A well-received first series of this spin-off drama ensured another quartet of adventures - which take place in Britain during the 1960s - would arrive in due course. And this second batch is just that bit more assured, well-rounded and cohesive than the previous one. All the main cast had proven their worth - ably helped by good characterisation and some enjoyably sharp witticisms - and they continue their fine work.

'Manhunt' sees immediate fulfilment of producer Richardson's promise (in Series 1's extras features) to build on the elements that proved effective and to limit those that detracted. One welcome aspect is that the story employs a 'beginning-in-the-middle' technique, which means a lot of exposition bringing listeners up to speed but also a change of pace that curbs formulaic repetition. The events and the sense of jeopardy are thankfully strong enough to ensure that this information does not feel unwieldy. A very good twist in the final act gives added dimension to the story. Gilmore is fighting to avoid capture and clear his name, and Simon Williams clearly enjoys having to play a quick-witted 'Bond' rift on his usual army-man persona. Allison notably seems to have a chance to make amends for her notably bad romantic life, but decent drama can often spare little regard for such a likeable character.

'The Fifth Citadel' is deliberately slow at first, allowing suspense. Some nice supporting characters help to get the listener involved in the actual plot, whilst there is plenty of intriguing character development for the main four players. Especially effective is the hitherfore uncommon pairing of Toby/Rachel and Gilmore/Allison. The play ultimately comes to full life and meets its potential thanks to the spellbinding Celie Imrie. The ending is suitably memorable and chilling, and also establishes an undertone of paranoia on whether the Counter-Measures team can really believe in each other's integrity.

Next up is 'Peshka' - a quintessentially Cold War story both in themes and in actual plot. To my mind this entry offers the best mixture of the characterisation and morals of this season with the paranormal events/action focus of the previous one. It is made further enjoyable by lots of good dialogue. Much of the personal interaction features heated argument, but impressively the writers avoid the trap of such repetition becoming ever so tiresome. The storyline of a chess genius wishing to defect again is notable in wrong footing the listener, as a decent twist leads to the real source of trouble in the final act. The two main guest stars (Bo Poraj and Emily Tucker) both impress and have put their homework in to sound authentically from their country of origin.

The season finale has its fundamentals from the unresolved details left hanging from 'Manhunt'. More cutting revelations come thick and fast, and manage to be sustained over whole story. The fate of one returning character is surprising in its fashion and when it happens; yet opens up a whole new can of worms. The brittle trust between Knight Kinsella and his Counter-Measures team is pushed to the limit, but could someone else entirely be the one who pushes things too far? One issue I have with a fair number of radio plays is the reliance on sound effects which may be of a confusing nature, and the lack of accompanying narration or explanatory dialogue. 'Sins of the Fathers' perhaps is the most troubled in the set in those terms, but otherwise the production is quite polished. It is also welcome that this really is designed as a direct sequel to the earlier story, as well as continuing the tension from the middle two. Rather predictably, some plot threads are left loose for Series 3 but at the same time the writing team have demonstrated enough flair to raise hopes of there being even more strong material to come.

As stated above, character development and the evolving dynamics of the core group make this series an improvement on the first. The Rachel/Gilmore relationship which was not so fertile in the first series - with other romances cropping up - now seems to be developing into at least a firm friendship if not something deeper altogether. Allison seems to still be learning the hard knocks of life which her older, somewhat embittered colleagues know just a bit all too well. But just as he stole the show in the first run of stories, Hugh Ross' complex character compels again of the main cast, and it now almost feels irrelevant that he never was in the main frame of action in the original television Dalek story. The latter two adventures especially see Sir Toby Kinsella entrusted with power and responsibility but facing awkward questions from his junior colleagues, and the results certainly live up to the strong premise. Further excitement is evoked through the development of the character Templeton. This is a man who clearly has a lot of depth, and a lot of amorality, allowing him to use means to justify end results. Actor Philip Pope is a very good fit for the role, and hopefully will feature again to a notable degree.

