Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #185235 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-01
• Released on: 2006-05-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Audiobook
• Binding: Audio CD

Synopsis
Exterminate! Everything you wanted to know about the Daleks - but were too afraid to ask...The Daleks have a long and terrible history of aggression, and are among the most feared of all science fiction baddies. Ruthless, cunning, and utterly evil, they have no pity, no fear, and will stop at nothing to destroy all other forms of life. Now Nicholas Briggs - the voice of the Daleks in the new BBC, "One Doctor Who TV" series - goes deep underground to a deserted base in the Utah Desert to unearth the truth about the most nightmarish creatures in the universe. Packed with extracts from the Daleks' many TV appearances, "The Dalek Conquests" finds out where they come from, why they are bent on universal domination, and what part they played in the Time Wars. Above all, it explores their epic struggles with their nemesis, the Time Lord known as the Doctor. Featuring clips from such classic stories as "The Dalek Invasion of Earth", "Day of the Daleks", "The Planet of the Daleks", "Genesis of the Daleks" and the 2005 episodes, "Dalek" and "The Parting of the Ways", this is essential listening for Dalek fans - and foes - new and old.

Customer Reviews

What Dalek chronology is that then??
If "Thal Spy" can come up with a viable Dalek chronology, I'd be very impressed. The TV series has naver made any serious effort to connect the Dalek timeline logically - and most of the "classic" stories blatantly contradict what's gone before.

In a way it doesn't matter since everytime the Doctor beats these tinpot baddies he's effectively interfering and changing their history!

Fun review of Dalek history, but tells us nothing new
Being a huge Dalek fan, I was extremely happy when I heard that the voice of the Daleks, Nick Briggs himself, was doing "The Dalek Conquests". Briggs is a major fan of the pepperpots from Skaro, being their current voice on TV and audio, and having written and produced the superb "Dalek Empire" series of audio dramas for Big Finish Productions.

"The Dalek Conquests" takes the form of an audio documentary, examining the known history of the Daleks. Working on the conceit that the Doctor is real and that his TV adventures are a form of historical record, the CD uses clips from the soundtrack of the various TV adventures, linked by Briggs' earnest narration, to tell the story of the events leading up to the Great Time War. The quality of the clips varies, but they've all obviously been cleaned up as much as possible, and are well chosen to illustrate the ruthless and implacable nature of the Doctor's greatest enemies.

While great fun, the documentary is very conservative, due mainly to limitations imposed by the BBC charter. No mention is made of the "Dalek Empire" stories, or of the BBC novels, all of which have featured major steps towards the Skaro/Gallifrey war. Curiously, Russell T. Davies, producer of the current TV incarnation of the Doctor, has himself made reference to these stories in products like the 2006 Doctor Who Annual.

Because of these limitations, "The Dalek Conquests" finds itself restricted to retreading old material. We learn nothing new about the Daleks. Unlike David Banks' attempt to create a cohesive history of the Cybermen, there's no real conjecture or detective work here. Fans looking to find out how Skaro survived the end of "Remembrance of the Daleks" for instance, will be disappointed.

Briggs does, however, manage to sneak in some references to the Dalek Empire stories, in the form of some of the music (also written by Briggs) from that series, a welcome nod to his fans.

In summary, this is a great introduction to Dalek history for new followers of the Doctor's adventures, and an amusing novelty for older fans of the Doctor's adventures.

dalek clip show
Presented as a history of the daleks put together and presented by an unnamed reporter, this uses clips from their tv appearances to tell a history of the monsters, how they came to be, and what makes them so wicked. An obvious labour of love for those involved it also uses some original material to help put things together.
Commendably not trying to tie it all up into a totally coherent history [although there are nice hints at how everything leads to the time war...] it's interesting to hear some of these clips again, and to hear how dalek voices not done by roy skelton and nicholas briggs don't sound quite right, and how much better the music from parting of the ways sounds when properly mixed.
But there's nothing here that long term fans won't have heard before, so it didn't really catch my interest all that much. Fans of the new series who aren't familiar with the old might enjoy it, though. And I wouldn't mind to hear one about the cybermen