Roger Smith AKA Black Dalek writes:

Not one of the better stories but nevertheless I found it quite amusing, thinking of Daleks as the first Eco-Warriors appeals to my warped sense of humour.

The Terrorkons are impressive (thanks Terry) and I do like Sid, the Daleks as always are faultless.

Two specials this time...

Blackpool was a joy which bought back lots of memories of taking the local group up to the exhibition and generally having fun on the beach, pity my video camera at the time was the size of a house as you had to take camera and the player and car batteries with you, but would not work inside the exhibition so the photos were my next option. Wish I taken more now, but Stuart’s done well with what I gave him.

Second part of the sweet cigarettes is my favourite story. Again it’s my sense of humour. I like the idea of the Doctor being invited round for tea by the Daleks.

Over all a most enjoyable addition to my growing collection.

Paul Kalus writes:

Just a quick line to say a big thank you to all concerned with the production & distribution of your excellent VCDs.

Having just seen the latest I can only say "Keep up the good work !"

Hope you're able to continue to produce work of this quality as the episodes really capture the world of the Daleks in a way that (to me anyway) is far superior to any other material available - commercial or otherwise.

A special thanks to the man himself for bringing all this together - Cheers, Stuart !

All the best for the future

Robert Barclay writes:

Thanks for such a quick turnaround - the CD arrived safe and sound.

The Terrorkon Harvest is one of my favourite strips, and you've really done it justice. Splendidly realised monsters, and an almost hypnotic "count down" style of incidental music running all the way through the story, which built to a very effective climax when the bomb-defusing scene was finally reached.

If I was going to be ultra-picky, I suppose I could say that in a few scenes the appearance of the water's surface wasn't up to the same standards as the rest of the scenery (although it was better in some scenes than others), and also the close-up of the Terrorkon's claw flexing wasn't as good as some other effects - maybe not helped by the lack of surface texture?

But this is trivial next to the all-action mayhem, the moody shots in the caves and - best of all - the great Emperor and Red Dalek double act! After that unfortunate incident with Zeg, I thought the Emperor might be a bit iffy about red Daleks, but these two work so well together. Whenever the Emperor's getting a bit hysterical, the Red Dalek just puts on his gruff voice and gets on with it. And working in that line from last year's Doctor Who Dalek/Cyberman series climax, without it jarring at all, was just brilliant.

In fact, I didn't realise until I re-read the strip how much extra dialogue you add to keep the stories going. You've obviously developed a real knack for that peculiar Nation/Whittaker comic strip style - sillier than (most of) the TV dialogue, but with a sort of innocent charm. "Do not be afraid, Dalek," indeed!

Finally, thanks for bringing the sweet cigarette card stories to a wider audience in the form of extras on these discs. The second one, strangely enough, has the seeds of what could be a really interesting story - the Daleks needing the Doctor to save them from an all-powerful device they've created. But just to make sure no one's going to take the idea too seriously, it ends with the most bizarre slap up feast in history...

Looking forward to the next instalment.

Trevor Sproston writes:

Altered Vistas’ latest volume in the Dalek Chronicles continues the high standard of production we have come to expect from these talented  people. This particular episode presents its own challenges: underwater rendering, animating animals: Terrorkons and the other inhabitants of the lake. These have been tackled with enthusiasm and skill. I hope that Stuart and the team feel that they can complete the task they’ve set themselves.

Mark Oliver writes:

David Bertagni has very kindly sent me your last two Dalek Chronicles, and as always they were very very enjoyable.

Impasse was very impressive and the storyline (which is as inventive as ever) was wonderfully captured and there was a real sense of tension as Agent 2K (why do I always thing of Y2K when I see him? Smile) sets about his task.

I have to say though I think your surpassed yourself with The Terrorkon Harvest. The Daleks underwater spheres were a revelation and particularly well realized. For me though, I think the incidental music really makes these releases. The animation is superb, but it is the music that polishes the production to such an extent that the entire enterprise is raised to a whole new level.

Many, many thanks for the hours of entertainment you have provided me this year; it is very much appreciated. Long may it continue.

Jonathan Dabinett writes:

The Daleks have some new rockets, and whilst putting them in the underwater launch pad an over-adventurous Terrorkon (a very large two-headed beastie which is native to Skaro) manages to grab one of them. The Daleks are totally unprepared for this type of emergency, in the end the Emperor evacuates the city and defuses the rocket himself. The Emperor seems to rule the Daleks in a Romanesque way, always having to prove and show how powerful and fearless he is.

