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The Early Adventures #7.1
Doctor Who: After the Daleks
The Dalek Invasion of Earth is over, but there’s still so much left to do. Susan is trying to help rebuild society as best she can, but some people don’t see it as a chance to restore what was lost. Some people see it as a chance to claim power for themselves.
It’s not just human survivors that Susan has to worry about. Unbeknownst to her, a lone Dalek survives. A lone Dalek with a single purpose – to reclaim the Earth!
It’s not just human survivors that Susan has to worry about. Unbeknownst to her, a lone Dalek survives. A lone Dalek with a single purpose – to reclaim the Earth!
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First published August 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 20, 2025
It is a great story that explores directly after Susan's departure from the Tardis. Seeing how the Earth rebuilds and adapts after the Dalek Occupation of Earth. It also nicely adds to the characters of Jenny and David from the original story. The focus on Susan as the main character also helps to explore her feelings of being left behind, and the story gives her a choice, which the Doctor didn't really do at the end of the TV story
August 20, 2021
Doctor Who: After the Daleks
One of the new Early Adventures from Big Finish, alongside The Secrets of Det-Sen.
After the Daleks is a continuation of the Daleks occupation of Earth (The Dalek Invasion of Earth) where Susan departed from the Tardis team to live a life on earth and settle down.
This story isn't really what I'd imagined it, it's not a resurgence of Daleks performing a counter-offensive, it isn't a single lonely Dalek demonstrating his influence over the story, it's a political back and forward between figures. It shares a few similarities with Legacy of the Daleks, and it isn't the first time a continuation of The Dalek Invasion of Earth has been depicted in the extended Doctor Who media.
This is a Dalek-light story. In fact, I wouldn't call it a Dalek story at all. More so, a political romp between Susan and Marcus. Marcus is a right coward, scumbag, and manipulator. I hated him, but that was entirely the point of it. A good main villain.
It in-depth review on YouTube, but I would say this story is fairly basic and does outstay its welcome. Roland Moore does have good ideas, but for some reason, his stories don't really do it for me, and "outstay their welcome" as I previously quoted.
6/10
One of the new Early Adventures from Big Finish, alongside The Secrets of Det-Sen.
After the Daleks is a continuation of the Daleks occupation of Earth (The Dalek Invasion of Earth) where Susan departed from the Tardis team to live a life on earth and settle down.
This story isn't really what I'd imagined it, it's not a resurgence of Daleks performing a counter-offensive, it isn't a single lonely Dalek demonstrating his influence over the story, it's a political back and forward between figures. It shares a few similarities with Legacy of the Daleks, and it isn't the first time a continuation of The Dalek Invasion of Earth has been depicted in the extended Doctor Who media.
This is a Dalek-light story. In fact, I wouldn't call it a Dalek story at all. More so, a political romp between Susan and Marcus. Marcus is a right coward, scumbag, and manipulator. I hated him, but that was entirely the point of it. A good main villain.
It in-depth review on YouTube, but I would say this story is fairly basic and does outstay its welcome. Roland Moore does have good ideas, but for some reason, his stories don't really do it for me, and "outstay their welcome" as I previously quoted.
6/10
April 8, 2022
✅81% 👍26 👎6
_________________________
THE GOOD:
2 - An interesting sequel to a TV classic.
Exploring the aftermath of the seminal The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964) and centred on Susan and David, this story deepens the dystopian worldbuilding of Terry Nation's tale, while feeling realistic enough to make sense of the larger scale of things.
3 - The political power play story of lies and propaganda.
This is something of a political thriller set in a society rebuilding after a devastating invasion. It believably shows the difficulties and different sides of rebuilding a society and how easy it is for charismatic people to seize powers on wrongful grounds.
3 - It's not about the Daleks.
We've had enough lone Dalek stories; here it's just a plot device that's disposed of in Part One to leave room for other sources of tension.
2 - It's not too predictable.
The narrative develops in pretty unexpected ways, particularly towards the second half of the adventure. I'm happy that it is more about the humans and their powers struggle than some alien invasion - a bit like The Enemy of the World (1967-1968).
