"Obedience leads to discipline. Discipline leads to conformity. Conformity leads to strength. And through strength we ensure the best for all."
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
In a domed city on an alien world, the Elite rule. Guided by the High Priest, messenger from the gods, they have raised themselves up from barbarism with education and technology. Citizens of high intelligence are trained at the Academy to enter either the military or the church, while rejects and those over 40 are disposed of. They wage a righteous war to bring others to their way of life, or destroy them for their heresy. But when the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan land by accident, the truth at the heart of their society will be revealed.
It goes without saying that the Daleks are the most frequently used monster in Doctor Who, and when we know they're coming again its always interesting to see if they're actually done justice, or misused in a story that ends up messily self-destructing. Fortunately, I consider this story one of the best uses of the Daleks in the history of the series.
"The Elite" is written by John Dorney, based on a storyline by Barbara Clegg, and features the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan. I've always liked this combination for Davison's Doctor, without the constraint of the male third-wheels of either Adric or Turlough, and so I was pleased when Big Finish continued its Lost Stories range with a trilogy featuring this TARDIS crew. Set just after "Arc of Infinity", the three leads certainly act as if no time has passed since then. Tegan is her usual cynical, acerbic self, unsure if returning to the TARDIS is a good thing, as is the Doctor (if only because he'd been enjoying the quiet with Nyssa).
Everyone gets their story strand to follow: Nyssa is sent to the Academy for re-training due to her superior intelligence; Tegan is shipped off to the factories and falls in with the resistance; and the Doctor has his confrontations with both the military and the church.
The guest cast are all good, convincingly portraying a world of young people utterly indoctrinated into their system of beliefs. Special mention goes to Ryan Sampson, who previously played the petulant genius Luke Rattigan on TV in "The Sontaran Stratagem/ The Poison Sky", but here gives a much better performance as the fanatical Thane.
What really stands out is the story. As I said before, we've gotten so used to the Daleks showing up, that by now what really makes or breaks a story is how they're used within in, how they're presented, what direction the story takes. This story could easily be compared to 2005's "Dalek" from the TV series, with a lone Dalek stranded on an alien world to survive, trying to survive. While the TV story was good and suspenseful, showing how pathetically outmatched we can be even against a single Dalek, "The Elite" takes it to another level by showing what it would be like if a single Dalek was able to influence an entire society using religion, technology, and a fascist philosophy. For my money, this is a far scarier concept that a single Dalek slaughtering people in a secret underground base no one's going to know about. And to put another twist to the story, the Dalek is not really the central villain in the end, but its influence on the people is what drives the story toward its conclusion. Personally I consider this a more worthy Dalek story for the Fifth Doctor than "Resurrection of the Daleks" (now there's some messy self-destruction for you).
Its also a good thing we get this treatment of the story now, as the concept originally was for the Dalek to be using child soldiers, according the CD extras, and that the Doctor would have brought them around by teaching them to have fun, with balloons and candy floss. Frankly, I think this could have been a disaster, dumbing things down too much. Fortunately what we get instead in Dorney's re-write is a story with a cast in their 20s that takes seriously its themes of fanaticism and eugenics.
So, take a healthy dose of 1984, some Logan's Run, and a smattering of "Genesis of the Daleks", and you get this quite wonderful and unnerving tale, and more proof that you don't need hordes of Daleks to make a good story.
Rating - 10 out of 10
