Tag: daleks

Doctor Who Audio Review: The Battles Keep Coming

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The War Doctor Begins: Battlegrounds is a decent but unspectacular addition to range of War Doctor audio adventures from Big Finish Productions. Doctor Who has a myriad of ranges, and this one does remain fascinating overall, but this particular set struck me as being pretty average. Jonathon Carley continues his portrayal as the War Doctor, which was originated by the late John Hurt. Louise Jameson is the director of this set, and she does a good job.

The War Doctor was an incarnation who was denied by his other selves because of some of his actions taken during the Time War. He has denied himself his usual name, which makes introductions a little awkward to new characters. The War Doctor is not really evil, but he is a bit more ruthless than his other iterations.

As expected in this range, there are three episodes.

The Keeper of Light by Phil Mulryne begins where the War Doctor has a new companion and appears to be investigating strange signals that come from a lighthouse. It seems like a familiar type of adventure for this Time Lord, and he is only too happy to look into it. The problem is that he finds that his sense of reality may not be as reliable as he hopes.

The performances are great as usual. Carley continues to improve on the development of this character, and his impression of Hurt’s unique voice is impressive.

Rossa McPhillips continues the battle with the Daleks with his story entitled Temmosus in which the War Doctor has to convince a group of Thals that they are actually on the same side. A battleship the War Doctor has constructed has been stolen, and a Thal commander is trying to negotiate with the Daleks, which is not going to work out the way he hopes.

This is an interesting story as well. It seems overdue to bring in the Thals in this Time War saga since they shared the planet Skaro with the Daleks.

Finally, Timothy X Atack closes out this set with Rewind, which is actually the best out of this three.

The planet Lacuna is reliving the same day under an attack from the Daleks. Ignis Abel finds a lone man in a castle who may be the architect of their situation, but he was trying to save their lives. The War Doctor wants to break the population from the time loop he constructed, but doing so may leave them at the mercy of the Daleks.

Sarah Moss plays the optimistic and curious Ignis and is kind of the lead in this story. Her scenes with the War Doctor are well written.

The unique take on the repeating day is that the population is aware of the predicament and remember each time when the cycle ended with the Daleks slaughtering everyone.

The set is pretty good for the most part. I love that Louise Jameson has been expanding her role at Big Finish Productions beyond just playing Leela.

Carley is quite the find with his ability to emulate John Hurt’s distinctive voice.

Even if I didn’t find much that stood out, it’s still not a bad collection. Carley’s performance is quite astonishing. I wasn’t initially enthusiastic about the introduction of the War Doctor, but I am enjoying the heck out of this range of Big Finish audios even if that enjoyment comes at different levels.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Doctors, Daleks, And Temporal Leakage

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Four Doctors is a Doctor Who audio drama from Big Finish Productions and is a pretty decent multi-Doctor episode, although there have been better. It is written by Peter Anghelides and directed by Nicholas Briggs and Ken Bentley. Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann all star as the Doctor. Nicholas Briggs also returns to voice the Daleks. The other members of the guest cast are David Bamber, Ellie Burrow, Nogel Lambert, andAlex Mallinson.

There is a vault with a dangerous secret, and the Fifth Doctor has discovered something called temporal leakage at this station run by biomechanoids known as the Jariden. A Dalek attack force is on the way, and a Jariden finds himself swept up in the Doctor’s timeline where he encounters several different versions of the Time Lord.

There are some interesting directions this story takes that differ from other multi-Doctor stories. The Doctors don’t really spend much time together other than kind of a tacked on final scene, which I am sorry to give that much of a spoiler. Most of the story deals with this Jariden military officer who is accompanied by a wrecked Special Weapons Dalek and pursued by the Dalek Prime. He encounters the Doctor in different incarnations as he gets swept up by some breaches in Time.

The main plot idea is solid enough, and the performances are more than acceptable. I guess I was a little let down that Anghelides felt the need to have the Doctors interact with each other without actually working together to solve a crisis. I just believe that one must have a multi-Doctor adventure, let him argue with himself and deal with the threat. If Anghelides wanted to have the Doctor work on some piece of the problem from various points in his timeline, that would be just fine because it would be something not really experienced by the audience all that much.

Doctor Who has a lot of silliness imbedded into its DNA anyway, but generally the multi-Doctor episodes tended to stretch that absurdity to the limit. They just are not usually written that well. Big Finish does do a better job with this type of episode than the television series could manage

Still, most of the major elements in this episode work quite well. Even if I feel the Daleks are a little overused, I didn’t mind their appearance here. The Doctors were still great. The main story had some creativity, and there were even a few profound moments that were kind of moving.

Even if I would have preferred a different final scene, it’s still an enjoyable episode on the whole.