Extras are again very comprehensive and entertaining, conveying the sense that the entire cast and crew are working very well together. Anecdotes abound, including how Simon Williams was key in getting his renowned actress-wife Lucy Fleming to participate as Lady Waverly. Similarly Celie Imrie happened to know Hugh Ross before her being invited to return to Doctor Who - after her turn in the bells of St John - which certainly aids their excellent work together in 'The Fifth Citadel'.

The writing team reveal motivations and objectives including: gender politics and their evolution during the 1960s; being able to use tantalising clues for the uncovered interim period between stories/series; and exploring a twist on the Frasier/Niles family dynamic of the beloved American TV show. The latter method is perhaps odd, but ultimately welcome as realistic characterisation makes a decent audio story a good or great one.

The point this review would normally start at is, in a somewhat mundane fashion, the beginning of the story. But in fact, it’s probably best to start with the rather well put together trailer, appearing at the end of the previous two episode excursion in the Fourth Doctor Adventures range, “Destroy The Infinite”. The trailer itself feels very reminiscent of the revived series, particularly feeling like something from the series 8, 12th Doctor pen of Steven Moffat. With supernatural elements appearing ubiquitously, along with dramatic music and a fairly anxious looking Doctor, the premise, such as it could be understood, looked promising.

The two episode adventure certainly lives up to this, with a production that twists and turns whilst keeping the number of visited locations to a minimum. Moreover, the linear plotline of most stories is replaced by a relative maze of possible angles, with the situation encountered by The Doctor and Leela, played with their usual flair and characteristic quirks by Baker and Jameson, remaining unresolved for a not unreasonable length of time. The use of references to past events and characters, as depicted in previous stories such as The Evil One are not without reason, woven into the tapestry that leads to the dramatic climax. The structure of the adventure could be seen as filmic in places, with the location shifts providing an impression of cause and effect between the actions of individuals or groups.

The most apt descriptions, subjective though they may be, for this story would probably be surreal and ground-breaking. The doctor and Leela’s dialogue, while at points seeming a little tense, conveys the slightly odd student-teacher dynamic well. Stephanie Cole’s Lady Marianna is at once chillingly unsympathetic and unrelenting, the latter trope also being present in the rather unnerving performances of Mandi Symonds, Andy Snowball and Jameson’s co-writer, Nigel Fairs. The score is well suited to the adventure, falling quiet when the need arises for tension and allowing the eerie atmosphere to settle in, complimenting the high quality production that most have come to expect from Big Finish’s various audio ranges. Leela’s part in the story is suitably larger than usual considering the doctor’s deteriorating mental state, as well as the fact that Jameson came up with the original idea and had a large part in the writing process. The additional references to elements like Block Transfer Computation gives opportunities for fans familiar with the classic, pre-revival era to try and spot the others laced throughout which, according to additional research, even include references to audio ranges outside of the Fourth Doctor Adventures.

All in all, while the story itself is very well crafted by Fares and Jameson and is an interesting and thought provoking performance by all members of the cast, it would most likely be confusing to new fans of the range or indeed of Doctor Who in general. This is due, in part, to the fact that the entirety of the adventure is an exception to the classic idea of Doctor Who stories, where the Time Lord is seen saving a planet from some alien race or other. The fact that other previous stories are referenced, if subliminally, also means that fans familiar with a wider portion of the canon will, in theory, be able to get more out of this than those hearing this as an initial entry into Doctor Who audios. This is a good adventure in spite of these minor points and I would urge anyone looking for something new and relatively abstract to give this one a listen if they are fans of the third season of The Fourth Doctor Adventures or the Big Finish ranges in general.

Although I first encountered Doctor Who with Sylvester McCoy as the lead, it was Tom Baker's electric portrayal of the Time Lord which made the biggest impression on me ultimately. Such is the amazing legacy of the bohemian, scarf-wearing Fourth official incarnation that he had an extra (and original) cameo in the Day of the Doctor anniversary special. In a scant few seconds of screen time a vaguely-named gentleman - maybe the Doctor, maybe Tom Baker himself - utterly stole the show.
Now Tom has reached his own milestone of 80 years living on this curious old world of ours, and what an eventful life he certainly has had. And he would appear to have only further gained in wisdom and self-awareness with age; a commendably thoughtful and intellectual artist of his craft.

