Torchwood: God Among Us Part 1Bookmark and Share

Thursday, 28 March 2019 - Reviewed by Tom Buxton
God Among Us Part 1 (Credit: Big Finish)
Written By: James Goss, Guy Adams, 17011, Tim Foley
Directed By: Scott Handcock

Featuring: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Tracy-Ann Oberman (Yvonne Hartman), Paul Clayton (Mr Colchester), Alexandra Riley (Ng), Samantha Béart (Orr), Jonny Green (Tyler Steele), Tom Price (Sergeant Andy Davidson), Rachel Atkins (Ro-Jedda)

Released by Big Finish Productions - October 2018
Order from Amazon UK

When Big Finish chose “Changes Everything” as the title for the first instalment of Torchwood: Aliens Among Us, that might as well have served as the mission statement for their entire range’s future; after all, the three boxsets comprising the show’s audio-bound fifth season threw an all-manner of game-changing plot curveballs in fans’ directions, from the resurrections of Torchwood Cardiff and one Yvonne Hartman to the ill-timed departure of Gwen Cooper just as hell descended upon her city.

Yet what with full-team release Believe, various boxsets chronicling Torchwood One’s pre-Battle of Canary Wharf endeavours and numerous one-hour solo outings, the studio gleefully delivered so much content in the interim between Aliens and Season Six that the latter’s work seemed cut out for it in terms of recapping past events while pushing the franchise forward. Does this considerable workload prove a cumbersome burden for the ominously-dubbed God Among Us, then, or can its opening salvo overcome such trials to deliver dramatic excellence worthy of Zeus himself?

“Future Pain”

Alien mayors imprisoned beneath Cardiff Bay, makeshift deities interrupting local funerals and explosive shoot-outs set to the unlikely backdrop of a car park – so far, so Torchwood. As with many US TV season premieres, James Goss finds himself tasked with recapping and developing a host of ongoing plot elements from Season Five in God’s freshman instalment, between Mr. Colchester’s seemingly fatal wounds, Gwen impostor Ng sticking around after her source material’s departure and – lest we forget – the hardly trivial matter of God him- or herself running rampant across the city.

By now, though, we should already know better than to doubt the range producer’s remarkable ability to balance such plot/character arcs with satisfying standalone storylines; indeed, “Future Pain” delivers quite the emotional gut-punch at times for spoilerific reasons, delving into the fallout of “Herald of the Dawn” for certain characters whose losses extend far beyond the physical damage wrought on Cardiff by Orr’s destructive transformation. Seeing the human impact that the terrors faced by Earth’s least covert secret agents have always formed much of the core of Torchwood’s appeal compared to oft-soulless big-budget sci-fi blockbusters, an admirable trait which continues here thanks to Goss’ writing and the understated, grief-ridden performances from John Barrowman, Ramon Tikram as Colin Colchester-Price and particularly Paul Clayton throughout.

Oh, and in case you’d expected Goss to largely maintain the status quo of Aliens Among Us given its myriad hanging plot threads this time around, rest assured that nothing could be further from the truth…

“The Man Who Destroyed Torchwood”:

Another noteworthy aspect of Torchwood’s infrastructure (both on TV and now in audio form) which often sets it apart from the genre crowd lies in its willingness to investigate heavy socio-political topics such as humanity’s increasingly disturbing instincts for self-preservation, Government accountability (or lack thereof) and, in the case of the Main Range’s recent Toshiko-led outing Instant Karma, even the rise of far-right activism. That Guy Adams similarly refuses to pull its punches on its chosen topical subject matter should thus come as no surprise, although the extent to which “The Man Who Destroyed Torchwood” interrogates the dangers of social media conspiracy theories might well split audiences more than they’d usually expect from a Big Finish production.

Who better to head up Adams’ politically turbulent script, then, than perhaps Aliens’ most controversial character, Torchwood candidate turned journalist turned alien conspirator Tyler Steele? Practically any actor would salivate at the prospect of deconstructing the YouTube v-log phenomenon, so it’s little wonder that Jonny Green completely embraces Tyler’s ruthless quest to investigate Brett Hayden’s video-streamed anti-Torchwood campaign, not to mention the disconcerting worldviews which he spouts to huge audiences every day. The search for answers predictably yields disturbing results at times which force listeners on all sides to consider how their seemingly trivial actions online can send unintentional ripples across society. Indeed, Green cunningly highlights this through Steele’s disgust at Hayden’s activities and also his paradoxical fervour at manipulating Hayden in much the same way as the blogger guides his audiences, with