2 - This trio works better than expected.
I didn't think a story with Susan, David, and Jenny would work this well, but somehow, Roland Moore makes these three interesting as individuals and as a collective. The latter half of the story also deepens Jenny's story and the connection with her brother Victor, while we get a few sweet scenes with Susan and David being lovely as well.
2 - Susan feels developed.
She shows mature qualities, while also having some of her naïve sides intact - so the is believably written as she would be immediately after Dalek Invasion.
3 - Marcus, the charismatic leader.
He is brutal in his methods, yet much of what he says makes sense - so he fits the mould of the worst possible authoritarian leader. He proves to be something of a monster, thus suiting the tradition in early Classic Who to feature stories with strong human villains. Jonathan Guy Lewis gives him a distinct voice, too.
2 - A nice psychological exploration of the Robomen.
Terry Nation never showed us what happened with the Robomen after the Daleks were defeated, so Moore spends some time with them, exploring what happened with Jenny's brother Victor in particular. These scenes give the story an emotional edge.
3 - The eerie dystopia is pretty well recreated and developed.
I find it easy to return to the effective atmosphere of the 1964 serial, even when there are no Daleks or no TARDIS crew around - that's how evocative Nation's dystopian setting is.
2 - A slow but steady build-up of tension and mystery.
We do get a good grasp of all the work the survivors have to put into rebuilding their society and all the threats that face them in doing so. While the story isn't very action-packed, it maintains a steady level of tension through the plotting and occasional moments of danger.
2 - The atmospheric score mirrors Francis Chagrin's original.
It's not quite on par with the original score, but it has similarities, so it helps rebuild the atmosphere.
---------------------
THE BAD:
2 - Teasing a new terrible monster, but barely uses it.
This monster is mentioned and briefly appears from the very beginning, but it has very little to do with the overall plot and doesn't engage with the characters until Part Four.
1 - The later plot developments are rather generic.
Part Four in particular kind of drops some of the plotlines introduced throughout the adventure and becomes something closer to a typical Big Finish Doctor Who story, less focused on the political thriller aspects of the first half.
1 - That orange goo feels underutilized.
We learn quite late exactly what kind of qualities the goo has, and experiencing these hallucinogenic effects made me wish Moore had used the goo more extensively in the plot.
1 - Carole Ann Ford quite cannot capture the voice of young Susan.
While she puts on a slightly lighter voice for her dialogue parts as Susan, she doesn't quite make it all the way.
1 - The recast Dalek Invasion characters sound off.
It is difficult to imagine Sean Biggerstaff as David and Lucy Briers as Jenny when they sound so different from the original actors.
_________________________
THE GOOD:
2 - An interesting sequel to a TV classic.
Exploring the aftermath of the seminal The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964) and centred on Susan and David, this story deepens the dystopian worldbuilding of Terry Nation's tale, while feeling realistic enough to make sense of the larger scale of things.
3 - The political power play story of lies and propaganda.
This is something of a political thriller set in a society rebuilding after a devastating invasion. It believably shows the difficulties and different sides of rebuilding a society and how easy it is for charismatic people to seize powers on wrongful grounds.
3 - It's not about the Daleks.
We've had enough lone Dalek stories; here it's just a plot device that's disposed of in Part One to leave room for other sources of tension.
2 - It's not too predictable.
The narrative develops in pretty unexpected ways, particularly towards the second half of the adventure. I'm happy that it is more about the humans and their powers struggle than some alien invasion - a bit like The Enemy of the World (1967-1968).
2 - This trio works better than expected.
I didn't think a story with Susan, David, and Jenny would work this well, but somehow, Roland Moore makes these three interesting as individuals and as a collective. The latter half of the story also deepens Jenny's story and the connection with her brother Victor, while we get a few sweet scenes with Susan and David being lovely as well.
2 - Susan feels developed.
She shows mature qualities, while also having some of her naïve sides intact - so the is believably written as she would be immediately after Dalek Invasion.
3 - Marcus, the charismatic leader.
