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Terror Firma fires off with the Eighth Doctor, Charley, and C’rizz returning from the Divergent Universe into a world that’s somehow more messed up than before. The Daleks have taken over Earth; Davros is Emperor again, and instead of being just his usual megalomaniac self, he’s riddled with a suicide wish and multiple personalities. He wants the Doctor to be the one to end him. It’s like the universe’s most tragic “notice me, Sempai” moment, but with apocalypse bombs in the background.
Early on, we meet Samson and Gemma, two people who were once companions of the Doctor—except the Doctor has no memory of them. Their existence is erased from his past, like someone pressed delete. That twist hits surprisingly well. Also there’s Harriet Griffin, social hostess with drunken charm, secretly running a resistance. She’s one of the few characters who actually feels like she has purpose and texture. But here’s the problem: once you land that twist, the story doesn’t do enough with it. It unloads cool reveals, then seems unsure what to build from them.
Davros is interesting here. The split personality between his own ego and the Emperor Dalek persona gives a little more dimension than “evil mastermind wants destruction.” His inner conflict—even his desire for the Doctor to kill him—is more than just theatrics. But again: to what effect? Not enough to make it meaningful. The story occasionally suggests Davros is haunted by his past, by the greyness between “Dalek” and “himself,” and C’rizz’s ability to see ghosts, to carry spiritual remnants, is promising. But those threads are more invitations than fulcrums.
What drags Terror Firma down is the lack of payoff. Scenes feel repeated, emotional beats are teased and then dropped, revelations burst in without enough setup, and consequences are often resolved off-screen or with couple of lines. Samson and Gemma’s presence twists the Doctor’s history in interesting ways, but most of what follows feels like paperwork: “Here is what we forgot. Now fix it.” The resistance (led by Harriet) has dramatic moments, especially when her social veneer is peeled back, but her subplot also feels sidelined.
Dialogue is sharp in places. Charley and C’rizz get some good emotional work. Harriet is fun in her party-host mode. The pacing has moments of tension, especially when the narrative cuts between Davros’s self-loathing, the Doctor’s horror, and Charley/C’rizz’s scramble. But overall the structure is loose: too many ideas vying for center that never settle.
The themes? Loss. Identity. What happens when your memories are not your own (or are stolen). Guilt. Resistance. All valid, heavy stuff. But the story doesn’t commit fully to any of them, so they float. They don’t hit the gut, they linger faintly.
Final Thoughts:
Terror Firma is full of ambition and some “holy crap, turn the lights on” plot twists. I admire what it tries. I like the reveal of forgotten companions. I like Davros tearing at himself. But when the dust settles, you realise you’ve been entertained, yes, but not deeply moved. It’s ideas over impact.
Rating: 2 out of 5 broken Davros wishes.