Despite delving so far into the limitless rabbit hole of moral ambiguity that we commonly know as the World Wide Web, Adams inevitably has to draw the line somewhere – few Torchwood fans would likely share this reviewer’s rabid enthusiasm to see an entire season dedicated to Jack, Tyler et al finding their places in a digital age where covert military missions or terrorist attacks are regularly “leaked” for the sake of Likes and Follows. It’s for that reason “The Man Who Destroyed Torchwood” understandably stops short of truly contemplating Tyler’s culpability in the harrowing events that unfold or whether simply defaming ‘alternative’ political activists solves the problem, and for this reason that the play struggles to attain masterpiece status. Nevertheless, whereas certain thematically-shallow Torchwood romps can come and go with minimal impact, this one – along with another unsettling Tyler outing which we’ll discuss in our Part 2 review soon – will undoubtedly stay with listeners long after its final track wraps up.

“See No Evil” and “Night Watch”

In a break from our usual story-by-story review format for these Torchwood boxsets, God Among Us Part 1’s third and fourth episodes actually warrant a joint critique – namely since the two instalments bear such an uncanny resemblance to one another in terms of concepts, themes and character beats. In the case of “See No Evil”, John Dorney enshrouds Cardiff’s citizens in a chaos-inducing state of near-universal blindness, prompting the only (broadly) unaffected members of the team to hunt down the source of and cure for this rather inconvenient affliction. Meanwhile in the case of “Night Watch”, Tim Foley enshrouds almost all of Cardiff’s citizens in a state of near-universal slumber, prompting the only unaffected members of the team to hunt down…wait a minute. Was it just us or did that last sentence evoke some serious déjà vu?

Doctor Who fans who’ve followed the modern revival’s production may recall that Steven Moffat once juggled the ordering of Series Six (2011) to avoid its Spring-aired first half featuring too many horror-esque chamber pieces, hence Mark Gatiss“Night Terrors” airing as Episode 9 rather than in its original intended Episode 6 slot. Well, as much as Torchwood has barely put a foot wrong since coming under Big Finish’s confident stewardship, a similar level of structural consideration might’ve benefitted God Among Us’ opening boxset. Upon reaching the halfway point of “Night Watch” with its semi-philosophical exploration of humanity’s physical limits and how crises can lay our brutal nature bare for all to see, you’d be forgiven for wondering whether Foley was aware that his predecessor’s script covered much the same territory, or alternatively why the pair didn’t devise a more direct two-parter where either the citywide black-out or slumber party remained the solitary threat.

At least the boxset’s second half does its job of raising substantial intrigue for future instalments: both “Evil” and “Watch” continually subvert our expectations of twists delivered in the Aliens Among Us saga, call Jack in particular to task for some questionable – if spontaneous – romantic decisions made in recent weeks with hilarious reactions from Barrowman, and most importantly offer a fascinating insight into the warped benevolence of Season Six’s titular God ready for her schemes to play out in Part 2 and beyond. Sure, their uncanny tonal resemblance tragically robs much of the set’s momentum, but combine their potent revelations with the brilliant “Future Pain” and provocative “Man Who Destroyed Torchwood” and you’ve got a promising start to God Among Us which will certainly entice fans back for more.

Next Time on Torchwood – Familiar faces predict (or perhaps engineer) the end of the world, Tyler takes to the streets with heart-wrenching consequences and we see Yvonne Hartman like never before in God Among Us Part 2. What’s more, the Main Range kicks off its bombastic run of Doctor Who villain crossovers in style, namely by transporting aspiring thespian Gwen Cooper to a now-decrepit scientific institution called Fetch Priory – what could possibly go wrong…?



Associated Products




GUIDE: God Among Us - Part 1 - FILTER: - TORCHWOOD - BIG FINISH

Black Thursday/Power Game (Big Finish)Bookmark and Share

Sunday, 24 March 2019 - Reviewed by Callum McKelvie
Black Thursday / Power Game (Credit: Big Finsh)
 
 Director: Ken Bentley

Big Finish Release (United Kingdom)

 

First Released February 2019

Running Time: 2 hours

The fifth doctor’s Khameleon trilogy continues with the now almost traditional set of two-parters, Black Thursday and Power Game. Like the previous story, both of these are centred either on or around Khamelion, using him both as a plot point whilst fleshing his character out.