He is brutal in his methods, yet much of what he says makes sense - so he fits the mould of the worst possible authoritarian leader. He proves to be something of a monster, thus suiting the tradition in early Classic Who to feature stories with strong human villains. Jonathan Guy Lewis gives him a distinct voice, too.
2 - A nice psychological exploration of the Robomen.
Terry Nation never showed us what happened with the Robomen after the Daleks were defeated, so Moore spends some time with them, exploring what happened with Jenny's brother Victor in particular. These scenes give the story an emotional edge.
3 - The eerie dystopia is pretty well recreated and developed.
I find it easy to return to the effective atmosphere of the 1964 serial, even when there are no Daleks or no TARDIS crew around - that's how evocative Nation's dystopian setting is.
2 - A slow but steady build-up of tension and mystery.
We do get a good grasp of all the work the survivors have to put into rebuilding their society and all the threats that face them in doing so. While the story isn't very action-packed, it maintains a steady level of tension through the plotting and occasional moments of danger.
2 - The atmospheric score mirrors Francis Chagrin's original.
It's not quite on par with the original score, but it has similarities, so it helps rebuild the atmosphere.
---------------------
THE BAD:
2 - Teasing a new terrible monster, but barely uses it.
This monster is mentioned and briefly appears from the very beginning, but it has very little to do with the overall plot and doesn't engage with the characters until Part Four.
1 - The later plot developments are rather generic.
Part Four in particular kind of drops some of the plotlines introduced throughout the adventure and becomes something closer to a typical Big Finish Doctor Who story, less focused on the political thriller aspects of the first half.
1 - That orange goo feels underutilized.
We learn quite late exactly what kind of qualities the goo has, and experiencing these hallucinogenic effects made me wish Moore had used the goo more extensively in the plot.
1 - Carole Ann Ford quite cannot capture the voice of young Susan.
While she puts on a slightly lighter voice for her dialogue parts as Susan, she doesn't quite make it all the way.
1 - The recast Dalek Invasion characters sound off.
It is difficult to imagine Sean Biggerstaff as David and Lucy Briers as Jenny when they sound so different from the original actors.
August 18, 2021
*spoilers*
I've always loved The Dalek invasion of earth's themes and arc of survivors, its desperation in people and how war can change and make people do things differently. Some people lose hope, some become traitors and some become rebellious against the enemy.
I was very excited to see that theme explored, see how the world and London started to rebuild itself after the Daleks. Sadly the story does feel like its selling you a different story. While in part 1 & 2 we do get some of this and it's great, in parts 2, 3 and 4 it become a very basic story about how someone comes into power. But there are good ideas here.
In the beginning we see Susan trying to help rebuild by creating new ways of making food grow quicker. The chimes of big Ben constantly ring out. I really like that big Ben is the message of hope to bring survivours together. Later on we see many people debating on what to do next for earth, it's truly great. You get that great feel of everyone thinking they know what to do for earth next, but noone is brave enough to do it. This is sadly an untouched theme of people's fear of power taking over them again.
The story focuses on the last surviving Mayor, Markus. I really enjoyed seeing his plans and rise to power by exploiting people's fear of an alien invasion, even if his motives are ridiculously poor. We don't get any real reason other than, I like power and I had no power when I was young. It let the story down. Not to say the story is poor because of it, but it really drags it down.
If Markus had the right plan and intention in how he'd lead london/earth in the future it could work really well. It makes it a struggle for the audience, he has the right intention, but how he goes about achieving it is horrible. Even a simple re-write explaining that his wife and childs death due to a Dalek has made him lust for power. To make sure no one is lost like that.
There are some really great moments with Markus. I adored the way he was using the last surviving Dalek as a way to show people how strong, brave and honest he is by bringing it to them. I also really loved the idea of him keeping the casing as a trophy in his office. It's great symbolism of how power has changed him and he's slowly becoming like a Dalek.
I also think they missed a massive trick here to have Markus use the Dalek casing and go around scaring and making people disappear, making him a hero among his people.
