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Blood of the Daleks was the first story in the first series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Steve Lyons and featured Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and introduced Sheridan Smith as the new companion, Lucie Miller. It was released in two parts in January and February 2007, respectively. Co-produced with BBC 7, this was the first Doctor Who audio story to debut on the radio since The Ghosts of N-Space in 1996. This story takes place after the final story featuring Charlotte Pollard with the Eighth Doctor, namely The Girl Who Never Was. The story was released along with the other stories in Series 1 in the collection The Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller on 3 October 2023.

Publisher's summary[]

Part one[]

"People of Red Rocket Rising, my fellow citizens. Our long night is over. I've been contacted by a benevolent people. They too have known great trials, but they have overcome them and made it their mission to help others do the same. They have offered us refuge, and passage to the nearest human worlds. They have the resources, and the patience and compassion, to evacuate every one of us. My fellow citizens, my friends, rescue is at hand!"

Part two[]

"The crashed ship. The one Tom Cardwell saw all those years ago. And you borrowed its technology, didn't you? Maybe even found a Dalek or two in the wreckage. Dead, but intact. And you began to turn human beings into creatures like them. You did that? I'm right, aren't I?"

Plot[]

Part 1[]

To the Eighth Doctor's puzzlement and consternation, Lucie Miller appears in the TARDIS; he attempts to return her to the north of England in 2006 but finds that a temporal shield prevents him from landing there. Instead, the two find themselves on the human colony world Red Rocket Rising, which has suffered an asteroid strike. The survivors include the colony's acting president, Eileen Klint, disgraced scientist Asha Gryvern, and the apparently paranoid Tom Cardwell. Klint receives a message from a Dalek fleet offering rescue to the colony's citizens and accepts the offer, believing the Daleks to be benevolent. Lucie reveals that the Time Lords have placed her in the Doctor's care because of something she had seen, although she doesn't know what it is. Asha, apparently the assistant to Professor Martez, is, in reality, Martez himself. He had combined dead and living humans with technology salvaged from a crashed Dalek ship in an effort to ensure survival; Martez has created a new race of Daleks. When the true Daleks land, they welcome the survivors onto their ship and demand that Klint hand over the Doctor to them. Meanwhile, Martez orders his Daleks to open fire on the Doctor.

Part 2[]

The Doctor tricks Martez's Daleks and escapes. Martez has summoned the true Daleks for assistance with his own Dalek creations, but the true Daleks view Martez's Daleks as a threat to the purity of the Dalek race and plan to destroy them. The Doctor temporarily allies himself with the true Daleks to destroy Martez's Daleks, but then collaborates with Tom Cardwell to eliminate both Dalek factions. The Daleks reveal that they caused the asteroid strike on Red Rocket Rising in a failed attempt to eliminate Martez's creations; they also destroyed the exodus ships carrying refugees from the disaster. Martez's Daleks, which are being produced at a rapid rate, initially have an advantage over the true Daleks, who are weakened by another conflict. The Doctor eventually convinces Martez that a Dalek-dominated world would be filled with only hatred, war, and death. Martez, whose stolen body is deteriorating, stops the birthing process; in response, his creations kill him. Eventually, the two groups of Daleks (aided by Cardwell's resistance) annihilate each other. The humans are left to rebuild, and Klint announces that a new offer of rescue has been received from the inhabitants of a planet whose name begins with "Tel-".

Lucie considers staying with the survivors on Red Rocket Rising, but the Doctor discovers that the Time Lords will not let him leave the planet without her. Meanwhile, a woman calling herself the Headhunter accepts a commission from a man named Mr. Hulbert, promising him that she will find Lucie Miller anywhere in space and time...

Cast[]

Crew[]

Worldbuilding[]

Daleks[]

The Doctor[]

  • Lucie describes the Doctor as "that bloke dressed like Casanova".

Time Lords[]

Cybermen[]

  • After the Daleks wipe each other out, Klint announces that a race similar to humans from a planet with a name beginning with 'Tel' are sending ships to aid the human survivors.

Davros[]

  • The Doctor tells Martez that he knows from experience that the Daleks will kill Martez when he has outlived his usefulness.

Locations[]

  • The Doctor attempts to drop Lucie off in Preston.
  • Lucie says that she's used to going clubbing in Blackpool.

Notes[]

Blood of the Daleks Radio Times

Radio Times illustration by Mark Thomas

  • Along with using the third variant of the Arnold theme arrangement, this story, along with the remainder of the first series of the 8DAs, features opening and closing narration superimposed over each theme to give credit to the performers and production crew. This would continue until AUDIO: Human Resources.
  • At beginning of part one, the Daleks offer help to the people of Red Rocket Rising, and at the end of part two, the people of a planet beginning with the syllable "Tel" offer help, although the full name is cut off before Acting President Eileen Klint can finish her broadcast.
  • Lucie asking the Eighth Doctor if his hair is real is a reference to the wig that Paul McGann wore as the Doctor in the movie.
  • This is the first Eighth Doctor audio drama not to feature India Fisher as Charlotte Pollard since 2003's Shada.
  • When Lucie first meets the Eighth Doctor, it reflects when Donna first meets the Doctor in some aspects: she doesn't know how she got on board the TARDIS, she uses the word "Martian" and she thinks the Doctor kidnapped her.
  • This audio drama was recorded on 21 and 29 August 2006 at The Moat Studios.
  • It was first released on CD on 23 December 2006, about a week before its premiere broadcast on New New Year's Eve.
  • The Radio Times (23 December 2006) featured a synopsis of the story with an illustration by Mark Thomas
  • This story was released on two separate CDs and downloads, one episode each. It was also available to stream on Spotify.[1]

Continuity[]

Footnotes[]

External links[]

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