Doctor Who - The Eighth Doctor Adventures: 101 - 102) Blood of the Daleks Parts 1 & 2

Back in 2006 (or 2007), BBC Radio 7 aired a few Doctor Who audio dramas featuring Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor, the Daleks and the Cybermen. Sadly, with each episode being on at 10 o'clock in the morning or something like that, I never listened to them and almost completely forgot about them until a few years later, when I discovered a free download on Big Finish's website for Blood of the Daleks: Part 1. I listened to it, enjoyed it and wanted to download Part 2 for free, but Part 2 was about £15 at the time and thus I just decided against pursuing McGann's adventures.
Back in 2013 though, I bought and listened to Dark Eyes, a brilliant four-part miniseries following an older Eighth Doctor and new companion Molly O'Sullivan as they are brought together by the Time Lords in order to thwart a Dalek conspiracy using Miss O'Sullivan's dark eyes. I really enjoyed it, and when they were released I got Dark Eyes 2, 3 and the 50th Anniversary audio The Light at the End.
I really enjoyed the stories (even though Dark Eyes 2 had an incredibly messy structure) and decided recently after finding a good deal to buy Blood of the Daleks: Parts 1 and 2. Thus, I listened...
Blood of the Daleks finds Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith) - a 20-something year old from Blackpool - mysteriously arriving in the TARDIS, to which The Doctor (Paul McGann) is furious about. The two land on Red Rocket Rising, a planet in ruins that is now getting help from a mysterious alien species, which if you haven't guessed already is the Daleks. Pretending to be benevolent to a species whose culture seems to have all but forgotten the Dalek Wars, the Dalek Supreme plans to exterminate impure Daleks on the planet and The Doctor using the help of the acting President of the planet. As it turns out, there is more to this than meets the eye, and The Doctor and Lucie banter their way through the mystery leading them to the seemingly insane Asha (played superbly by Hayley Attwell).
The story suffers from a slow pace though, set over two hour-long parts and thus has a lot more plot than it really needs to. On audio it suffers from having to explain everything through dialogue, losing some of the subtlety and pacing of the story along with it. Its a problem that can't be avoided given the medium, but its a problem nonetheless. That being said, the sound design and music are great, with a terrific cast (particularly the two leads) and a script that delves into some interesting territory. It all fits together as a good jumping-on point for new listeners, even with it feeling like Episodes 1 and 2 of a series (story and characters arcs are set up throughout), but it shows promise for a great future. 8/10