This release - available since mid-autumn - is a chance for Nick Briggs to try and uncover further memories and defining events from Baker's past. The interviewee is more than responsive, helped in no small part to the pair's collaboration on documentaries specially released (when VHS was still the mainstream video format), and of course the 21st century Big Finish productions of 'missing stories' co-starring Louise Jameson and the late Mary Tamm.

The format is one that leads to casual, but not overly lightweight discussion. Recorded back in March of 2014 a lot of material was edited down into the 2 hours plus that fill this double CD release. Although Briggs is an unquestionable expert on Doctor Who, he chooses to play down his role and knowledge, therefore allowing Baker to speak at great length at all sorts of topics and to often throw in a great deal of spontaneous wit.

Some visitors to this site will know a good amount about how Baker fared during his time in Doctor Who, and this production does not retread too much material which is readily available elsewhere in various media. Consequently the listener is able to learn a little more of Tom's thoughts on his Catholic faith growing up, family life in Liverpool, and the status of being poor and unable to live as certain more fortunate individuals could. Discussion involves his markedly different job roles as a monk-in-training, army medic and building site labourer (with emphasis on tea-making over heavy lifting!).

There is also some welcome discussion of three major TV projects - 'Medics', 'Randall and Hopkirk Deceased' (where he was able to assist fellow ghost Vic Reeves) and 'Monarch of the Glen'. And of course Baker was able to use his fine vocals on the narration of 'Little Britain', which elicits his charmingly satisfied observation that the children who grew up with his Doctor in the 70s ended up giving him new work once they were established in the industry themselves.

Perhaps one nit-pick would be that the lack of a robust structure does sometimes lead to certain stream-of-consciousness material which gets in the way of further elaboration on topics that are quite fascinating. Yet Tom Baker is one of those people I would genuinely tolerate reading out endless definitions from a dictionary. His amazing voice is not the only selling point here either. He is warm, humble and supremely spontaneous and witty. There is the often observed point that Baker simply played himself as the Doctor, and he himself seems to go along with this line-of-reasoning. But Doctor Who would have hardly been as iconic and have such a legacy had not such a major charismatic star been involved.

A rather edgy aspect of the interview is Baker's sharp awareness of death and mortality - both his own and peoples in general. But rather than being maudlin he expands on this to explain how he has mellowed and tries to make the most of his time in a positive fashion. Baker also briefly illuminates his deep thoughts on his major romantic partners in life. Thankfully there is no 'Piers Morgan' style push for gossip from Briggs, who knows full well that despite apparent extrovert qualities, Tom Baker is in various aspects quite a private person.

Sometimes the small scale projects with a basic one-to-one dynamic can be as illuminating as a full scale documentary. This is one such example. Considering the many interviews available on the market this stands tall and is a great way to spend a spare afternoon, whether at home or on the go. If you are stuck for ideas this time of year then look no further for this interview as a small gift.

Remembrance of the Daleks’ is still for many fans of the classic show one of the very best stories ever, and was a highlight of Sylvester McCoy's era. With wonderfully written characters and strong themes it transcended its humble trappings of low budget and throwaway scheduling as an hour and half of compelling action. There had always much potential for a spin-off owing to the strong triumvirate of characters who get caught up in the pitting of wits between the Doctor and two Dalek factions. Firstly there was Group Captain Gilmore – or ‘Chunky’ to those who know him a bit more personally. Then there was Professor Rachel Jensen – who was forthright and sharply witty, and yet clearly was a loyal friend to those she trusted. Lastly there was fresh faced and mellow, but eminently capable Allison Williams.

In an ideal world the Seventh Doctor’s era would have had the relative ratings that Ecclestone, Tennant, Smith and now Capaldi enjoy on Saturday nights; and the demand would have been for further adventures with these three very human characters in a sister show along the lines of 'Torchwood'. Luckily ‘Big Finish’ is the saviour of many a lost cause and these adventures – now in their third season – have been given a chance at long last.

