Part of the Second Doctor Lost Stories boxset, Daleks: The Destroyers is actually the never made pilot for the Sara Kingdom US spin-off that never happened. Originally written by Terry Nation, and of course starring Jean Marsh, this was adapted by Nick Briggs and John Dorney.

Not really a Doctor Who story, but almost the first spin-off before K9 and Company, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood, what might have been?

The story

In a nutshell (courtesy of Big Finish)…

In 1967, the Daleks were written out of Doctor Who as their creator, Terry Nation, prepared to launch them in their own TV series. Production was halted at the eleventh hour, but the script has survived – now making its debut on audio.

When the crew of Explorer Base One is attacked by the Daleks, Space Security Agents Sara Kingdom, Mark Seven and Jason Corey are sent to investigate. They discover a plan that threatens the future of the entire galaxy…

This is a standard Daleks attack base, kill nearly everyone and make the rest prisoners. This time the prisoner is Sara’s brother David setting up dramatic tension. The plot is a would be rescue that fails leaving plenty of scope for a series. There are lots of other characters, no sign of The Doctor but plenty of Daleks.

The storytelling

In style this is larger than life reminding the listener (intentionally) of a comic strip. The CD extras are worth a listen and have some theories as to how the show might have been perceived in the US has it aired.

Stylistically these are Daleks that can’t fly, the alien world has carnivorous plants and many threads of Dalek Masterplan are visible –  think Mission to the Unknown. As a piece it is worth a listen but is a recreation of what might have been. The secondary characters have little depth though interesting for the time Mark Seven is a robot which presages many robot characters since.

Better than the accompanying Prison in Space this is a curio but maybe little more.