4.5/5 stars
Doctor Who: Dalek Universe 1 is an exciting first installment in the Dalek Universe series. It’s a beautiful marriage of elements from both eras of Doctor Who, giving David Tennant’s Doctor the chance to have the kind of space opera adventures afforded to some of the Classic Doctors. I adore the opportunity to revisit the Space Security Service (and the Kingdom family) and I really enjoy getting a nice, lengthy look at a futuristic society in the Doctor Who universe. Rarely do we get to see this kind of epic, world-spanning space opera story on screen, so I’m just happy to get it on audio. The performances throughout this boxset are excellent—with special kudos to David Tennant, Gemma Whelan, and Jane Slavin. I’m excited for David Tennant to get a Big Finish series that actually feels like a season of the TV show and I cannot wait to see where this series goes. It’s an exciting breath of fresh air and, believe it or not, it’s got me interested in seeing what the Daleks are up to again. While there’s a surprising lack of Daleks (they appear in one scene at the end of the second episode), you can still feel their looming threat. And I’m eager to find out their plans. And that’s pretty high praise, indeed.

"Buying Time" and "The Wrong Woman" (by John Dorney)
Full stop: These first two stories combined are my favorite Big Finish stories in quite some time. It's action-packed, filled with surprises and captivating ideas, and brilliantly sets up the rest of the series. It’s not perfect—the second episode’s conclusion doesn’t work super well in an audio-only medium and the villain could’ve used more development—but it’s hard to imagine a better opening story. (4.5 out of 5 wands.)

"The House of Kingdom" (by Andrew Smith)
“The House of Kingdom” may not be the most exciting episode, but it’s a solid one that lays a lot of necessary groundwork for the future. There's some great character development for Anya, an exciting (if underexplored) plotline, and a whole lot of worldbuilding that makes the Doctor Who universe feel bigger. Plus—it ends on a pretty killer cliffhanger.

(Full review at Thoroughly Modern Reviewer.) ( )