Daleks in London, Davros on ice, and the Doctor pushed so far he nearly adds “cold-blooded executioner” to his CV.
Short Synopsis
The Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough land in a time corridor that drags them into a Dalek plot to rescue Davros, rebuild their empire, and clone the Doctor. Unsurprisingly, everything devolves into betrayals, mass shootings, and Tegan deciding this lifestyle is not worth the dry-cleaning bills.
Extended Storyline
The story kicks off when the Doctor investigates a mysterious “time corridor” linking 1980s London with a Dalek prison ship. In London, armed police are behaving suspiciously, only to reveal themselves as Dalek duplicates — because who wouldn’t trust a Dalek to build perfect human disguises? (Spoiler: they’re not perfect. These “duplicates” behave like extras in a zombie film.)
Meanwhile, aboard the prison ship, the Daleks are busy thawing out Davros. Apparently, the last time we saw him he was cryogenically frozen like a sci-fi fish finger, but the Daleks need him now. Their empire is collapsing thanks to a virus that only kills Daleks — a remarkably specific weapon developed by their enemies, the Movellans.
Of course, the Daleks don’t actually want Davros’ leadership; they just want his genius. Which is adorable, given that Davros’ genius usually involves creating even more problems for them. Sure enough, as soon as he’s defrosted, Davros immediately starts plotting to overthrow them and set himself up as Supreme Dalek. Because if there’s one thing consistent in Dalek lore, it’s that Davros cannot resist staging a coup.
Back in London, the Doctor and his companions team up with a squad of space marines sent to investigate. Unfortunately, most of them are promptly slaughtered, because this story racks up one of the highest body counts in Doctor Who history. Soldiers, scientists, bystanders — nobody is safe. Even the Doctor’s allies drop like flies, leaving him increasingly horrified.
Things escalate when the Daleks reveal their plan to duplicate the Doctor and his companions. The duplicates would then assassinate key Earth leaders and, for good measure, infiltrate Gallifrey and assassinate the High Council of Time Lords. So essentially: “kill everyone, everywhere, always.” It’s ambitious, at least.
The Doctor eventually confronts Davros face-to-face and comes dangerously close to killing him outright. With a gun in his hand, he debates pulling the trigger — but, true to form, hesitates at the last moment. (Although Davros’ manic monologuing probably helped stall long enough for the Doctor’s conscience to kick in.)
The virus eventually turns against the Daleks themselves, destroying large numbers of them in a delightfully gooey fashion. Davros, of course, escapes once more, promising vengeance in his best “next time, Gadget” voice.
The aftermath leaves the Doctor shaken by the carnage, but it’s Tegan who makes the big move: she decides she’s had enough of running, fighting, and burying friends. She quits on the spot in a genuinely emotional farewell, leaving the Doctor devastated and unusually vulnerable. It’s one of the rare times a companion quits not because of alien mind control or marriage proposals, but because the whole experience was just too traumatic.