Tag: sci-fi

Doctor Who Audio Review: Morbius Steps Into The Arena With The War Doctor

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Morbius the Mighty is a recent Doctor Who audio play and adds to the increasingly compelling series, The War Doctor Rises presented by Big Finish Productions. Jonathon Carley continues his ever-improving impression of the late John Hurt as the War Doctor, that incarnation that was rejected by the other Doctors for his dramatic resolution of the Time War. Tim Foley is the script writer while Bethany Weimers serves as director.

The guest cast is comprised of Samuel West, returning as his version of the tyrannical Time Lord, Morbius, alongside Sheila Ruskin, Gareth Armstrong, Theo Solomon, and Pamela Novete. Nicholas Briggs also returns to the sound booth voicing the Daleks.

The War Doctor has been poisoned with a substance that keeps him from being able to travel in time. He is in seclusion on a rather peaceful planet and is tended to by a nurse named Cora, formerly of the Sisterhood of Karn. The Time War continues to disrupt the cosmos, but the War Doctor has been able to find one of the few sanctuaries that have yet to be affected. In the meantime, an ancient evil has been resurrected, and Morbius has a consuming grudge against the Doctor. The War Doctor is compelled to re-enter the fight, and not even Morbius may be ready for what his old enemy has become in order to battle more effectively.

Foley is becoming a pretty consistently interesting contributor to the series. He does indulge in a rather shameless ripoff of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan that I found a little distracting, but he later owns that in the exclusive interviews, so I wasn’t quite so annoyed.

West has a great interpretation of Morbius. He has played the role before for Big Finish and really brings out this silky, charismatic menace that is quite a treat to listen to. Morbius has a companion of his own in the shape of a Time Lord known as Judd, played by Gareth Armstrong. Armstrong is a great addition to the cast as well.’

The relationship between the War Doctor and Cora is quite interesting as well. There is kind of a prickly affection between the two of them, which is a familiar dynamic in the series, but Foley uses that trope quite effectively here.

Carley continues to display immense talent in his efforts to flesh out this conflicted and at times ruthless version of the Doctor. The War Doctor still has characteristics of his other selves, but he is the one better suited to fight in a cosmic conflict of this magnitude. He is certainly the one best able to stand against Morbius.

The action sequences will likely take some re-listening to get a better sense of what is going on. The final faceoff between the War Doctor and Morbius also pays off. In a strange way, there is something inspiring about the War Doctor’s willingness to get back into the fight in spite of his condition. He also throws out some typically mocking barba at Morbius that make me enjoy this chracter more.

Anyway, it’s a strong addition to the series. The post-production work continues to be done with stellar attention.

Morbius the Mighty is likely to be considered one of my favorites in recent years.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Lady Pirates And Alien Professors

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: Bad Terms contains a pair of decent audio dramas starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. Neither story is especially terrible, but the first one is little less memorable or interesting than the other. In spite of some mild exasperation with this set, it was still great to indulge in the performances by Baker and Bryant once again.

The first story has some problems. Nina Millns wrote Saoirse of the Seven Seas, which was directed by Scott Handcock. Rebecca O’ Mara portrays the title character Saoirse O’ Grady, probably the only female pirate who never existed. Other cast members include Ayesha Antoine, Amanda Shodeko, and Barnaby Edwards.

The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Peri on board the ship belonging to the Queen of the Irish Seas. Saoirse O’Grady has been sought after by an alien visitor who has enlisted the services of her English rivals. The reason for this intrusion has little to do with world conquest or some of the usual motivations for which the Doctor usually discovers.

The performances are engaging enough to not exasperate this particular listener too much. Female pirate captains are just not captivating enough to keep me hooked. It’s just a little too unlikely and silly to buy into this even from a Doctor Who episode. considering the prevailing attitudes regarding women with authority at the time.

The plot twist as to what was motivating the alien known as the Xeneroth was somewhat clever but not entirely unforeseen when Saoirse suddenly experiencing moments of unexpected illness.

Anyway, Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant together are a treat regardless of any reservations I may have regarding the plot.

Red for Danger! is penned by Nev Fountain and directed by Barnaby Kay and is the more engaging of the two entries in this set. Cast members include Charlie Hemblett, David Holt, Martin For, and Andre James.

The Doctor and Peri are in disguise at an English boarding school where not everyone is native to Earth. There has been a strange message sent to the Doctor that contains a psychic image of a screaming red-headed child. A boy named Malcolm makes a startling claim about his connection to the Doctor, but someone else also seems too strangely familiar with the Time Lord.

This one was much better. It has kind of a dumb title, but the episode is much better executed. There are some outlandish plot twists toward the end, but I was much more engaged with this one.

A surprise revelation is made at the very end which is going to select the next foray into the adventures of the Sixth Doctor. The revelation at the end was not that much of a surprise, but it was still delightful to have some suspicions confirmed when the disguises were dropped.

Anyway, the set is adequately pleasing on the whole. It’s one of those I would call competent and reliable without not being one of the standouts.