The Daleks aren't a big part of this but they steal the show when they do, there is some excellent ideas here with them too. I really loved the idea of goo liquid that messes with your mind and makes you see real and fake Dalek memories. It's great to see the Daleks create a weapon on psychological torture.
We also get some great extra teases to what Ian and Babara did when they got back on earth. Susan and Davids theme of love and comfort while it doenst get expanded on does give us a better look into how they feel and act with another. There love is a very strong respect and care.
Overall It's a good story with nice ideas but feels like a drag after part 1 with nothing getting expanded on more just happens. It works but has a lot more potential to give.
Rating 3/5 6/10
I've always loved The Dalek invasion of earth's themes and arc of survivors, its desperation in people and how war can change and make people do things differently. Some people lose hope, some become traitors and some become rebellious against the enemy.
I was very excited to see that theme explored, see how the world and London started to rebuild itself after the Daleks. Sadly the story does feel like its selling you a different story. While in part 1 & 2 we do get some of this and it's great, in parts 2, 3 and 4 it become a very basic story about how someone comes into power. But there are good ideas here.
In the beginning we see Susan trying to help rebuild by creating new ways of making food grow quicker. The chimes of big Ben constantly ring out. I really like that big Ben is the message of hope to bring survivours together. Later on we see many people debating on what to do next for earth, it's truly great. You get that great feel of everyone thinking they know what to do for earth next, but noone is brave enough to do it. This is sadly an untouched theme of people's fear of power taking over them again.
The story focuses on the last surviving Mayor, Markus. I really enjoyed seeing his plans and rise to power by exploiting people's fear of an alien invasion, even if his motives are ridiculously poor. We don't get any real reason other than, I like power and I had no power when I was young. It let the story down. Not to say the story is poor because of it, but it really drags it down.
If Markus had the right plan and intention in how he'd lead london/earth in the future it could work really well. It makes it a struggle for the audience, he has the right intention, but how he goes about achieving it is horrible. Even a simple re-write explaining that his wife and childs death due to a Dalek has made him lust for power. To make sure no one is lost like that.
There are some really great moments with Markus. I adored the way he was using the last surviving Dalek as a way to show people how strong, brave and honest he is by bringing it to them. I also really loved the idea of him keeping the casing as a trophy in his office. It's great symbolism of how power has changed him and he's slowly becoming like a Dalek.
I also think they missed a massive trick here to have Markus use the Dalek casing and go around scaring and making people disappear, making him a hero among his people.
The Daleks aren't a big part of this but they steal the show when they do, there is some excellent ideas here with them too. I really loved the idea of goo liquid that messes with your mind and makes you see real and fake Dalek memories. It's great to see the Daleks create a weapon on psychological torture.
We also get some great extra teases to what Ian and Babara did when they got back on earth. Susan and Davids theme of love and comfort while it doenst get expanded on does give us a better look into how they feel and act with another. There love is a very strong respect and care.
Overall It's a good story with nice ideas but feels like a drag after part 1 with nothing getting expanded on more just happens. It works but has a lot more potential to give.
Rating 3/5 6/10
October 28, 2023
This story follows on directly from the ending of The Dalek Invasion of Earth - but from Susan's perspective not the Doctor's. Indeed, it's worth noting that, although he is often mentioned, the Doctor is not in it at all (unless you count the sound of the TARDIS dematerialising at the start). Exploring Susan's life after the TV story has been done before, most notably in the novel Legacy of the Daleks, but never, to my recollection has it been this immediate. So, if you want to imagine that novel, or any of the other audios, as occurring in the same continuity, you're probably fine. Although it is important to note that this is not a Dalek story in the normal sense, since it really is just about their legacy on Earth, not the murderous pepperpots themselves - for me, that's a plus, but it might not be for everyone.
Without the Doctor, Susan takes centre stage, supported not only by David but also Jenny, the resistance fighter from the TV story. (Here, given a surname, no less). As one might expect, this means that you will need a decent familiarity with the original episodes to get the most out of this, there being plenty of references to it. There are also 'easter egg' references to various other TV stories set broadly in the same time period, both from the classic and modern show, which, nerd value aside, give it a sense of reality, fitting in with at least a broad history of the future. (And, it has to be said, doing so with far more subtlety than the fanw**k included in Legacy of the Daleks).