The actual premise of this series concerns the three colleagues being officially united under the banner of ICMG – the ‘Intrusion Countermeasures Group’ - where their role is to try and find the cause of paranormal or alien phenomena occurring in Britain. Only months after their escapades with Davros, Ratcliffe, countless Daleks, and the eerie girl/battle-computer this functions as their first real test. The man with two hearts is not able to help out. They are therefore thrust into making some difficult decisions and must show their ability to adapt to the wider context that is 1960s Britain.

The three core characters of Gilmore, Allison and Rachel are reprised by the original actors: Simon Williams, Karen Gledhill and Pamela Salem. They definitely are having a fun time revisiting these roles and all manage to give a good account of themselves; with perhaps a little leeway being required with Simon and Pamela sounding a little bit older than their actual characters for obvious reasons. They are joined in the regular cast by Hugh Ross as Toby Kinsella, a somewhat unknown quantity in that while he helps the Countermeasures team to function by liaising with the British government, he has some of his own motivations that skirt the edges of immorality. Alastair Mackenzie also features on a recurring basis as Julian St Stephen - Allison's boyfriend of three years. This character is given a strong arc of his own which wrong foots expectations.

The opening episode is a solid enough beginning if somewhat unoriginal and static as a stand-alone piece. An apparent ghost is at work and an eminent German scientist has suddenly vanished. The villain (or misguided antagonist depending on your parameters) is somewhat broadly sketched as a crazed scientist/ Nazi stereotype. The actor’s performance is pretty arch on top of this, reminding me of a similar stereotype from Lucasarts' PC game 'The Fate of Atlantis'. The attempts to fill in a back story with Rachel’s admiration for his work are a good idea but do not quite get the right pay off when the dust settles at the end of the events. Episode Two already has signs of the show hitting its stride. A Czechoslovakian former flame of Gilmore has found a device of terrifying power but also great potential benefit. This artificial intelligence will end up influencing the behaviour of various characters dramatically. Eventually the dilemma hinges on how to contain such a sentient creation. There is quite a bit of important set up for later in the season – especially with Allison’s beau Julian. The villain of this particular piece is rather more effective here and he is described by Professor Jensen as making her ‘skin crawl’. Even his eventual fate is done in a surprising and shocking fashion and will make listeners reconsider one of the main cast in a wholly different light.

The following story has some memorable concepts of genetic augmentation and is quite satirical in many ways. Within the newly built town of Pelage, a dangerous encounter ensues with Ken Temple, a man with a very novel mindset as regards the future prospects for planet Earth and how mankind will have to adapt to survive. Political party funding is to blame for Temple's progress thus far and the Countermeasures team need to find a way to halt total chaos. This third episode has many good aspects but is slightly ruined by a perfunctory ending which seems overly predictable and also vetoes having a good supporting character return in a future story, By now the regulars are quite fluent in their roles and are still being developed organically as one would hope. Also the majestic Stephen Greif (of Blake's 7 fame) turns in a fine performance as Temple. This man has a tenuous grasp on reality but cannot be faulted for lacking pioneering ambition,

The series finale is a riveting tale - full of revelations, action and strong evocation of the time period. The story builds upon the plot device of 'Threshold'- with Rachel having apparently solved the issues that the matter transporter had previously. Events are set during Harold Wilson's elevation to Prime Minister. Pressure is put on the Countermeasures team as Chancellor Callaghan plans to reduce the budget of the Ministry of Defence. Before long creatures from another plane of existence make their presence felt, just as a group led by a senior military figure looks to stage a coup. How many of the closest friends and colleagues of Ian, Rachel and Allison will turn out to prove rogue? I never was left being distracted with this fourth story, which rewarded the work required to get committed to the previous plays. The villains may have some despicable methods but at the same time are believable and credible up to a certain point, and the character of Toby continues to shine brightly as a fine combination of writing and performance.

