M040 - Jubilee

We open with a trailer for an upcoming film starring The Doctor vs the Daleks, which begins normal enough until the Doctor is blowing up Daleks left and right and their mechanical voices are shouting, "Scamper! Scamper!" Then, when the announcer tells you that your mandatory ticket will be sent to you, we know we aren't on Earth as we know it.

The TARDIS is shifting in and out of two locations and the Doctor and Evelyn get out just before it disappears. They seem to be in central London, 2003, but in this world victory against a Dalek invasion a century before has led to the modern rule of the tyrannical President of Britain. Contractions are illegal and the Daleks have become a cartoonish villain used to sell anything from baby powder to power tools, but locked in the tower of London is something truly frightening.

The Daleks have, in my opinion, lost some of their power. They are often portrayed like the Nazis in an Indiana Jones film, pure evil without much else. But in this story they recover their complex villainy. A Dalek that has been held captive and tortured must face something no Dalek ever faces: making a decision for itself.

This play managed to swing between manic satire and thrilling suspense on a level closer to Torchwood than to Doctor Who, with a body count to match. It brings up some challenging philosophy and some interesting sci-fi all at the same time.