Black Thursday opens the set and is easily the crowning jewel of the two. Taking place in a small Welsh mining village on the brink of disaster, the story is a hard-hitting one that is incredibly layered and nuanced for something that runs half the time of a standard release. Jamie Anderson manages to explore Khamelion’s character within this context in a way that gives the android a whole other level of depth and character, giving him some wonderful emotional moments, which John Culshaw perfectly captures.

Indeed Culshaw’s performance is something that I feel cannot be given enough praise. Kamelion is a character cursed with a fairly unemotive voice and also a lack of any real character (at least until this trilogy). The challenge must of seemed immense, trying to bring a level of depth and emotion to a character whose persona is established and lacking in many opportunities to do that. Culshaw uses the iteration of every word to his advantage and he’s helped by a stellar sound design that uses garbled computer sounds in a way that can be interpreted as cries of anguish from the metal man.

The second story; Power Game does suffer from following such a strong opener but it’s also somewhat unfair to compare them as they are VERY different beasts. Whereas Black Thursday took a real historical tragedy, set it in a fictional setting and treat it with heart and emotion- Power Game is more of a traditional romp. Perhaps that at first seems like a negative but honestly, after the previous adventure, a romp was an exactly what I needed! This is a fun story that is attempting to do just that. Sprinkle in a little bit of satire and you have an incredibly enjoyable ride. Eddie Robson has once again managed to create a wonderful adventure and has proven himself a writer with an immense amount of talent.

The Tardis crew respond well to this situation, perhaps enjoying a lighter break after the aforementioned darkness of Black Thursday. Janet Fielding, in particular, seems to be having a whale of a time and it’s nice to see the funnier side of her character. Fielding has incredible comic timing and I always appreciate when Big Finish takes advantage of this, utilising the more humorous elements of her character. I feel sometimes Tegan is used just to moan and complain and it always seems unfortunate when there’s a multitude of character traits to be mined and utilised. It’s wonderful that Big Finish is continuing to give this character the recognition she deserves.

Davison and Strictson both give admirable performances, though the latter seems to be given deridingly less to do compared to the previous release. Culshaw is in this story deridingly little but the manner in which Kamelion is used despite him not being there is inventive and further shows Robson’s imagination.

All in all, this is a wonderful collection of stories in what is proving to be a stellar year for the main range.






GUIDE: Black Thursday / Power Game - FILTER: - Big Finish - Main Range - Fifth Doctor

Doctor Who - The Fourth Doctor - The Syndicate Master Plan Volume 2Bookmark and Share

Saturday, 16 March 2019 - Reviewed by Matt Tiley
The Syndicate Masterplan: Volume 2 (Credit: Big Finish)
Writer: John Dorney
Director: Nicholas Briggs
 

Big Finish Release (United Kingdom):

First Released: February 2019

Running Time: 4 hours

Time's Assassin – GUY  ADAMS

 

"Please! Don't explain you're nefarious plot - I don't think I can bear it!"

The true identity of the Director has been revealed and he wants vengeance upon the Doctor for past crimes….

But the Director is not the only danger to the crew of the TARDIS. Deadly experiments are coming to a head, and everyone’s life is at risk.

However, the greatest threat is yet to come. The Syndicate’s plans are in motion….and no one is safe from them.

When we left the Doctor and Ann at the end of the last episode (and volume) they were still stranded and in peril. Jon Culshaw was chewing scenery, and monsters were about to be unleashed. Part two is much the same, and provides some major hints and themes of the coming episodes, further developing this series story arc as all really is not what it seems.

Writer Guy Adams ensures that events in this second part of the story proceed at breakneck speed. He has a real feel for the characters.

The story is a lot of fun, with major call-backs to this classic era of the show. There are lots of growling monsters, moustache twirling villainy. There is also a rather dashing rescue from a very special ‘Old Girl’ that made this listener grin like a ten-year-old.

 

Fever Island  – BY JONATHAN BARNES

 

"Not at all, Mr Vain....what I expect of both of you, is to die....horribly!"

Jason Vane is England’s suavest secret agent, and today he is on his deadliest mission yet. Tracking down the evil Okulov….before he destroys the world.

The Doctor, Ann and K9 are, in contrast finding their own mission a little hard to complete. A strange storm in the vortex has swept them back in time, back to Earth in 1978, and to a strange place called ‘Fever Island’.

A place where their worst nightmares are about to come true….

From the above, you can deduce that Fever Island is a James Bond spoof….of sorts anyway. But it is actually quite a bit more than that, and a great deal of fun. The story twists reality in such a way that Tom Baker and John Leeson get to play an evil megalomaniac and his fierce sidekick, Severous. I thought the writing by Jonathan Barnes was excellent, a great balance pastiche, tension and humour.