At first I wasn't sure about the music, it was a bit techno, but then, as with all good techno, a cool rhythmic tune emerges making it a top tune - Stuart says he was inspired by the Jaws theme.

The Cadet Sweet cards 26 - 50 is a very cool and amusing extra, with the Daleks asking for Doctor Who's help and then having a banquet in his honor, well I would have never thought it possible (or likely).

In all this is a topping production well worth the £20 I didn't pay (as it is free to whoever wants a copy). Stuart has done a fantastic job on this, his animation gets better and better. One day I am sure he is going to get a huge computer (as big as Deep Thought) and go professional.

Guy Newmountain writes:

Just a quick note to let you know how much I enjoyed The Terrorkon Harvest - you brought those two-headed creatures ultra-convincingly to life and the water effects particularly were superb; how you produce such quality at the rate you do is Pure Mystery (!) to me... meant to write a while back, but snowed under with work - my apologies - saw your note about reviews also - all i would say is never let the apathy of other people hold you back, just think how incredible an achievement it will be to complete the ENTIRE Dalek Chronicles - an awesome thing for (basically) ONE person to accomplish... and whether or not many people are vocalising it to you, the very fact they are sending CDR's to you for copies is a veiled compliment saying how much the work means to them - stick with it and I am certain you will reach your goal of completing all the episodes.

Jonathon Leigh writes:

I have just viewed The Terrorkon Harvest and it is absolutely fabulous!!!!! The graphics really seem to flow seamlessly in this version and the action with the monsters must have been very time and processer power hungry!

The virtual exhibition is more or less just as I remembered the original from visits to Blackpool in the 70's and 80's as a very young child, during the Baker era. The Cadet cards was also a bonus; never having known of their existance it was a real gem.

Do keep up the good work, Stuart and the gang at Empire and I can't wait for the Curse to be released !!!

Tom Tyrrell writes:

Firstly, I’d like to say what a wonderful idea of David Whitaker’s this was. Dalek Chronicles as a creature feature – I love it! The two-headed Terrorkons have a wonderfully B movie vibe to them whilst also reminding me of the terrifying raptors in the Jurassic Park films. And when one of them squared up against the Lambton Worm, I nearly cheered.

Secondly, I’ll praise the animation. It seems with every Dalek Chronicles release, there’s something new to be impressed by and in this case, it was the camera movement. I loved the canted angle as the Emperor and the Red Dalek make their way down the pipe, and the grand crane shots of the conclusion.

If I have one criticism, it’s that the Terrorkon and the Lambton Worm never seem to do any damage to each other – but I guess it’s in the spirit of the original comic never to show any blood or gore.

As for the extras, the virtual Blackpool Exhibition was an interesting curiosity. Certainly more watchable than the home video footage on a previous release, I still found it distracting the way the pictures warped as the camera moved, but I guess that was unavoidable. It does feature a killer CGI console though, and it’s useful for those of us who weren’t even born then.

The second sweet cigarette cards production is even more laughable than the first, with its bizarrely friendly Daleks who invite the Doctor around for a slap up feast! Still, I mentioned on my review of the Impasse VCD how much I appreciate these looks into the obscurest nooks and crannies of the non-canonical, and I look forward to more pleasant surprises in later releases.

RetroRobot writes:

Prog. 1:  The Terrorkon Harvest    (18:43)

        2:  Virtual Tour – Blackpool (DW) Exhibition 1982  <bonus>    (5:36)

        3:  Cadet Sweet Cigarette Cards – Story Two (cards 26-50)  <b>    (12:18)

Prog. 2 review:  "Virtuous Exhibitionizm"

A clever, and mostly successful, use of still-photos in motion to evoke an experience of walking through a 1982 Doctor Who exhibition (with some pix from Roger Smith's other attendances in '81 & '83 tacked on the end).

Apart from failing to adequately dwell on the pic of the "Sentry Dalek" on the way in*, and the (otherwise) unnecessary stop at the one featuring the Traitorous Usurping-Upstart Davros with a pair of his Perverse Prototype Flunkies (preEmperor-period Daleks), this interesting 'slide-show' (in more ways than the obvious) works well as an idea.

[* Our Dalek Masters will hear about this! ]

Indeed, with a collection of the best (plus 'alternative-angle' shots) photos by various attendees, this kind of presentation would make an ideal series of records for such exhibits.

Pleasingly atmospheric & subdued background music is provided by EMPIRE 639 (although there are no pix of this obscure ensemble busking at the show so I presume it was played as Muzak –or 'Whozak'– on the PA).

