Teeth and Curls: Bracing is what people call cold when they
are on holiday and since he is always on holiday that is his preferred term for
extreme climates. He's in an especially witty mood this time around and enjoys
making a song and dance about new information he is given before dismissing it
utterly. He has no qualms about making the suggestion that they have come on
holiday to a lifeless rock - if anybody was likely to do so this improbable duo
would fit the bill. On a good day the Doctor calls nearly being killed quite an
easy exercise. I'm pleased that the Doctor was smart enough to go along with
Morax's tragic tale even when he didn't believe a word of it. Baker has a way
of sounding as though he is taking the piss even in an incredibly tense
situation. His 'tap-tap-tappity-tap' had me giggling in at a very
inappropriate time. I thought this might be the first story of this season
where the fourth Doctor restrains his malice but he reserves it for the final
sick joke at the villains expense. Nice one.
Noble Savage: The Doctor calls Leela a creature of limited
cultural horizons which I thought was quite harsh given he is the one that has
been trying to push those boundaries. Leela scoffs when an inferior opponent
threatens her. In a story that signposts its bombshells, the moment that really
took me by surprise was Leela's quiet (you really have to try and listen out
for it) admission that she wishes she could go home. A small moment within this
story but I think this might have greater ramifications down the line,
especially in Jameson's own script.
Sparkling Dialogue: 'It is like before a thunderstorm. Like
the world is holding its breath.'
Great Ideas: Whatever civilisation was on Colophon before
has exhausted all the fossil fuels so there are slim pickings to be taken away.
Why make a door that is designed to open from the inside only? Because it is
designed to keep something inside... I love moments of uncertainty like that,
when what we understand about a story is turned on its head. From victim to
prisoner. Many years ago a pathogenic strain was created which was lethal to
all known medicine and within days the resulting infection had consumed the
world. Morax performed an experimental treatment on himself which left him
crippled but allowed him to the survive the contamination of his world. In
reality Morax was one of the worlds greatest scientists but he used his genius
for evil - he sought power and killed all those who stood in his way, his
cruelty and resourcefulness without precedent. He was the one who released the
bacteria that condemned his people to destruction. His punishment when his
people knew they would be driven to extinction thanks to his actions was to
sentence him to eternal life, enslaved by a robotic nurse. The reveal that
there is nothing beneath Morax's bandages was lifted straight out of The Three
Doctors but it still made for a chilling scene. Morris uses Morax's blindness
to great effect, one of the few writers of late to tap into the possibilities
that the audio medium brings. It really feels as though we are inside his head
as Leela taunts him, bringing all of her prowess as a huntress to mock his
affliction and disorient him. I especially liked it when the lights were
extinguished - now all the characters are as without visuals as the audience
and need to explain their actions. Morax has altered the harmonics of
the standing waves of his constituent atoms by application of photon radiation.
Now light passes straight through him, making him invisible. Unfortunately he
has also committed suicide by doing so, weakening the binding forces that hold
his body together.
Isn't it Odd: Putting two and two together was never my
strongest ability but even I figured that the initial sympathy towards Morax
(pleasingly from both Leela and the Doctor, showing the humane side to what
they can bring to a story) would turn sour once they figured out why he was
imprisoned on Colophon. If the story didn't take a dark turn like that...well
there wouldn't be much of a story. It is hard to pull off the double climax in
any story because you have to time it just so that the false ending is close
enough to the end of the running time as not to draw suspicion to itself.
Unfortunately Colophon tries to pull off this trick at 45 minutes into the
narrative, which if this were the case, would make it the shortest (and least
economical) 4DA on the market.
Result: 'We're the ones that set him free!' A pinch
of Talons of Weng-Chiang (Morax's condition), a sprinkling of Planet of Evil (a
survey ship landing on an alien world), toss in some Brain of Morbius (an
engaging scientist with a dark secret) and a huge dollop of The Armageddon
Factor (a world devastated by war, a story told in a handful of sets)...mix it
all together and serve it up as a two part audio story and slap the title Last
of the Colophon on it. I have to admit
that this is one of the stories in the third season that had me the most
excited before I heard it (along with White Ghosts and The Abandoned). The
cover is phenomenal and after reading the synopsis I felt wrapped up in the
warm glow of nostalgia for the era (a dead world, a survey ship, a brilliant
scientist under house arrest and a robot nurse sound like the ingredients for
an engaging fourth Doctor romp). I've been harping on about how traditional
these fourth Doctor adventures have been to their detriment and along comes a story
which does absolutely nothing new that I thoroughly enjoyed. Go figure.
Episode one is extremely predictable (Morax is the villain of the piece as soon
as Thomas utters his first word) but even so it builds to an impressively
creepy climax with the characters trapped inside the prison at the mercy of the
madman. I might sound like a broken record but this is another terrific
showcase for Jamie Robertson's talents, one of the strongest talents to have
been acquired by Big Finish in the past five years. Much of the effect of a
story this slender comes down to how it is presented and Robertson provides
sounds wonderfully frightening moments, shock sound effects and a big, filmic
soundtrack. I think Jonathan Morris understands the fourth Doctor era (and the
fourth Doctor himself) better than any of the other writers in the range.
Whether he is writing a witty Wodehouse pastiche for Romana, a claustrophobic
underwater SF tale featuring a villainous K.9 or transporting us to the budget
saving three set spectacular on the dead world of Colophon there is something
authentic of the era about his tales whilst still being solid stories in their
own right. Given his penchant for Douglas Adams pastiche (check out
Babblesphere, The Beautiful People, Festival of Death and The Tomorrow
Windows), I am assuming he is going to feature heavily in season five. I can't
wait. If you are seeking out the 4DAs because you are looking for a nostalgia
fix for the Baker years on television, this is by far the most accomplished
that has emerged. Utterly clichéd and for once it's a plus, Last of the
Colophon embraces predictability and uses it to deliver an energetic hit.
Gareth Thomas excels: 8/10
2 comments:
Great review,and glad to see that I wasn't the only one to make the Shivan connection.
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