With the first installment out for a little over a week now, Big Finish has released new details about Dalek Universe volume two! For those tuning in to this nine part story now, here’s the basics (with some minor spoilers for volume one). The Tenth Doctor found himself time-napped to another world and a time that he should not be in. Now stranded on the wrong side of the Time War without his TARDIS, he and his friends Anya Kingdom and Mark Seven are searching for a way to get him back. But they’ve run into a few problems along the way…
What’s coming in “Dalek Universe Two”
Before we jump into the new story details, there is one new cast member! David Tennant, Jane Slavin, and Joe Sims are all back, of course. Joining them this time is Blake Ritson (“Upstairs Downstairs” and Big Finish’s “Adam Adamant Lives!”). Ritson will be playing a character called Major McLinn. From the sounds of things, this Space Security Service commander will feature in episode two of this release. And it doesn’t sound like he’ll be a friend to the Doctor!
The first story in the set, though, will be “Cycle of Destruction” by Roy Gill. From Big Finish’s official synopsis of the story, it sounds like we will be getting to know more about Mark Seven’s past. The android does have quite the history with Doctor Who with an origin stretching back to a proposed spin-off. However, not much has been said about where exactly he came from. Here’s this highly-intelligent, very advanced, sentient android… who made him? It sounds like Anya and the Doctor will be finding out soon. An answer that they may want to know even more about given what he did to them at the end of the last set of stories!
As for the second story, it will be by John Dorney- one of the script editors for “Dalek Universe” and the writer for the first two stories in the series’ first installment. Entitled “The Trojan Dalek,” it’s not hard to guess what foe of the Doctor is going to show up again. This seems to be the story that Blake Ritson’s character will fit in, though he refuses to help the trio. With the Doctor, Anya, and Mark splitting up to search the station for the scientist who can get the Doctor home, it sounds like there may be more to Arborecc’s research than they originally knew. But the synopsis does pose the question “Or do they?” when referring to a possible plot involving the Daleks. And with a title like “The Trojan Dalek,” it will be interesting to see what twists are waiting in this story.
The final story in this set is called “The Lost” and is written by Rob Valentine. From the sounds of things, the Doctor and his friends wind up not finding the answers they’re looking for in the previous story. Thus, they wind up crash-landing on another world. With their ship damaged, they will find a building and try to get help. From “heart-breakingly familiar faces.” The synopsis concludes:
“Lies are about to be exposed. Everyone will learn the truth. And nothing will be the same again.”
Thoughts on the new details
Now that the core story for “Dalek Universe” is more clear, and I know about what to expect from the series, it’s very exciting to get even a few details for the next release! Honestly, there is a lot that could be theorized on here.
“The Trojan Dalek” does seem like it could take a few interesting turns. The “Or do they?” in the synopsis is particularly intriguing. After volume one’s “The House of Kingdom,” I’m willing to guess that this will have something to do with the previously-mentioned Dalek Wars and possibly, the still-future Time War. Given the episode’s title and previous attempts at finding ways to exploit Dalek weaknesses, I wonder if some SSS scientist is attempting to hijack a Dalek casing to send behind battle lines. It’s certainly not a good idea nor something the Daleks would allow. I think there’s going to be quite a few surprises in store for this one.
“The Lost” particularly raises my curiosity, though. In their press release, Big Finish mentions that these stories will go “deeper into family histories.” Anya’s family was explored in “The House of Kingdom.” Mark’s will be in “Cycle of Destruction.” So, could we be getting more of the Doctor’s family here? They do say “heart-breakingly familiar faces await them,” so there are a few directions this could go! Especially with there being only one cast member announced apart from the returning ones from the last set.
Obviously, these are just guesses, but in the last Big Finish Podcast of 2020, a listener email was read, asking about the future of Jenny, the Doctor’s daughter, at Big Finish. Nick Briggs didn’t give any solid news, but did tell listeners to “keep your ear to the ground.” Granted the question was specifically about another volume of stories for Jenny, but nothing has been announced there yet, either. It would be wonderful for the Doctor to reunite with his daughter. After all, she did get a mention in “The House of Kingdom” even if it was very, very brief.
Another guess that I have is more of a wish than a possibility, probably, but the Doctor does have a brother. Irving Braxiatel (or Brax) features in quite a few Big Finish productions but mostly pops up in “Bernice Summerfield” and the “Gallifrey” series. Played by Miles Richardson, Brax would be an interesting addition to this series. As “Dalek Universe” is set before the Time War, it’s a possibility for the Doctor to run into his elder brother. I don’t think it’s overly likely, but it would be a lot of fun. And heartbreaking.
Of course, with this being a series about time travel, perhaps the “familiar faces” may simply be the Doctor, Anya, and Mark’s own faces. Maybe another attempt at time travel goes wrong and has stranded them on the planet again in their own futures but the past of the planet they’re on. All speculation on my part at this point, but who knows!
All of these stories sound excellent and I can’t wait until July to dive into this series again! Though I do still worry about Mark given his absence from “Dalek Universe” volume 3’s cover… Time will tell, I suppose!