Good Effort – 3 Timelords out of 10.

Prog. 3 review:  "Ciggie Cards – Sweet Cadet Story (Second Pack – suckers 26-50)"

Stuart reprises his role as narrator for the other story-set of Cadet Sweet-Cigarette Cards featuring an even younger (black-haired) 1stDoctor – presumably in an even earlier episode – having yet another Canonically-anomalous/anachronistic Dalek-adventure!  (Although this one could pass as an uncharacteristically flamboyantly-dressed 7Doc?)

A 'dormant' Dalek is taken by Terran forces, but (as Stuart cleverly observes) like with 10Doc, it will not speak with anyone but The Doctor!  Stuart also properly notes that the scripting for this set is better, more narratively-written material.  Perhaps they'd given up on the idea of a Storybook for these cards by that time?

There are a couple of very cool spaceship-pix, especially The Doctor's being attacked by Daleks on 'TransolarDisks'.  There's also a nicely synchronistic (see Prog.1 review) glimpse of a Terrorkon and a specific reference to their appearance in the Dalek Book (where they were called 'Horrorkons' from/on another world in 'The Monsters of Gurnian').

In a nicely rare moment the Daleks rescue "Doctor Who", but it is the run-amok Nutronium-refining machine that is the 'feature creature' of this story, threatening to beat the Hand Of Omega to the job of destroying Skaro!  So here The Doctor must Save it first (although there Is an ulterior motive it seems).

My favourite card is a scene between The Doctor & Golden Emperor (supposedly where they are calculating the timespan before the destruction) which I subtitle:  "The Doctor indicates the Daleks are Screwed, but the Emperor insists they are Welded".

Prog. 1 review:  "The TerrificCon Dividend"

(The Terrorkons have had quite a good innings in these scripts – unlike Phrynians or Zerosian Robots – having appearances in several previous stories, including their debut in The Dalek Book as 'Horrorkons', and being their last showing, this is their Big Titular Moment farewell-feature...)

We flash-back to D.C.#7 (AV07) "The Nuisance Of The Morons", at the end of which the Emperor of the Dullhicks (in his new 'sub-bling' casing) has resorted to "underground funding streams" to escape the "serious economic collapse" of Dullhick City under an onslaught of "Advertising Propaganda from the blitz of PromoBalls" broadcast by the Snortmon's Demonstronic 'Emptibrain-Moronbots'.  As the Dull Emperor "emerges from the Underworld upon the shores of the Lake Of Amortizations with a bright new Futures Portfolio ahead", he is "traumatized by the sight of a two-pronged 'Terrific-Con' emerging from the Liquid Assets."  The Emperor then "takes a psychotic-break, during which he transacts into a Xenophobic Megalomaniac intent on Corporatizing the entire Universe.

The Future is Doomed!”

It is now then quite some time later before the Emperor discovers what became of the TerrificCon during the meanwhilst of all that time that the Dullhicks have been rebuilding, having more adventures, learning new stuff and getting more sophisticated in general terms & considerations.  One of the considerations with which they've come to terms is their own name.

Since defeating the Snortmons and their Demonstrative Moronbot Salesforce (by firing a Volcano at them) the Dullhicks have:  started a war with the Mechanonoids; driven the Phunniest people in the Galaxy underground (keeping all the aboveground bars, bistros & nightclubs for their humourless selves); played Cosmic Pinball with a Rouge Planetoid (the 'Planette of the Daleks'); discovered the existence of a mysterious (and never-heard-from-again) Robot called '3D', that cheats at Cosmic Pinball and rescued the planet Mechanonus* from being sunk ("left-corner pocket, canon off the 'Omega3' via a backspin around the magnetized-asteroids") and thus consider themselves pretty 'worldly'experienced nowadays.  So they have come to see themselves as “hicks” no longer, rather as descendants of the 'Koolheads' and, being "darlings of daring" thus rename themselves the 'Darlinks'. 

(Isn't Skarosian history fascinating!?)