Doctor Who Audio Review: The War Doctor Signs Up

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The War Doctor Begins: Forged In Fire is the beginning of what appears to be a promising series of Doctor Who audio dramas released by Big Finish Productions. Jonathon Carley steps into the role created by the late John Hurt of what has become known as the War Doctor. This is when the Doctor as regenerated into an incarnation intending to enter the Time War as a participant. This Doctor has rejected the moniker he has used for centuries because he is about to engage in methods of fighting that none of his other selves would condone. This trilogy is directed by Louise Jameson, who is basically immortalized in the Doctor Who canon as Leela of the Sevateem. Jameson has been indulging her creative talents outside of acting and seems to be doing quite well at it. Nicholas Briggs returns to voice the Daleks. Adele Anderson, John Dorney, Helen Goldwyn, and Tracy Wiles are some members of guest cast making their welcome contributions.

The first of the three episodes is entitled Light the Flame by Matt Fitton. This picks up moments after the Eighth Doctor has regenerated on the planet Karn before the Sisterhood of the Flame. The War Doctor already has to decide what his fight in the Time War will entail, but he first has to save Karn and the Sisterhood from a ruthless plan concocted by his own people.

I am not too sure of the main story, but Carley puts in a wonderful performance. It is almost eerie how much he can make his voice emulate John Hurt’s. As the War Doctor regains his footing after a traumatic regeneration, the audience gets treated to a compelling emotional journey as the differences from his pervious selves becomes more evident. It’s not always easy to follow, but Fitton still provides a strong introduction for this actor and this early version of the War Doctor.

Lion Hearts is the second story provided by Lou Morgan. The Tharils, who were first seen in the television serial, Warriors’ Gate, are now caught up in the Time War. The War Doctor has joined a rescue operation of a captured friend, but that of course becomes even more complicated than he anticipated. Morgan does a really good fake out as she teases the audience with how ruthless the War Doctor may actually become. I really enjoyed the story once I remembered how I first saw the Tharils and could more properly picture them in my head. Yet again, Carley continues to impress with his version of the War Doctor.

It is long-time contributor Andrew Smith who closes this set out with his script, The Shadow Squad. The War Doctor is going after the Dalek Time Strategist, but he learns of an even more devastating weapon. The Daleks has developed a plan to erase the contributions of certain Gallifreyan fighters from all of history in order to turn the Time War into their favor. The War Doctor meets the Temporal Eradicator, and he will find out just how merciless he is willing to be in order to end this terrible threat to the cosmos.

It gets a little confusing discussing this series since the main character has rejected his title and identity at this time. I guess for purposes of clarity, the audience knows this is still the Doctor in spite of his protestations. However he wants to be addressed, Carley seems to be the right actor to carry off the role. I was skeptical when the producers of the television introduced this secret incarnation in the fiftieth anniversary episode, The Day of the Doctor, however I think I will enjoy these releases and exploring this era of the Time Lord’s long life.

Big Finish continues to display a mastery of the sound design and casting of talented actor. The scripts are all interesting at varying degrees. As usual, I have a preference, but all three stories are solid. Even though John Hurt’s death is sad, Carley’s performance is more of a way to honor his legacy than actually replace him.

There are still a lot of other ranges I will be listening to, but it will not be long before my next foray into the era of the War Doctor.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Genesis Revisited

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Big Finish Productions does not make that many mistakes when it comes to their Doctor Who audio range, however Daleks! Genesis of Terror appears to be one of few outright missteps. This is basically a retelling of the classic serial known as Genesis of the Daleks, which starred Tom Baker. This version is based on the first draft submitted by Terry Nation. Baker returns to perform the first part and is joined by Sadie Miller as Sarah Jane Smith and Christopher Naylor as Harry Sullivan. Nicholas Briggs provides much of the narration, and other cast members read much of the synopsis for the remaining five parts.

The Doctor is sent by the Time Lords to the early days of the creation of the Daleks where he is tasked with trying to avert the terrible genesis. He meets the creator, Davros, while the war between the Kaleds and the Thals raged mercilessly.

The screen version is one of my favorite stories, but this is essentially a repeat of that although most of it was just summarized by Briggs and several other narrators.

I guess there is some mild interest to be found here, but I am not sure retelling one of the most popular serials was all that necessary. Big Finish releases this as part of the Lost Stories range, but this was just an early draft or treatment of something that’s already considered a classic among the fans.

There is another release of this sort from Big Finish based on The Ark in Space, and I am not that motivated to try that one…at least not yet.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Vicki Takes Another Spin In The TARDIS

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Fugitive of the Daleks is a Doctor Who audio drama from Big Finish Productions that sees Stephen Noonan doing another pretty good impression of William Hartnell’s version of the Doctor. Jonathan Morris returns as scriptwriter with Nicholas Briggs pulling double duty as director and the voice of the Daleks. Maureen O’Brien reprises the role of Vicki, who has lived as Lady Cressida in Earth’s distant past. Lauren Cornelius is also back as Dodo, who was originally portrayed by the late Jackie Lane. Ashley Cousins, Mark Elstob, Genevieve Gaunt, and Gary Turner make up the guest cast.

