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The Evil of the Daleks

Audio review by Graham Howard

One of the problems with 'bootleg' audiotapes of missing Doctor Who episodes is that at times it is difficult to tell what is actually happening on screen. With no novelisation, only one of seven episodes still existing and with there being little written material on the finer details of the plot widely available, this was especially true for parts of The Evil of the Daleks. Now, with the introduction of Tom Baker's narration to the soundtrack most of these previously unknown plot details have become a lot clearer, allowing for a better appreciation of the story as a whole. I feared the narration could spoil the story, but for the most part it is remarkably well done and Tom Baker's voice is ideal for this type of recording. The BBC Audio release of Evil is not perfect - episodes 1 and 3 are cut - but in the absence of the remaining six episodes this is probably the nearest we will ever get to seeing this story. I won't attempt to judge the story - it would seem a little unfair to do so on the basis of an audiotape, but I will say that I personally found Evil to be thoroughly enjoyable. If you like Troughton's Doctor and the Daleks then I'm pretty sure you'll like these tapes.

This item appeared in TSV 31 (November 1992).

Index nodes: The Evil of the Daleks