Overall 'Countermeasures' has good pacing and distinct atmosphere, and the stories are pretty easy to grasp. The show doesn’t force too many characters or require the listener to visualise too much difficult material. The character development and overall portrayal of individuals is very solid. There are lots of themes that resonate and tie in well to the time period the show is meant to be set in. Sometimes the plot doesn't feel too conspicuous either which is always welcome given how formulaic the Doctor Who fictional universe can inevitably be on occasion. Plenty of scope remains to explore how our three heroes really do feel about being back together on a long-term basis; hooks for the listener are not in short supply.

As for the original theme tune it is of the brand that stays in the head, but not really something I would want to play to myself outside of the show itself. Other music is serviceable enough and conjures up atmosphere without being intrusive. The show has started on a solid footing and the brilliance of Ben Aaronovitch’s creations means that it would take something drastic to deliver a noticeably weak story.

Behind the scenes material is also very good as we get a grasp behind the creative process from the individual writers as well as the producers and directors. Quatermass stories had a huge influence on the source Dalek story, and so its ability to inspire these new stories is an obvious place to start. Much strong discussion ensues over various 'chapters'. A generous run time of well over an hour is very welcome and rounds off the box-set package nicely.

“The Daleks are now the masters of Gallifrey! The Daleks are the masters of all Gallifreys!”


In October 2013, just over a month before they blazed their way through Gallifrey’s second capital city Arcadia in Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor (the first time they were seen invading Gallifrey on-screen), the Daleks attempted an earlier conquest of the Time Lord home world – in the sixth and final season of Big Finish’s Doctor Who audio spin-off saga Gallifrey. Indeed, it isn’t just control of Gallifrey Prime that the Daleks in Gallifrey VI are after but, as we discover early in the boxset, the ambition to invade up to 1000 parallel Gallifreys through the Axis, the interdimensional hub that controls truncated, damaged timelines.

Although the metal meanies (voiced effortlessly as ever by Nicholas Briggs) can be pretty much visualised in any of their past forms by the listener, the intention of Gallifrey VI – comprising the chapters Extermination, Renaissance and Ascension – is that they are the modern, Time War-style Daleks that have (with the exception of the candy-coloured monstrosities in Victory of the Daleks) been a mainstay of the modern TV series of Doctor Who. Indeed, this is not only confirmed by director and producer Gary Russell in the CD extras but is plainly evident in the packaging for the boxset and the internal CD sleeves.

As Russell also acknowledges in the CD extras, Gallifrey VI effectively hails the first shots of the Great Time War. The saga is accordingly retconned to fit the hypothesis mooted by former TV producer Russell T Davies about how the conflict originated.1 The boxset also represents another effort by Big Finish to align itself closer to the modern TV series without explicitly using the modern era Doctors and companions (Big Finish is only contracted to use the first eight Doctors and other companions and characters from the classic series in its Doctor Who audio range). Previous Doctor Who boxsets such as UNIT: Dominion and the first volume of Dark Eyes made satirical allusions to the Time War but Gallifrey VI is the closest that Big Finish has come to postulating how the conflict originated. The trilogy is also not afraid to homage (if not outright steal) moments from the classic and modern eras alike, from serials like Genesis of the Daleks and Logopolis to episodes like Dalek and The Stolen Earth.

Given the conclusion to Gallifrey III strongly contradicted the Davies hypothesis – Gallifrey was in ruins, Time Lord civilisation was on the brink of collapse and the principal protagonists had fled the home world to take refuge in the Axis – Russell and his trio of writers – Scott Handcock, James Goss and Justin Richards – credibly wrap up the Gallifrey saga without the stories bordering on fan fiction or “fanwank”2 (a term I don’t often use lightly!). In addition, they also successfully tie up the various story strands left hanging from the first three seasons of Gallifrey, the loose Axis/parallel worlds story arc of Gallifrey IV and the wobbly political shenanigans of Gallifrey V. And all while delivering some entertaining, albeit mixed and intertwined scripts.