The cast is perfect – with the stand out being Gethin Anthony as Jason Vane, who plays the role with oodles of very ironic smarm.

 I wasn’t really looking forward to Fever Island from its story summary, but it turned out to be a real gem.

 

The Perfect Prisoners Part 1  – JOHN DORNEY

 

You know what they say K9? If it aint broke, don’t adjust the polarity.”

The Doctor, Ann and K9 are hot on the trail of The Syndicate, and straight into trouble.

After contending with killer robots and dangerous aliens, the clues lead straight to a machine that can literally make you dreams come true. A device that in the wrong hands could lead to misery for millions.

But who’s the real villain here? And what exactly is their masterplan?

The Perfect Prisoners stats at a breakneck pace, with the Doctor and Ann already well into an adventure, in fact we catch up with them as danger draws in and hope seems lost. The Perfect Prisoner could almost be a direct sequel to The Daleks' Master Plan. If you thought that The Syndicate Masterplan was cannon heavy, wait a while.

I’m probably going to disappoint you now Reader, I was never a plan of The Daleks' Masterplan. To me, it felt that the Daleks had already been heavily overused, and I found the plot just….dull. So it was with some trepidation that I started listening to this story, especially when I realised it was four episodes. I couldn’t have been more wrong.  All four parts positively romp along. The characters are all integrated perfectly, and there isn’t a lot of presumption that you know The Daleks Masterplan inside out. The twists come thick and fast, as do the clever sleight of hand that seems around every corner.

 

The Perfect Prisoners Part 2 – JOHN DORNEY

 

“Geronimoooooooo!!!”

Secrets have been revealed, and the Doctor and his friends at least know who they’re fighting.

An epic journey across space leads them to the true mastermind of The Syndicate conspiracy.

Alliances will shift. Friends will die. Can even the Doctor come out of this alive?

As we emerge surprisingly quickly from the last cliff-hanger and catch our breath from a very dramatic rescue, courtesy of K9, we barely get time to take stock of events before we are being whisked off to a climax that looks hopeless for the Doctor.

Throughout these two volumes, there have been double-crosses and twists galore, and this final episode delivers even more, alongside a rather splendid dose of sleight of hand, which I do not want to spoil.

17011 ties these volumes up perfectly, picking up all the loose threads, and tying them neatly together. I’ve really enjoyed the character of Ann, and I love the way that Big Finish, Jane Slavin, and the writers involved have treated her, and let the character evolve over these two volumes, all coming pretty much full circle here, and leaving the Doctor (literally) a very different character than when she joined him. Well done Big Finish.






GUIDE: Fourth Doctor - The Syndicate Masterplan: Volume 2 - FILTER: - Fourth Doctor - Audio - Big Finish

Missy - Volume One (Big Finish)Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 13 March 2019 - Reviewed by Ken Scheck
Missy (Credit: Big Finish)

Written By: Roy Gill, John Dorney, Nev Fountain, Jonathan Morris

Directed By: Ken Bentley

Cast

Michelle Gomez (Missy), Rufus Hound (The Monk), Oliver Clement (Oliver Davis), Bonnie Kingston (Lucy Davis), Simon Slater (Montague Davis / Moses Walker / Coachman), Dan Starkey (Mr Cosmo / Park Keeper / Old Man / Sphinx), Beth Chalmers (Djinn / Housemaid), Maggie Service (Catherine Parr), Leighton Pugh (Sir Foxcroft / Gramoryan 1 / Priest), Graham Seed (Gramoryan 2 / Taverner / Squire), Kenneth Jay (Dick Zodiac), Guy Paul (Joe Lynwood), Ryan Forde Iosco (The Actor Playing Joe Lynwood), Daniel Goode (Mark / Roy), Rachel Verkuil (Frankie / The Actress Playing Missy), Abbie Andrews (Aleyna), John Scougall (Cort / Guards), Lucy Goldie (Sath / Mother), Jason Nwoga (Doctor Goodnight), Jamie Laird (Mr Bryce / Father). Other parts played by members of the cast.

