The Sentinel of the Fifth Galaxy (webcast)

 was the second story in the Daleks! animation series. It was released on 18 November 2020 on the official Doctor Who YouTube Channel as part of the Time Lord Victorious series, via the official Doctor Who newsletter.

Synopsis
Under attack, the Daleks flee to their home planet. Fearing it is already too late, the Dalek Strategist comes up with a plan, one that requires the co-operation of the Sentinel.

Plot
The Daleks, led by the Emperor, Strategist and Executioner, flee Islos pursued by the Entity. They withdraw to Skaro and call up forces from the planet. The Daleks’ attacks prove ineffective on the Entity, which begins attacking the City. The Emperor orders an evacuation, however, the Strategist soon realises the evacuation is failing. The Daleks retreat from Skaro, prompting the Emperor to fall silent as the home world is lost. The Strategist organises their escape, with him only agreeing, and decides they need reinforcements. The Emperor declares they need the Sentinel of the Fifth Galaxy.

Alone, the Strategist goes to a barren planet and activates the Sentinel. It escorts him into a colony, formerly maintained by humans who died believing they could earn their freedom, where a dormant army of 10,000 Daleks lies. It refers to the Strategist as the Emperor, causing him to believe its programming is defective.

The Sentinel awakens the army and updates the battle computer. Satisfied with the army, the Strategist orders the Sentinel to set the base to self-destruct in 100 rels. The Strategist begins to notice aberrant behaviour in the army, such as referring to him as the Emperor, and realises the Sentinel had fallen under the Entity‘s influence and has now passed that onto the army. The Sentinel reveals that whilst the Entity’s intent is to completely eliminate the Daleks, it would consider installing a more reasonable leader to be acceptable. The Strategist considers but ultimately refuses. He accelerates the self-destruct and flees, pursued by the Daleks now controlled by the Entity.

The Executioner leads Dalek forces against the Entity’s army which escaped the destruction. The Strategist returns to the Emperor and advises him that they should withdraw as the Daleks are unable to sustain these losses. He defends his failure, explaining that the Entity is outside of time so could arrive on the planet before them. He believes that a portion of the Entity was destroyed in the self-destruct, so it is now weaker. The Emperor asks if there was truly no other solution, to which the Strategist replies that there was but it “would not have been acceptable... to you”.

Cast

 * R-41 - Joe Sugg
 * The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs

Crew

 * Production Management - Flick Heath, George Shankster

Story notes

 * Despite being publicised for a release on 19 November 2020, this story had an early release to all those who subscribed to the official Doctor Who newsletter.
 * James Goss has stated that Planet of the Daleks was chosen for the Time Lord Victorious compendium because acts as a prelude to this story. This could indicate that the bulk of the story takes place on Spiridon, where a 10,000 strong army of Daleks is buried, though the planet goes unnamed in the webcast itself. If this is the case, Sentinel joins Emperor of the Daleks! and Return of the Daleks in revisiting this plot point. If not, then the episode simply serves as a prelude by establishing that the Dalek Empire kept armies in storage.

Continuity

 * The Entity chasing the Daleks was previously seen exiting the portal at the Archive of Islos, and attacking the Dalek army, in response to the Daleks' attack on the Archive. (WC: The Archive of Islos)
 * The five commandments of the Daleks are repeated as the Dalek Prime Strategist awakens his army. (PROSE: The Dalekreed)
 * The Daleks track the Entity's progress using rangerscopes. (TV: The Daleks)
 * The Daleks had previously stored 10,000 units in suspended animation on another planet. (TV: Planet of the Daleks)