As often happens when an episode is preceded by a strong cliffhanger (the impressive visual of Daleks invading via the Axis at the end of Gallifrey V), the first instalment Extermination fails to live up to its promise. It is more of a character piece that focuses on the reactions of Romana (Lalla Ward), Leela (Louise Jameson) and Time Lord operative Narvin (Seán Carlsen) to the Daleks, not an all guns blazing “tour de force”. In fairness, Scott Handcock has said in interviews that he sought not to write a carbon copy of one of Big Finish’s earliest releases The Apocalypse Element (which also featured a Dalek invasion of Gallifrey) but where he falls down is in his portrayal of Romana who gravitates between being a whinging wreck at one point, bemoaning to Narvin that all she wants to do is return to their Gallifrey, and vengeful, spiteful and almost unhinged when she channels the Ninth Doctor’s rage (á la the episode Dalek) and tortures and kills a Dalek mutant:

And that’s where you’ve made your last mistake, Dalek, because I am not Unit 117! I am not your property, I am not your prisoner! I am the Lady Romanadvoratrelundar, I am President of the High Council of the Time Lords and I will quite happily end your pathetic little life without a moment’s hesitation!

While the ferocity of Ward’s performance in this scene is outstanding, in story terms, it comes so far out of left field to be credible (even allowing for Romana’s two decades of trauma as a prisoner of war on Etra Prime in The Apocalypse Element, this is the first time it’s ever been referenced in the Gallifrey saga). We always knew Romana was a tough and robust character, so I’m not sure why there’s such a need to emphasise that in this story. Leela and Narvin’s portrayals and performances in Extermination are more constant and believable; Jameson is a delight to hear in one scene as Leela takes a knife to a Dalek gunfight but she does so with the subtlety and consistency that we have come to expect of Leela’s character.

In fact, while Romana’s portrayal greatly improves in the subsequent instalments, Ward nevertheless finds herself outperformed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Juliet Landau as the Time Lady’s next incarnation. If Ward’s portrayal of Romana II over the years has been popularly characterised as more relaxed, care-free and playful than Mary Tamm’s cool, intellectual and classy Romana I, then Landau’s Romana III (Trey, for short) is an even more vibrant, mischievous version whose humour, effusiveness and optimism clearly belie the future horrors and traumas that she must have endured. Indeed, James Goss takes a leaf straight out of Steven Moffat’s playbook, with the pair’s initial meeting highly evocative of Amy Pond’s mutual admiration session in the Doctor Who/Red Nose Day shorts Space and Time:

Romana: Hello, me.
Trey: Hello, you. What do you think?
Romana: I’ll get used to it.
Trey: The plan?
Romana: No, my new body.
Trey: Lovely teeth, though.
Romana: Mmmm ... Pearly white!

As a novice to Doctor Who, Landau is confident and superb as Trey (Russell explains in the CD extras that she immersed herself in the character of Romana before recording) and for an American, her English accent is nigh-on flawless (no doubt mastered during her time as English gypsy vampire Drusilla on Buffy!). Landau’s Trey provides an excellent foil for Ward’s Romana and is a worthy successor for the role.3 Indeed, the cheeky cliffhanger to Renaissance (which mimics that of the modern series episode The Stolen Earth) leaves you genuinely wondering if Trey will immediately take charge in the subsequent episode Ascension.

Goss manages the portrayals of Romana and Trey in Renaissance magnificently. Just as it is fascinating to see how the Doctor interacts when he meets his other selves, it is even more absorbing to see how Romana relates and reacts to the enigmatic Trey who appears to have an agenda all her own and even seems to be conspiring against Romana herself! After all, as we’ve seen in the aforementioned UNIT: Dominion and Dark Eyes (and even the classic series’ The Trial of a Time Lord), even a Time Lord’s supposed future incarnations are not above stabbing their former selves in the back! Inevitably, Trey’s influence in the overall story arc proves more pivotal than is immediately evident and it proves difficult to second-guess her.

