Intertextality: Cuthbert and Conglomerate originated in Audio Visuals' 'Conglomerate' Doctor Who audio stories.

Dialogue Triumphs: "I've discovered something quite disturbing on Dalek FM..."

Continuity: Zucodan's haze is deadly, associated with space-time energy leakage. Sources include dimensional flux, warp engines and distortions in time.

Cuthbert's reputation has taken something of a knock since president moorkurk discredited him after his entanglement with the Laan.

Proxima Major is purported to be a temperate planet with a large, tropical equatorial area, but has become a frozen world after the Daleks shifted its position. It has cities, trucks and a parliament, plus a rocket programme. Its population have no gods.

Zucodam was head of Astrophysics on Gastodon V during the Seventh Imperium.

The TARDIS scanner can magnify to a billionth of a micron. Romana modified the TARDIS' outer shell integrity after the missile attempt on it and considers herself better qualified to work on antique TARDISes than the Doctor- the Doctor cancelled the modification in the mean-time.

K9's recent repairs have improved his overall efficiency by one hundred and fifty per cent.

Romana has heard of the Daleks and the Doctor's reputation with them. The Daleks here have a vast Dimension Ship and are led by the Dalek Supreme.

Location: Proxima System, specifically Proxima Major

Links: The Sands of Life/The War Against the Laan, the Randomiser again (plus mention of the Black Guardian). The Doctor recalls he has known the Daleks to be vulnerable to low temperatures (Planet of the Daleks).

The Bottom Line: "I've always thought one should cultivate a healthy disrespect for powerful people."

The First Romana finally meets the Daleks and the result is... pretty unremarkable, even for a finale build-up episode such as this. On the other hand, the return of Cuthbert sets up what could be a rather good finale, though why set it on one of the dullest planets in the galaxy is a mystery in itself. Oh well, onward...