The Daleks are back. And this time they've got their eyestalks set on Gallifrey!

The Doctor and Evelyn arrive on the planet Archetryx just ahead of a Dalek assault squadron. But as they attempt to help fight off the invaders, it becomes apparent that this is not just an act of mindless aggression from Skaro's least favourite sons.

The Daleks are after something, and it's something dangerous. How are the gravity wells of Archetryx and the long missing Time Lord President Romana involved? And what do the Daleks have planned for Gallifrey?

As the Doctor probes these mysteries, with friends old and new at his side, he discovers a plot by his ancient enemies that is grand and frightening in scale, even for the Daleks!

Stephen Cole's script for The Apocalypse Element tries to do too much. It seems to think it's a big budget movie, given the number of laser gun battles and explosions we are treated to, if treated is the right word. Sometimes the story just descends into noise, which I know has had some people turning it off.

Underneath the multi-layered plot is quite a good idea struggling to get out. The Daleks are as scheming as they were in The Genocide Machine, which is enough to have me at least looking forward to the forthcoming fifth Doctor encounter, The Mutant Phase.

One chilling idea portrayed in this story is the Dalek mutants in the gravity wells. The thought that the blobs we saw in Genesis and Remembrance were floating about in the dark, waiting to grab the unwary gives you genuine shivers.

Colin Baker and Maggie Stables give good performances as the Doctor and Evelyn in this, their third play together, but it needs a little more than that to elevate this above being all sound and fury. And its good to hear Lalla Ward back in the Doctor Who family, her dialogue with Colin sparkles at times.

Of the guest cast, we get the usual nicely understated performance from Auton star Michael Wade as the President, a role we now know he was filling until Romana's return. Anthony Keetch also returns from Sirens of Time as Vansell, building well on the character this time around. And for a change Nick Briggs wears just two hats, those of Director and Dalek voices.

So, a good story weighed down under the art of its noise!