Big Finish Productions has started what appears to be a promising spin-off series from the Doctor Who range of audio dramas with Dark Gallifrey: Morbius Part One starring Samuel West as the ancient tyrannical Time Lord known as Morbius.
Tim Foley is the writer with Samuel Clemens serving as director. The talented cast includes Mina Anwar, Rachel Atkins, Justin Avoth, and Janet Narrata. Hywel Morgan, Andrew French, and Lara Lemon round out the cast.
This episode has the feel of a cosmic sea adventure. The Time Lord battleship Proteus is returning to Gallifrey after achieving a major victory in their war against the renegade Morbius. The captain has recently regenerated but still may not be fully recovered. There is a mysterious force lurking in the shadows below deck.
Foley relies on a pretty standard trope of what sort of sounds like a pirate adventure, but he does it well. The crew of the Proteus are not pirates, but the characterizations seem somewhat similar to those type of stories. The performances are solid, which is almost always the case with Big Finish releases.’
It’s sometimes not an easy story to follow, but this is only the first one in a trilogy.
Samuel West has been playing Morbius periodically for Big Finish in recent years, and there is no reason to find another substitute. Morbius was in only one television story during the Tom Baker era, but he has made a lasting impression on the fan base. He was originally portrayed by Michael Spice in The Brain of Morbius.
This is a pretty good start for a series that really doesn’t feature the Doctor, and I am intrigued enough to continue my journey through Dark Gallifrey.
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