Vicki has lived a long, prosperous life after being left behind by the Doctor and Steven in the doomed city of Troy. She has raised a family and told tales of her previous travels in the TARDIS. She is informed that a strange blue box has appeared, and she recognizes the description. She is reunited with the Doctor who seems to be mysteriously injured and suffering from some sort of amnesia. He is restored to health on a space station with three survivors of a mysterious plague. They soon realize that the Daleks are on their trail. Vicki starts to notice some peculiar inconsistencies in the Doctor’s behavior. A mysterious presence is on board the TARDIS. Another chase has ensued, but Vicki is not sure that she can trust the Doctor as she did in times past.

Noonan’s performance echoing the vocal mannerisms of the late William Hartnell continue to improve. O’Brien is now about 80 years old and still sounds fantastic. There is a moment in the cast interviews where Nicholas Briggs assured O’Brien that she did not need to sound like an old lady even though she was playing a Vicki close to her own age. It was the right call because Briggs was right when he pointed out that many older people retained a youthful voice, and there was no need for O’Brien to sound more like an old crone. O’Brien still manages to easily slip into her “Vicki voice” and is fantastic in this release. Dodo doesn’t appear until pretty late into the story, but Cornelius doesn’t disappoint either when she finally makes her appearance.

There are some pretty good twists that offer some interesting callbacks to some of the television episodes. I am not sure that liked the final twist all that much, but I am not going to spoil that one.

My first instinct is that Morris is just echoing a little too much the television serial known as The Chase. I am a little annoyed that there is some repetition here, but there is just enough unpredictability to help me forgive it. Morris has been one of Big Finish’s most consistent and competent writers. Although I do not rate this one as a top tier contribution, it’s still pretty good.

Even if I have to work at it a bit to enjoy the First Doctor, I still appreciate Big Finish’s efforts to bring new stories to represent the era.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Elves, Daleks, Old Friends, And The Doctor

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Big Finish Productions has continued their range of Doctor Who audio dramas with the Seventh Doctor in a reasonably entertaining release entitled Sullivan and Cross-AWOL. The Doctor is reunited with former companions, Harry Sullivan and Naomi Cross in two new episodes directed by Bethany Weimers.

Christopher Naylor returns to the role of Harry Sullivan, who was originally played by the late Ian Marter in the television series alongside Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor. Eleanor Crooks plays a new Big Finish created companion named Naomi Cross. Nicholas Briggs is back behind the voice modulated mic voicing the Daleks in the second story. Sam Stafford, Saffron Coomber, Carly Day, and Hywel Morgan are included in the guest cast.

Long-time Big Finish contributor, John Dorney, provides the script to the first story entitled London Orbital. The story starts off with a young Harry Sullivan discovering a peculiar massacre at a house, which influenced his decision to join UNIT many decades ago. Harry and his colleague, Naomi Cross, have been misplaced in time several years in the future. Strange elves are appearing, and a killer is stalking the streets and recognizes Harry from a previous encounter. The Doctor has returned as well, but in a different form from which Naomi and Harry are familiar. They find a different London the shadows of the familiar one. Another dimension has crossed into ours, and the Doctor and his friends find themselves trying to head off an unearthly war.

Dorney has delivered a pretty reliable story here. I enjoyed the new dynamic between the Seventh Doctor and his two companions. Sylvester McCoy still sounds great as his iteration of the Time Lord. Familiar companions with a different Doctor never fails to intrigue a fan such as yours truly. It’s a fun story, but I didn’t find it to be all that memorable. Naylor does fine with his version of Harry Sullivan. Naomi Cross is supposed to be another fearless, no-nonsense, woman traveling with the Doctor. She’s fine too, but not much feels terribly unique or interesting about her character. There are some expected amusing moments with the companions, and Naylor and Crooks have pretty good chemistry. Dorney has some interesting ideas and threw in some decent lines, but I don’t consider this to be one of his better contributions.

Scream of the Daleks by Lisa McMullin is actually the better entry here even though the Daleks are a bit overused, in my opinion. The Doctor, Harry, and Naomi arrive during a Halloween festival in 1969 and find that nightmares are coming to life. The Doctor and Naomi trace the cause over centuries and find that the Daleks are trapped in some kind of dimensional portal and are trying to manipulate the Time Lord into lending a reluctant hand.

The second story is better, but it’s not really a standout among all of Big Finish’s output. It’s another reasonably enjoyable episode with a few clever quips that did actually make me laugh out loud. I like the plot for the most part. The performances are quite good, as usual. Of course, the sound effects are convincing. Nicholas Briggs does his usual compelling job voicing the Daleks.

On the whole, the set is enjoyable and has some interesting ideas and characters, but I doubt there is much I will remember in the next couple of days. As with all of my Doctor Who collection, I will likely listen to it again in the not-so-distant future.