Producer David Richardson Script Editor Matt Fitton Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

Confession: I am not a fan of Missy.  It's nothing against Michelle Gomez...she played the role with enthusiasm.  I just didn't like the way she was written. She was more Anthony Ainley camp than the darker side of the character I prefer.  John Simm could play the Master as goofy and over the top but look at any scene that was just between him and Tennant.  Suddenly he strips away most of the antics and becomes a very sinister guy.  I never felt Gomez was given that chance.  She was always a campy character making snide remarks and ever so witty. I know a ton of people loves that, but I tire of it.  She always felt one note to me. So a whole boxset of Missy seems overwhelming to me, do I really want to spend four hours with this character?

Maybe they can change my mind on the character, maybe they can showcase another side of her.  Hell, they did a tremendous job with the War Master, somehow making stories that can revolve around the Master but not turning him into some anti-hero...he is still clearly an evil guy.  Could they strike a balance with Missy as well? Apparently, they cannot. The character is just as one-note as she had always been.  Always ready with a quip and a silly voice, always having more delight in the idea of being sinister than actually being sinister. I found myself increasingly irritated with the stories in this set, and the character left me colder than ever.  I said I wasn't a fan, but I didn't hate her. This set made me kind of hate her.

The opening story has her posing as a Victorian Governess.  I didn't really buy the premise, and I found the two kids she was taking care of to be boring and poorly acted.  Usually, Big Finish has good performances from all involved, people who really get the Audio format.  I don't know what was with these two, but I found them frustrating, and the goofy heists they are doing with Missy also left me cold. The music kept telling me I should be having fun. I was not having fun.

But maybe it was a fluke, there are three more stories, they can't all be bad.  The second story involved the spin-off media go-to Time Lord, the Meddling Monk.  A character with no real character that can be moulded into anything you need him to be for a story.  This time he is a bumbling idiot, posing as Henry VIII, marrying the wrong women hoping the Time Lords will rescue him?  But also Missy is here to steal a part from his TARDIS. And they nearly get married and they nearly get killed...and it was so campy I lost interest halfway through.  It is never good when I'm alone in my car and begin to yell "Get on with it!" at some point during the listen.

So we come to the third story, which is sort of a parody of America's Most Wanted, or shows like it, but gets more complex than that.  To be honest I didn't really click with it.  I think it had an interesting premise but even though I just listened to it I've already forgotten why everyone thought they were in a TV show. The episode is essentially a murder mystery, with the murderer turning out to be the Master's old TARDIS attempting to find a more sane pilot than the Master, the results often ending in accidental deaths. 

The set closes out with what is, luckily, the best story of the set.  Missy is an evil overlord using slave labour to mine for something mysterious.  It turns out that the caves they are mining in is some kind of giant creature, and the slaves are all clones.  I liked the Missy was just a clear villain in the story, though the bits with Missy also being the leader of the rebellion with a comedy accent left me cold.  They just did the comedy accent in the previous story, so I don't know if they ever intended me to believe that it wasn't Missy the whole time or not, but it was painfully obvious, and didn't really have any meaning, as the whole rebellion plot is just Missy having some fun and killing time until she finds what she is after.

Ultimately, what she was after was "The Master TARDIS," some advanced TARDIS that can control other TARDISes.  This is the clear set up for some future story, either for the next volume of Missy, or maybe some run-in with the Doctor in another boxset.  The Master TARDIS thing isn't even brought up until the closing moments, so the weight of the development is minimal.  They should have made this object a clear goal from the beginning of the set, so the success of her evil plans could have more of an impact. 

If it hasn't been clear, this set did not thrill me. Obviously, I started from a place where I'm not a huge fan of the character to begin with.  And without having Capaldi to spar with, I think Missy is an even emptier character than she was on TV.  It's all goofy voices and quips and there is rarely a moment where I take her seriously as a genuine threat. Big Finish has only amplified the things I found so uninteresting about the character.  Give me another War Master, at least those are filled with the Master being a genuinely evil jerk.



Associated Products

£30.35
£35.00



GUIDE: Missy - Series One - FILTER: - Big Finish - Missy - Audio

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor - Issue #5 (Titan Comics)Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 6 March 2019 - Reviewed by Ken Scheck
DOCTOR WHO: THIRTEENTH DOCTOR #5 - Cover A (Credit: Titan )

Writer: Jody Houser
Artist: Rachel Stott
Colorist: Enrica Eren Angiolini & Tracy Bailey

26 Pages

Published by Titan Comics 6 March 2019

The fifth issue of the ongoing Thirteenth Doctor comic book from Titan begins a brand new adventure for the Doctor and the gang.  This time they land in a small village in 1500s Europe, during the Guelders Wars.  This isnt a period of history I am really familiar with, but no matter, there is an alien menace that gets involved!

