Sunday 8 January 2017

The Order Of The Daleks.


One of the November releases from Big Finish was the Sixth Doctor story The Order Of The Daleks which introduced a wonderfully original Dalek er, "Paradigm" .A stunning creation arrived at through the collaborative efforts of writer Mike Tuckers, director Jamie Anderson and CG designer Chris Thompson. Just take a look at the finished article, a delightful fusion of stain glass, lead piping and striking interior lighting. If this thing came trundling out of a darkened crypt screaming its interminable hate speech (The only language a Dalek truly speaks.) it would turn fifty years of Dalek history on its head. Think about a creature like a Dalek driven by a moral certainty and you discover a new depth of cruelty and madness they have not, til now, plumbed. Consider the most evil acts in human history and how many of them were driven by an absolute belief in the righteousness of insane acts. Imagine a Dalek with a faith,a monster that believes in something. Things just got a whole lot more horrible.
              Saw a very nice article on the work of Jamie Anderson in the recent Doctor Who 2017 Yearbook (And a whole lot of Who related stuff was going on despite the absence of New Who on Saturday night television.)"Return To The Forbidden Planets" is a great article and Jamie Anderson has some interesting stuff to share and tell.I had a nice chance to tell Chris Thompson himself what a wonderful job he has done , saw some other work by this very personable fellow and now look forward to whatever surprises he may have up his creative sleeve.
                 "..his creative sleeve. What is a creative sleeve? " I hear you ask.  A creative sleeve is something like a sorting hat. Only, it is nothing like a sorting hat. More like a boot cupboard. A big giant boot cupboard. With no boots in it. Just surprises.