For the purposes of this review, it is hard to write about the saga’s resolution Ascension without giving away major plot spoilers, even with strong hints that the Time War isn’t so far away. Nevertheless, Justin Richards manages to wrap up the overall story arc in convincing and compelling fashion. In the process, not only do we discover what contributed to Gallifrey’s premature downfall in Gallifrey III but Richards manages to wrap up the arc of a recurring character whose motivations were first hinted at in Gallifrey V but then seemed to evaporate over the course of that season. Although the closing events of Gallifrey III are effectively retconned, Gallifrey VI satisfactorily does this in a way that doesn’t scream “cop-out” and the saga concludes with President Romana back in charge and the principal characters reunited with K9 (again matter of factly voiced by veteran John Leeson) and some of the antagonists of earlier series, such as Valyes (Steven Wickham), Matthias (Stephen Perring) and the oily Castellan Slyne (Peter Sheward).

Naturally, as with long epics like this, there are still some unanswered questions that go unresolved, eg how will former President Matthias react to Romana’s return to office when he and other Time Lords have no memory of his abdication? What happens to Regenerator society on the parallel Gallifrey after the Dalek threat is thwarted and Romana, Leela and Narvin return to the Axis? Do the Regenerators and the Outsiders reconcile, considering they were on the brink of civil war in Gallifrey V: Arbitration? (To some extent, it would have made sense in Extermination if the two factions had reconciled and united against the invading Dalek taskforce but alas this is not even covered.) More to the point, is the Axis closed for good? Or is there still the potential for forces from other Gallifreys to bleed into Gallifrey Prime’s reality? While the saga appears to conclusively end with Gallifrey VI4, perhaps there is still the scope for threats from the other Gallifreys to be explored.

If you’ve followed this series from its beginning back in 2004, then you will definitely get a satisfactory pay-off from the concluding chapters of Gallifrey VI. Barring a couple of hiccoughs in Romana’s characterisation in Extermination, this final trilogy of stories is entertaining and well conceived, thanks to the mostly strong writing and extremely impressive performances of not just the principal but the secondary cast. However, given its serial nature and structure, Gallifrey isn’t a saga you should just enter mid-stream, particularly if you want to better understand the machinations and duplicity of the Time Lords.

“A new dawn!”
“A new beginning!”
“A new start – for the one, true Gallifrey!”
Co-ordinator Narvin, Leela and Lady President Romana, Gallifrey VI: Ascension

ENDNOTES

1. Russell T Davies’ hypothesis about the origins of the Great Time War appeared in an article titled Meet the Doctor, printed in the 2005 Doctor Who Annual, published by Panini UK.
2. Wiktionary defines “fanwank” as “elements added to a television program or similar entertainment that appeal to avid fans but are of little interest to outsiders”. While there are other, less savoury definitions of the word, this is my justification for using the term in the context of this article.
3. If you haven’t already done so, I recommend you check out Doctor Who Companion Chronicles tale Luna Romana, released in January 2014, in which Juliet Landau is equally impressive as Trey and doubles for the late Mary Tamm’s Romana I.
4. Gallifrey VI is not the end of the matter, after all. Big Finish will release Gallifrey: Intervention Earth in February 2015, with Juliet Landau and Seán Carlsen returning as President Romana and Co-ordinator Narvin respectively, Sophie Aldred as Ace and Stephen Thorne reprising the role of Time Lord pioneer and nemesis Omega.

In his first audio adventure for the Big Finish Main Range, writer James Goss (The Scorchies) takes the seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy), Ace (Sophie Aldred) and Hector (Philip Olivier) for a holiday to ancient Greece in the year 421 BC. As holidays go, it’s about as refreshing as a dip in the seas of Marinus.

Outside Athens’ walls the Peloponnesian War rages, and a horde of Spartan warriors (described by the Doctor as "like the Daleks, but with better hair") are preparing to sack the city. Inside the walls, a strange sickness stalks citizens and slaves alike, turning them into mindless zombies; and a winged fury haunts the Tyrant of Athens, the tormented Cleon (Alisdair Simpson).

In the words of the poet Sophocles:

"Ah me! it is a world, a world of woe,
Plague upon the height and plague below!"

