The Doctor and Romana find themselves in the Proxima System, where enigmatic Conglomerate CEO Cuthbert has been conducting his infamous 'experiment'. An experiment which might accidentally rip the universe apart.  What is Cuthbert really up to in the Proxima System, and just how does he expect the dreaded Daleks to fit into his plan?

The second “season” of the Fourth Doctor Adventures turns back to the Conglomerate arc with the first of a two-part finale, “The Dalek Contract”.  Three guesses which classic Doctor Who adversaries show up in this one.  Not that it’s much of a surprise, given that the writer is also one of the more well-known voice actors for the Daleks!

That pesky experiment that Cuthbert was conducting the Proxima system, the same experiment that drew the Laan off their usual course because of its unusual space-time properties, is once again at the center of attention.  The experiment has thrown Proxima Major out of its usual orbit, causing massive climate change, and the colonists have been fighting the Conglomerate as a result.  Cuthbert wants the resistance dealt with, since this experiment is the culmination of his life’s work, and he has hired a rather familiar security force to eliminate the problem.

The Doctor happens upon this scenario when he decides to follow-up on the situation with Cuthbert, once again turning off the Randomizer in the process.  This is itself unusual; one of the more interesting aspects of The Doctor is his penchant for stepping in, putting things “right” (from his perspective, naturally), and then waltzing on his merry way.  It’s not really a source of complaint, but just a bit odd in terms of character consistency.

The writer takes a bit of a cue from the modern Who era in how the Daleks represent The Doctor to Cuthbert and even among themselves.  While they did acknowledge him as their greatest enemy in the classic run, here he is referred to as a “terrorist”!  It’s a nice touch, especially when we’re talking about the Fourth Doctor, who is notoriously scattershot in his response to almost everything.  (Especially in this part of his run!)

One of the pleasant elements of this “season” has been the characterization of Romana I, especially given how little time she was on the series.  Romana II’s personality wasn’t nearly as well-defined, in my opinion, whereas there was always a nice sense of intellectual competition between The Doctor and Romana I.  Not unlike The Doctor and Leela, some thought had gone into how their relationship would take shape, and it’s given more life in these audiodramas.  It’s a real shame that Mary Tamm is no longer with us.

The story itself centers on the mystery of what Cuthbert could possibly be doing with his experiment, and why he might think that the Daleks would remain under his thumb based on nothing more than a contract.  Cuthbert does have that flaw of hubris that The Doctor mentions, so that is part of it, but one gets the sense that the true nature of Cuthbert’s work is connected to the presence of the Daleks.  It’s easy enough to assume the Daleks are using Cuthbert, but to what end?

The sound design is gorgeous, which one has come to expect of Big Finish these days, and having suffered through the more over-the-top serials from roughly the same era, I am thankful that the depiction of The Doctor is aligned more with the nuance of the early Fourth Doctor years than the goofiness of the later seasons.  This is the Fourth Doctor that I enjoy, and it’s clear in the performance that Tom Baker is having a lot of fun playing with old friends.

It’s hard to judge this story on its own; it certainly does a great job of setting things up for the big finale, but that means it doesn’t stand on its own at all.  That’s a minor point, I suppose, but it is worth mentioning.  Also, if one is not a fan of the Daleks, particularly the prospect of listening to Dalek voices for an extended period of time, this is obviously not going to be the right story.  But setting those matters aside, this is a solid penultimate installment for the Conglomerate arc.

Released: June 2013
Price: $8.99 (download version)
Acquisition method: Big Finish website