DOCTOR WHO: DALEK SURVIVAL GUIDE

How to stay alive in the company of DOCTOR WHO's oldest enemy

By Richard Salter     October 17, 2002

As with STAR TREK: THE STARFLEET SURVIVAL GUIDE, the DALEK SURVIVAL GUIDE is another book inspired by the WORST CASE SCENARIO HANDBOOK series, which features collections of hazardous situations along with tips on how to extricate yourself from them. Unlike David Mack's work, however, here the contributors seem to have struck a more appropriately humorous tone, and some of the entries are laugh-out-loud funny.

For example, the section on actually defeating a Dalek when cornered suggests using wet mud to smear over the creature's eye stalk, thus preventing it from being able to see you. The guide goes on to say that if you've been frightened by the Dalek then 'you may well find the mud at your feet very wet indeed'. Irreverent entries such as this are the real highlights of this collection. Should you manage to make an uneasy alliance with a Dalek, the guide later tells us, then it's vital that you sleep somewhere out of range of its gun. The guide goes on to offer some very amusing diagrams showing how to 'mount' a Dalek when you want to sleep in safety.

Unfortunately, such humour isn't sustained for the whole book. In particular, the section detailing different types of Daleks makes for very dry reading. The accompanying illustrations are rendered rather pointless because most Dalek types differ only in color and the book is black and white, so the exact same image is reprinted several times with the different colors listed in the written description.

The Dalek Survival Guide is both funny and dead boring in equal measure. Much of the information is gleaned from TV stories fans are going to know about anyway, and non-fans probably aren't going to be very interested. There is a long passage about the various conflicting origin stories along with analysis, but this is presented in a very straightforward style that lacks wit and is really quite dull to read. The background on Skaro, home planet of the Daleks, is nothing new. Also, we've even seen this exact same cross-section diagram of a Dalek elsewhere. Other sections seem to exist just to fill up space. The glossary, for example, is completely useless and adds nothing.

Overall, the DALEK SURVIVAL GUIDE is a bit of a mixed bag. It is clearly packaged and produced to appeal to both dedicated and non-fans alike with its simple black cover and lack of DOCTOR WHO logo. For this, the BBC should be commended, as it seems that a real attempt has been made to make the franchise appealing to the casual buyer. However, the contents really should have veered more heavily towards the comedic, which works so well where it is used, and less on the dry recounting of old TV stories and boring pictures of the same Dalek over and over again when describing the different types. While this may well appeal to the general public while they're browsing, actually reading the book might at times have the effect of putting people off.

New correspondent Richard Salter is the co-editor of the popular DOCTOR WHO fanzine, MYTH MAKERS.

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