The story has three intertwining elements, exploring the fate of the Robomen, the attempts to establish a new government and society in the post-apocalyptic world, and an alien monster that's wandering around underground. Added to the ongoing threat that the Daleks might return, this gives the story plenty of scope to fill out its two-hour slot, and even then, there are jumps in the narrative in a few places to save time. Some of which are explained in the narration provided by Carol Ann Ford, but some of which are not.
At times, it might be biting off slightly more than it can chew and, while the monster does have relevance to what's going on elsewhere, it isn't really needed and doesn't make a lot of sense. But, well, I guess they wanted some action other than the political plot. One could also point out that Ford doesn't sound like a teenager any more, and the new actors playing David and Jenny don't have identical voices to the original... but all of that is unavoidable. The end result is a decent story that fills in some gaps and, for once, shows us something of what happens after the Doctor swans off having defeated the baddies and left the wider societal problems for someone else to fix.
Without the Doctor, Susan takes centre stage, supported not only by David but also Jenny, the resistance fighter from the TV story. (Here, given a surname, no less). As one might expect, this means that you will need a decent familiarity with the original episodes to get the most out of this, there being plenty of references to it. There are also 'easter egg' references to various other TV stories set broadly in the same time period, both from the classic and modern show, which, nerd value aside, give it a sense of reality, fitting in with at least a broad history of the future. (And, it has to be said, doing so with far more subtlety than the fanw**k included in Legacy of the Daleks).
The story has three intertwining elements, exploring the fate of the Robomen, the attempts to establish a new government and society in the post-apocalyptic world, and an alien monster that's wandering around underground. Added to the ongoing threat that the Daleks might return, this gives the story plenty of scope to fill out its two-hour slot, and even then, there are jumps in the narrative in a few places to save time. Some of which are explained in the narration provided by Carol Ann Ford, but some of which are not.
At times, it might be biting off slightly more than it can chew and, while the monster does have relevance to what's going on elsewhere, it isn't really needed and doesn't make a lot of sense. But, well, I guess they wanted some action other than the political plot. One could also point out that Ford doesn't sound like a teenager any more, and the new actors playing David and Jenny don't have identical voices to the original... but all of that is unavoidable. The end result is a decent story that fills in some gaps and, for once, shows us something of what happens after the Doctor swans off having defeated the baddies and left the wider societal problems for someone else to fix.
December 5, 2024
It was genuinely surprising how good a story not featuring the Doctor at all was. I mean obviously there is the Dr Who element of having a Dalek in the story, but its appearance and prevalence in the story is rather minor. This story is absolutely character piece on Susan, and even as someone who never liked her on TV; I really took to her, and really was engaged in her role as the protagonist. The story does play out as a bit of a pantomime, especially the villain, but even he works well as a story device to highlight Susan’s fortitude and intelligence.
I’m really not a fan of the Early Adventures, but this one is definitely the exception so far, managing to make a story featuring nothing but a companion work well. We never really get much time to know David Campbell in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, but he is developed here as a character with strong morals and a proper personality. The same applies to Jenny, who doesn’t really get to do much on the TV story but is certainly less cold and callous than she was on screen. The only character who isn’t so well rounded is the villain; not defeated by a clever ploy from Susan, but defeated because his plan was a bit crap and easily dealt with.
I don’t really care for the Daleks but it does feel a bit misleading to have them in the title and the cover when it’s one Dalek in about 10 minutes of the story. This didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story, as when done well, stories driven solely by characters work well. There wasn’t anything that really emotionally moves you in any way, or any groundbreaking ideas so I can hardly regard this story in the same light as some of the phenomenal Big Finish that has come before. This doesn’t mean it’s not worth a listen, especially in my opinion given this is the only of the five Early Adventures I’ve listened to that I actually enjoyed at all. No crap impressions and constant narration making the story nothing more than an overpriced companion chronicle; simply a story that is pretty well rounded and tells a story of the Doctor’s first companion after she leaves the Tardis.
