Box Set Synopsis: When the Doctor defeated the Dalek Time Controller and its Time Lord ally, the timelines shifted and events changed... but the danger is far from over. And new threats to the continued safety of the universe are emerging. Molly O'Sullivan carried on with her life as a nursing assistant in World War One. She probably thought she would never see the Doctor in his 'Tardy-box' again... From the Dalek occupied planet Nixyce VII through Earth's history and to the very edge of the universe, the Doctor's footprints across eternity are being tracked by foes old and new. But when did it all begin and when will it end? Living his life through the complexities of time travel, the Doctor can never be quite sure if he's experiencing his life in the most helpful order. The only certainty appears to be the advance of the powers of evil and the oncoming threat of a fight to the death against forces that would destroy everything the Doctor holds dear.
What's it about: Nixyce VII is under Dalek occupation. For
many, their only hope of survival is decent medical care, as slave working
conditions under the Dalek regime are appalling. But when you help people to
survive under the rule of the Daleks, are you actually helping the Daleks?
Med-tech Liv Chenka doesn't have the luxury of pondering these dilemmas. She
must just do what she feels is right. But then there are the
soldiers of last resort... The freedom fighters left behind to cause maximum
damage to the Dalek war effort, at whatever cost. To them, anyone who seems to
be helping the Daleks is a traitor. And
when the Doctor arrives, his secret agenda throws him into conflict with
everyone.
Battle Scarred: For a moment it felt like Eric Saward was in
the script editing seat since it took the Doctor a full eleven minutes to turn
up. The eighth Doctor seems to be obsessed with the Daleks at this point in his
life, following their scent and seeing where he can foil their plans. He's a
man with a mission. Unfortunately there is no sign of that in the first half of
The Traitor in which he barely features, merely turning up and getting
robotised in record time (or at least pretending to be). Keeping the Doctor in
the shadows for quite so long enhances the feeling that this more of a
continuation of the Dalek Empire series than a Doctor Who story. His alias when
questioned is Burt Higgins - your guess is as good as mine! This time around he
has an even bigger goal in mind, planning on driving the Daleks off of this
planet in order to guide them towards and even more destructive force in the
universe and use them as his own personal assassination squad. What force could
be possibly be talking about to make him act so much like his predecessor, the master
manipulator? How far can the Doctor climb to maintain his precious moral
superiority? That's a question that is asked but 30 seconds from the end of the
tale I'm not sure we are going to get an adequate answer.
Standout Performance:
Nicola Walker needs more involving characterisation to bring Liv Chenka to
life but she does a great job with what she has to work with here.
Sparkling Dialogue: Mostly functional but uninspiring,
unfortunately.
Great Ideas: Liv's opening monologue sounds like it could
have leapt straight out of Dalek Empire which is no bad thing since I have been
hoping to see Nick Briggs' return to (what I consider) his most successful
(dramatically at least) audio work to date. If Big Finish are determined to
keep using the Daleks then this is precisely the way to go, battle scarred
planets under Dalek occupation, the survivors subjugated and defeated. It's not
a new scenario but it is one in which Doctor Who can thrive. I wish we could
actually see a Dalek Robotisation Plant - in my head it is a terrifying factory
churning out the living dead. Think of the Cyberman farm we saw in The Age of
Steel except a hundred times bigger. The Time Controller is still alive,
keeping his mutated peepers on everything the Daleks are up to. 'A workforce with hope and good conditions is
less likely to rebel...' - this is Dalek Empire! Everyone knows
about 'the Hawk', the most wanted man on the planet but nobody knows who he is.
Left behind by the military to commit last minute sabotage and disruption. The
Daleks are planning to draw the energy right from the planets core to create a
weapon of almost unimaginable power...with it they will turn this system into a
pivotal strategic stronghold in the Dalek Empire (See! He admits it!). The
Dalek Time Controller lives outside of time and his memories are
protected...I'm not sure what that means at the moment but I'm sure all will be
revealed. There is a force out there that will ultimately be worse for the
universe than the Daleks and the Doctor wants them to destroy it.
Musical Cues: The music is a massive plus, giving the story
a real lift and sense of movement.
Isn't it Odd: The opening is an assault of sound effects
with very little in the way of dialogue to give the aural landscape any kind of
context. This can work extremely well at times (the opening minute of The
Chimes of Midnight is startlingly effective) but it was a full three minutes
into The Traitor before it felt as though the beginning of the plot had kicked
in. I understand the dilemma when you are acting as writer and director, as the
former you can afford to give yourself the opportunity to truly express
yourself as the latter...but you have to remember that this is a story to be
followed and not just experienced through sound effects. It is hard to give a
damn about who 'The Hawk' is given that we have only just been introduced to
this situation on Nixyce VII and haven't had the opportunity to get to know any of the people
whose lives he has affected with his terrorist acts. Our emotional way in to
the unveiling is Liv's reaction (Walker is great) but there is no sense of
importance to the reveal, the mystery and the solution are brought to light ten
minutes apart. The Dalek plan to create a huge super weapon to keep a whole
system in check is precisely what they were up to in The Stolen Earth, and
Lucie Miller/To The Death...and countless other stories. If you can't think of
anything original to do with them, don't use them. From the Doctor
(turning up, tricking the Daleks, saving the day) to Liv (Susan Mendez by
another name) to the rebels (including The Hawk), there isn't one iota of
original characterisation to be found in this story. Like the sixties stories
using stock music instead of spending money on an original score, Briggs has
reached into the characterisation bank and chosen tried and tested characters
to populate his story. It is interesting that the Doctor should say that it is
not a numbers game when it comes to comparing whose plan will have the most
casualties because that is exactly what it has become with these grand space
operas that Big Finish keeps churning out. Hundreds of millions will die! What
exactly does that mean? It's easy enough to say to create a dramatic effect but
once that threat has been made time and again it starts to lose its impact. You
have to give those people a face otherwise it is just playing God with a load
of lives that nobody cares about. Who are these people that the Doctor (who
will whisk off to another adventure next week) and the Time Controller (who
will just go on to kill even more) are discussing at the climax and why should
we care about them? In the words of a Prisoner, they are just numbers.
3 comments:
I think maybe 7or 8 for me - I love Daleks though (yes, Big Finish uses them more and more, but on the whole they do a better job than New Who) and it was so great to hear the Dalek Time Controller again.
I think the links to Dalek Empire were rather neat, but each to his own.
Wait until you hear each story - everything starts coming together ...
Glad to hear you weren't bored though :D (I respect your opinion very highly, I should add)
I'm not sure I like the path they have taken with the 8th Doctor, I loved the breathless romantic, and I miss when he had more diverse adventures, who where more stand alone and with multiple enemies. Too many Daleks, of late, IMHO. I'm not a big fan of the master manipulator 7th Doctor, why on Earth would they want to make the 8th another Dr operating in the shadows and having a master plan? duh!
I'm not thrilled that we are stuck with dark eyes 3 and 4 before we have other 8th Dr stories...
and I loathe this costume
Great reviews, though. You are god among reviewers
Truth made you a traitor as it often does in a time of scoundrels. See the link below for more info.
#traitor
www.ufgop.org
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