****I try not to dive into too many details, but Spoilerphobic Folk Beware****

The village seems deserted, but they find one woman on the run, her name is Magda.  Through her they find that an army is apparently on the way, and accroding to rumors, they have the help of demons.  Demons implies Aliens to the TARDIS team, so they are ready to take them on.   And they eventually find a bunch of flesh eating monsters hiding away...so aliens confirmed!  And while she is beginning to talk to much, and alien bites the Doctor.  As cliffhangers go, this one is kind of lame, but there have been much worse in the long legacy of this franchise. 

This issue is all about the set up of the new storyline, and as such it is really all about building up our new setting introducing the current problems, introducing some the guest character, and eventually unveiling the monster of the story.  It can be difficult to review the first issue of a story.  It's like writing a review for the first 15 minutes of a movie.  Sure...I could say it's good or bad, but at the same time I have no idea where any of this is going, so how can I judge the story on the whole. 

What I can judge is that the writing of the characters is still top notch, and the art remains excellent.  As long as Houser and Stott are running this show, I will be satisfied to keep reading each and every issue. 





FILTER: - Thirteenth Doctor - Comics - Titan Comics

The Caves of Androzani (BBC Audiobook)Bookmark and Share

Tuesday, 5 March 2019 - Reviewed by Ken Scheck
The Caves of Androzani  (Credit: BBC)
Written by Terrance Dicks
Read By Peter Davison

Released by BBC Worldwide - November 2018
Available from Amazon UK

The Caves of Androzani is not only my favourite Peter Davison story, it is not only among the top of my regeneration story lists, but it is definitely my favourite story from the entire 1980s.  So much of that decade had iffy scripts, were still stiffly directed like it was 1965 and were overly lit studio episodes.  Anytime they would leave the studio it becomes a relief because suddenly everything is lit so naturally.  But then there is The Caves of Androzani, a story which mostly takes place in dark caves, and is directed with a modern pace with the camera movement feeling free once.  And then there is Davison giving the performance of his life in his final moments as the Doctor.  I just love the serial, I think it is excellent.  But what if you strip away Davison's fiery performance?  What if the directing and lighting that I admire are taken out of the equation? 

Peter Davison reads this audiobook of the Target Novelization from the 80s, and while certain elements aren't nearly as exciting as their television counterparts (the crash landing cliffhanger from Episode 3 is one of my favourite moments in the whole of the classic show, and a lot of the umph is sucked out of it in this reading), I think I appreciated the base story elements better in this.  For example, I sometimes forget that this story is so simple.  It could be any random adventure for the Doctor...he lands on a planet, finds there is two factions warring over a rare medicine, there are androids and cave monsters, and the Doctor and his friend get captured by each faction have to figure out a way to save their own skin while possibly helping fix this society's ills. 

It is a fairly standard Doctor Who story...but what sets it apart is that all those elements aren't actually what the story is about in any way.  Our heroes step out of the TARDIS and almost immediately touch an odd plant, which immediately poisons them. The entire story has the Doctor and Peri dying from the word go, and all of those fairly average story bits that might otherwise be the focus of the story, merely become obstacles in the way of the Doctor finding an antidote in time.  The Doctor doesn't try to find a way to sort out the fighting, he doesn't solve any issues with cave monsters or help find an alternative for this rare drug that is being battled over...no beyond the two main leaders of the faction killing each other, the problems of Androzani aren't really solved in the end.  Because the Doctor is actually just too damn busy trying to save his friend.  And that is what sets this story apart.  

We've become accustomed to regeneration stories that are big sweeping epics...the Doctor against a horde of Daleks, with Earth in the balance!  The entire universe will be destroyed by the Master, but the Doctor will give his life to stop him and make a grand farewell speech before he finally changes into a brand new actor.  But for as much fun as those can be, sometimes it takes dialling it back a bit.  Focus in on a more personal story, and the regeneration can be just as, if not more, powerful.  The Doctor doesn't have to save the galaxy for his death to have meaning, sometimes he can just save his friend.  

This audiobook was read with enthusiasm from Peter Davison, who has long professed that his final outing was his favourite of his tenure.  Terrence Dicks novelization of the original Robert Holmes script is quite good, and it let me focus in on different details that I've sometimes glossed over when I think of this story. If you are a fan of the original story, and we all know you are...check out this audiobook, it added to my already high enjoyment of the original television adventure.

 





FILTER: - Fifth Doctor - Target Books - BBC Aduio - Audiobook