[* not to be confused with 'Mechonanus' the planet of uptight tecky wankers who can't even find grils they're so geeky ]

The Darlink Emperor (ocularly nicknamed 'GoldenBall') has ordered an Accounting of Assets for the DataBank Of Skaro (Unlimited) and one team of Auditors head for the Lake Of Amortizations to establish a Liquid Measure thereof.  The Lake itself is a Balanced Economic Formulation (of 2-parts Hydro, ie, units of market-expansion, to 1-part Oxo – market-reduction or "rust" as opposed to 'Trust') which, when spread over an Economic Landscape, or 'development-opportunity', creates a "Level Paying Field".  Despite the fact that, beneath the surface, some parts are Rises & Peaks whilst others are Slumps & Troughs, the 'little-people' in smaller, unprotected communities in the lowlands will get wiped-out (Economically Exterminated) and the 'higher-ups' will excessively benefit in the expansion of their profit-bases (Money Mountains) so it all balances out as far as the overall Wealth Pool is concerned.  Which is why they called it the Lake Of Amortizations.

However, the Auditors arrive in their 'aqui*-boats' only to discover that an uncontrolled outbreak of TerrificCons has 'done a rocket' in the unregulated Lake and have multiplied out of proportion to their originally Limited Portfolio.

[* 'acquisition'boats or 'hoover'bouts ]

Market-pressures are highest at the bottom of the Pool so the Auditor Darlinks must induce the TCs to invest their energy more productively below the privileged shallows of the Lakeside, resorting to electrifying Protective Barriers  to deny the TCs access to Surface Investments and limiting them to Bottom-of-the-Harbour schemes.

The TerrificCons mount a Corporate Action, attempting to rub-out the entry of the Auditors, swamp their inputs, sink their 'aquiboats' and wash-out the Darlink Accounts so as to dissolve the debits and drown their numbers.  The Darlinks' ProfitstreamBarriers and their attendant TarriffControls are violated by the TerrificCons' aggressive Economic Politics & swiftly-sudden surprise secret Hostile Takeover Bid for executive control of the Amortization's seaboard.  The TCs are set to ride a rocket-profitmargin to an explosive position in the 'boom' market.

Back at the Darlink-StockpileMarket, GoldenBall (DEO of Darlink-GalacticEnterprises,Ext.) debates the situation with the Red*Darlink who suggests dropping an Economic Bombshell.

[* so-coloured for being Greatest-in-Debt to the Emperor and under exclusive service-contract until he paid it Black ]

The Emperor rejects this offer, pointing out that such a move would generate Business Instability and that the TCs are needed for keeping Sharks out of the Pool.  Instead he proposes that some other 'Investment-Attractor' be lowered into the Lake Of Amortizations to bolster Investor Confidence and stir up the requisite Financial Inducement for redirecting the TC's cash-flow and reducing their profiteering Interest-Rate.

Meanwhile, the real Target Figure is the burgeoning 'Nucular Fools' market (the Darlinks having cornered the Solar Credit for their own SolarTransaction-Disks which keep the Darlink Financial Empire hovering about the upper-reaches of their ResourceGrabs & ClaimJumps) and while the TerrificCons are diddling each other in the overheated deep end, the Darlinks jump into the Lake at the cool & calm business-conditions end of the Financial Pier.

Unfortunately, the discovery that the TerrificCons have made off with a copy of the Master Prospectus for the Darlink Investment Plan sets off a panic-flight of Darlinks who evacuate their accounts and flee the marketplace in a run from the DataBank.  To counter this trend, Emperor'GoldenBall' & 'In-the'RedDarlink sneak off to the Industrial-PowerHouse and siphon-off the GrossNutritionalProduct from out of one of the major Economic-Pipelines and insert themselves into the Funding-Stream.  This transacts them directly to the purloined Portfolio which the TCs have found can't be opened for unauthorized investment without causing a meltdown in the Financial Sector.

Goldie & Red manage to resecure the Portfolio when the TC responsible fo(u)r keeping its eyes on its performance is distracted by a fresh HostileTakeoverBid from 'E.E.L.' (Evil Electrosemantics Legion) with an offer to Upgrade their franchise by amalgamating with a separate Economic Blockage called the 'Cyphermen' who are 'een now engaged in securing the greatest EconomicWeapon* the Banking universe has even known.

[* see 'Blank-Ledger' ]

E.E.L. & the TC get caught up in a dramatic (& violent) Public Legal Tussle for control of the Portfolio, leaving GB & RD free to pick up the pieces, tie-off loose ends & close the loopholes and (with their plunger-marks all over it) brazenly repackage the whole thing as a Nucular Option, having plugged all the leaks before the Nucules ran out!

The Darlink Emperor closes the meeting with these words:  "Our {(city)Commerce} is saved, but let us {(search)Survey} our {(planet)Portfolios} and {(discover)Disclose} all their {(dangers)Deficits}". 

The Future is Doomed(again)!