Synopsis: Strange things are happening to the matrix on Gallifrey. Something alien appears to have got inside it and is disrupting things in its search for information. But what information? The Doctor sees Davros' hand behind it, but even he doesn't forsee what Davros really has in mind. His quiet base in the vaults of a church in England belie the real horrific truth of his scheme. And if he succeeds then the Daleks will truely be invincible...

• A Review by Daniel Callahan

A Review by Daniel Callahan 31/3/98

Ignore the download time: it's worth the wait. Regeneration of the Daleks, Floor Ten's pilot adventure, fares far better than Enemy Within. Keeping in mind that no fan production can equal a professional production in all respects, it's important to note that this adventure equals and exceeds a good number of the televised adventures in many respects.

Why such a bold statement? Regeneration of the Daleks manages to recapture the spirit of the program that, in my estimation, departed the show sometime after season twenty. There is a distinct, Who-ish air, with intelligent plot twists and the charm that lured many of us to the television show in the first place. Floor Ten understands what makes Doctor Who work.

Of course, the actors' voices don't match the originals exactly. But Howard Richardson, although his voice is a little too high for the role of Davros, captures the intonation of Michael Wisher and Terry Molloy dead on. K9's lines are read so quickly that consulting the script (included in the DL) becomes imperative. Massive kudos to the Dalek voices, a very close recreation to the original stories, and by far my favorites.

The cliffhanger to episode one is adequate, but the conclusions of episodes two and three have enough kick to really encourage our interest. I limited myself to one episode per day (mostly), and found myself actively anticipating the next installment. That's what the Who experience should be about, right?

Several scenes show flashes of ingenuity. The parody of Parliment (or was it a recreation of Parliment as performed by The Goon Show?) works well, although more cast members would have helped bring the scene to life. And there is a laugh-out-loud moment in episode four which I don't dare give away (an all too rare event for Doctor Who since the Tom Baker era).

The resolution of the plot in episode four is a bit deus ex machina for my taste (and derivative of one notable Pertwee adventure); but on the whole, I enjoyed this story for more than most post-season twenty stories written and script-editted by professionals! The Regeneration of the Daleks captures the spirit of the televised adventures before their tail-spin into post-modern angst and high body-count bloodbaths.

If there's one flaw to watch out for, it's varying audio levels. But that's a technical rather than a creative matter, and on the levels that count, The Regeneration of the Daleks is a bloody success.