I’m really not a fan of the Early Adventures, but this one is definitely the exception so far, managing to make a story featuring nothing but a companion work well. We never really get much time to know David Campbell in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, but he is developed here as a character with strong morals and a proper personality. The same applies to Jenny, who doesn’t really get to do much on the TV story but is certainly less cold and callous than she was on screen. The only character who isn’t so well rounded is the villain; not defeated by a clever ploy from Susan, but defeated because his plan was a bit crap and easily dealt with.
I don’t really care for the Daleks but it does feel a bit misleading to have them in the title and the cover when it’s one Dalek in about 10 minutes of the story. This didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story, as when done well, stories driven solely by characters work well. There wasn’t anything that really emotionally moves you in any way, or any groundbreaking ideas so I can hardly regard this story in the same light as some of the phenomenal Big Finish that has come before. This doesn’t mean it’s not worth a listen, especially in my opinion given this is the only of the five Early Adventures I’ve listened to that I actually enjoyed at all. No crap impressions and constant narration making the story nothing more than an overpriced companion chronicle; simply a story that is pretty well rounded and tells a story of the Doctor’s first companion after she leaves the Tardis.
November 7, 2022
So The Early Adventures is a range that has been absolutely amazing from start to finish, so saying goodbye to it I find is very bittersweet. I wasn’t too excited when the two stories were announced unfortunately despite their interesting premise. But after a year of release, I’ve decided to give them a chance.
Susan having been left behind by her Grandfather to spend her life with David has a world to rebuild, but when a sadistic and corrupt human being attempts to climb his way into power, the fate of the future is in her hands.
After The Daleks is a slow paced political thriller that focuses very heavily on our main characters and a world after The Daleks have been defeated. It’s a very interesting story that’s written very well by Roland Moore and the cast do a fantastic job of bringing it to life. Kind of hope we get a spin-off out of this tbh!
Overall: Nothing amazing but a really solid character piece. 8.5/10
Susan having been left behind by her Grandfather to spend her life with David has a world to rebuild, but when a sadistic and corrupt human being attempts to climb his way into power, the fate of the future is in her hands.
After The Daleks is a slow paced political thriller that focuses very heavily on our main characters and a world after The Daleks have been defeated. It’s a very interesting story that’s written very well by Roland Moore and the cast do a fantastic job of bringing it to life. Kind of hope we get a spin-off out of this tbh!
Overall: Nothing amazing but a really solid character piece. 8.5/10
December 7, 2025
This seemed an unusually poor big finish. I would have guessed early days as the dialogue seemed very clunky. It kept making me think they said that because it is audio. In the interviews the writer said he was trying to be authentic to the 60s dialog. I haven't watched the original darlek invasion of earth for some time so perhaps it was. The story itself was OK nothing to exciting.
June 17, 2023
This is a pretty solid post-Dalek Invasion of Earth story, picking up directly from the end of that serial. We really get Susan questioning her place and wondering what her grandfather would do as she tries to go on and face challenges in her new life.
May 28, 2025
An interesting continuation of the Dalek Invasion with politcs, reconstruction and corruption.
Some of Susan's narration is a little odd as she often states what is happening just for the characters to repeat it anyway. I guess it was added because of the amount of scene changes
Some of Susan's narration is a little odd as she often states what is happening just for the characters to repeat it anyway. I guess it was added because of the amount of scene changes
August 19, 2021
Una gran historia súper entretenida, big finish no decepciona.
September 8, 2021
Susan and david try to rebuild the earth as a man tries to build power in the government by himself.
February 13, 2022
Not quite as much fun as I had hoped it would be, but still very entertaining. Sean Biggerstaff does a wonderful job, as always, reinforcing my delight whenever I see his name in the cast list. And Carole Ann Ford seems to have hardly aged a day during the intervening years. Yeah, I’m exaggerating, but still it’s surprising how close her voice compares to the old episodes. It’s always a pleasure to hear her bringing Susan to life once again.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews