An Autist Reviews: Shadow Of The Daleks 1 - Aimed At The Body (Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures 269.1)

*All Reviews Are Spoiler-Free Aside From Any Spoiler Sections*

On a remote mountain in Australia, Flora Calderwood and her mother are hopelessly lost along with Douglas Jardine, the infamously ruthless cricketer. Their guide, Angus has disappeared, Mrs. Calderwood is suffering from heatstroke, and a mysterious cricketer calling himself the Doctor has just arrived out of nowhere and is already making an enemy of Douglas… if he really is Douglas that is, and the Doctor isn’t certain of that, not when the Daleks are around.

Overall the story of this episode is really very stellar! It’s also far darker than what I expected as my only other experience with James Kettle is from Barrister to the Stars which was a brilliant comedy, making this a lovely change of pace, truly showing his flexibility as a writer. The story is one of the best-paced around, and I think James uses the Doctor’s own single-mindedness so well to match against Douglas’, as they go at each other's throats. I think that Flora was underutilized, but she generally served her purpose as the voice of reason well enough. Her character feels very much like Yaz from 13s run, and how she’s just kinda there and doesn’t matter much in my mind, but I don’t think it affects the story enough for it to actually drag down the rating any. The limited use of the Daleks and how their appearances affect how the cast work together is done brilliantly. My three, very minor, problems with the story are as follows: Douglas at one point mentions his motives and it’s very out of nowhere and it throws off the flow of the conversation somewhat. Another problem is the name of the story and its use throughout; it’s a reference to having your cricketers aim at another cricketer on the other team’s body, a tactic that Douglas uses without hesitation, making him very disliked in Australia. It’s brought up very often and is a sticking point between the Doctor and Douglas which helps drive them apart before things really get going. despite how much the Doctor likes Douglas as a player, his tactics aren’t really cricket, now are they? Aiming at the body is brought up constantly and it really can be annoying, even if it does make sense, I just find it very ham-fisted. Still, it doesn’t overshadow what I do like about the story, even if it is part of what drags down the final confrontation somewhat. As for the ending, while the very final scene with the poem, which I love to death and can’t wait to learn more about, is amazing, the final confrontation isn’t. The Doctor swearing to chase down the Dalek is down far too quickly and with too little emphasis and the final conversation is in and of itself a little repetitive and is probably one of the weakest parts of the story, even if it is still far from bad. I just don’t particularly like it.

Oh boy, the acting. It’s brilliant! To start: Nicholas Briggs is brilliant as the Daleks, the day he doesn’t have a 10/10 performance as them is the day hell freezes over or Kamelion stops spreading conspiracy theories. Mrs. Calderwell is certainly 10/10, with every line being brilliant and every delivery being so fitting to the line and to the character, she really is an endearing old woman. Flora is a bit of a non-entity, but she’s the worst actor thus far, though I hope it’s just growing pains and that she will be far better later on, which isn’t a foolish hope I believe. Even though she’s the worst actor, she is still quite good, never personally slipping lower than a 7 if you ask me, with most of the problems I have with her being that she, honestly, sounds like she fits in the era of the fifth doctor on TV, with a very matter of fact way of speaking that doesn’t quite work properly. Douglas Jardine is amazing for most of the story, but he does have many moments where he, like Flora, is very matter of fact at times and it doesn’t really fit him, and when he’s confronting the Doctor he often sounds just… off, even if it’s still a good enough performance. The Doctor himself is also brilliant, as he goes from fanboying over Douglas to angrily begging him to stop what he’s doing. He only falls from grace near the end or when he’s faced with Douglas. Anger tends to be where the acting fails in this, but once again, it doesn’t fall far, just to about a 7 or 8 at the worst, it still balances out to be a stellar performance, just off of perfect.

Allow me to be honest, I didn’t pay enough attention to the music to be able to safely rate it, but the one piece I do remember was pretty good, so take that as you will. I also don’t think there were any transitions that had effects in them, mostly just hard cuts, which were perfectly fitting for the story. The background effects stand out immediately, and for good reason as this is set on an Australian mountain on a rather hot day! It sounds exactly like I’m there, It’s so perfectly atmospheric, from the bugs to the birds, it’s all so perfect! The action effects are brilliant too, with everything from steps to picking up either a log or some sticks, I forget which, to the very ground shifting beneath the feet of the Doctor and Douglas. The voice effects are also utterly perfect, as they must be when the Daleks are around! Hearing the Daleks’ voices mix with the humans’ is so unnerving and wonderful, and the effect on the echoes of Flora are so amazing too! Really I could go on all day about how grand the effects are, but let me mention the one failing: At the beginning, Douglas says he hears something, but I don’t know if I actually heard it or not, which means either that important sound was left out, or it was far too light.

So, is relistening to this story a good idea? Of course, it is! Not only is it a wonderfully fun and dark story, but you will find quite a few little hints at things to come throughout it, and I imagine there will be even more to find when the entire anthology is out. Also, I may or may not have not realized there was a Dalek at the beginning because I thought it was the large metal man-looking thing from the cover… so yeah I knew that it wasn’t upon a relisten.

This story is overall just brilliant. Jame Kettle has done it once again, just in a brand new flavor! Yes, the rating should be 9/10, but I really love this story so much that I couldn’t help but bump up the rating a little bit! This was a very rambly review, but it’s almost midnight and I have a lot of thoughts on this story! But all you need to know is that the story is amazing, the acting is amazing, the effects are just one or two effects off of being perfectly flawless, and that this story is one you really should listen to again just so you can re-experience the brilliance of it! I was so excited for the coming anthologies, and after listening to this my appetite can be considered thoroughly wetted! Now, I leave you with a poem by a Dalek.

“Darkness falls across the land, rest your head upon your hand, rest your head and close your eyes, ‘til the morning when we rise.”

Total - 10 (pushed it up to a 10 because, frankly, I just loved it so much!)

Original Guesstimate - 9

Plot - 9
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Story - 10
Pacing - 10
Dialogue - 9
Narration - NR
Exposition - 8
Enjoyment - 10
Twist/s - 10
Resolution/s - 8
Ending - 10

Acting - 9
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MC/s - 9
SC/s - 8
BG/s - 10
Narrator/s - NR

Effects - 10
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Music - NR
Voices - 10
Actions - 10
Background - 10
Transitions - NR

Replay - 9
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Re-Enjoyment - 10
New Details - 7

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