Or as Goss puts it, speaking through playwright and comedian Aristophanes (Samuel West), this story’s major supporting character: "Basically, it’s the end of the world.".

Mask of Tragedy is that relatively rare Big Finish release, a comedy; a wry, knowing, bawdy and clever comedy that balances camp quips with dark undercurrents in a way that recalls such classic Doctor Who stories as The Sun Makers and Revelation of the Daleks.

As with the comedies of Aristophanes (c. 446 – c. 386 BC), that humour is sometimes dragged down by the occasional cheap laugh that reminds listeners why everyone from Wilde and Faulkner to Arthur Quiller-Couch urged writers to "kill their darlings" (the most groan-inducing example being the line, "Is it a bird? Is it an astral plane?") but for the most part it’s a smart, even sophisticated script that takes every opportunity to celebrate Goss’ love for Aristophanes’ contributions to the theatrical canon, as well as the foibles of the theatre in general.

Continuing the playfully self-aware approach to storytelling that has become a trademark of Goss’ writing, from Torchwood spin-off novels Almost Perfect and Risk Assessment to his tenth Doctor audio Dead Air, the adventure’s structure reflects classic Greek proscriptions around the need for all plays to have a hero, a villain, and a chorus, with Ace often playing the latter role. Much of the script is presented in extended flashbacks, framed by narrative sections which heighten the listener’s awareness of actively listening to an audio drama. Goss also successfully and meta-theatrically plays with the listener’s awareness of common Doctor Who tropes, such as the Doctor’s exasperation over Ace once again stuffing up his plans by taking action at the wrong moment, or the Time Lord’s sudden realisation that he neglected to listen to one of his companions when they were telling him something important.

Indeed, even the citizens of Athens in Mask of Tragedy seem hyper-aware of the nature of the universe they live in: apparently ancient Greece is a hotspot for temporal tourists. As Aristophanes succinctly notes: "We get visitors all the time. From all of time."

Mask of Tragedy sees a return to the Machiavellian Doctor whose long games were so successfully represented in the Virgin New Adventures, even as Goss leavens his script with jokes that writers in particular will enjoy, such as Aristophanes’ faux-exasperated complaints about the popularity of his base comedies: "Hack work. But alas people do seem to like them."

Supporting characters, ranging from time-travelling theatre-luvvie, Tyrgius (Russell Bentley) to a surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of Cleon, are well developed, though a cameo from the slave-girl Lysistrata (Emily Tucker) is tantalisingly brief.

Goss also writes Hector well, making the recently changed relationship between the current TARDIS crew feel genuinely fresh – such as an early scene, when in response to Ace telling Hector that she and the Doctor care about him Hector replies, "You don’t even know me!" And indeed they don’t know him well; not his new personality at least.

This new Hector gets a chance to spread his wings in this adventure (as does Tyrgius); certainly more than in the previous month’s lacklustre Revenge of the Swarm. Here Hector tries to become a hero in response to what he sees as the Doctor’s indifference to the plight of Athens – with predictably unfortunate results. That said, for someone whose only known memories are as life as a petty Liverpool gangster, Hector is still a relatively passive character – perhaps suggesting that Hex’s lost memories are not all that lost after all?

Not every aspect of this audio adventure is entirely successful: Ace is written as strangely naïve as she leads the Spartan army into Athens, and some of the line readings – such as Philip Olivier’s Jim Carrey-esque exaggerations when wearing the artefact that is this story’s titular McGuffin – are a trifle grating, though perhaps deliberately so given the Mask in question. Too, Richard Fox and Lauren Yason’s sound design is not always successful; for instance the invading Spartan army’s cheers seem distinctly masculine, despite the fact that said army is written as female. The pair’s score, however, is far more impressive, a convincing pastiche of traditional Greek music that makes excellent use of percussion to ramp up the intensity of the drama.

Though it may be a trifle too light-hearted and self-aware for every taste, for this fan, Mask of Tragedy is one of the strongest Big Finish releases of 2014: a playful, intelligent and engaging homage to the dramatic structures and characters that have made Doctor Who – and Greek drama – a lasting success for so many years.