasion, he destroyed the Forge's beta facility. (AUDIO: Project: Destiny) Furthermore, the Seventh Doctor returned to London in August 2025, where he, Lysandra Aristedes and Sally Morgan defeated the Sons of Ki, a group of fanatics who worshiped one of the Elder Gods who fed on chaos. (AUDIO: Black and White)
- Leela would later encounter the Daleks on the Gallifrey of an alternative timeline. (AUDIO: Extermination)
External links
- Official Energy of the Daleks page at bigfinish.com
- DisContinuity for Energy of the Daleks at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide
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