What's it about: One wouldn't normally expect to find elephants, gorillas and rhinoceroses roaming free in Suffolk in the year 1911. One wouldn't normally expect to find an extra-dimensional police box at the same time/space location either. Two aliens, named the Doctor and Nyssa, exit said box, only to find themselves pursued by a hungry lioness – for they've landed in the private hunting grounds of the famous explorer Nathaniel Whitlock, who's brought together a motley group of friends and acquaintances for a weekend's shooting. But one of Whitlock's guests isn't all they seem. One of them wants the secrets of the Moonflesh, the mystic mineral looked after by Whitlock's retainer, a Native American known as Silver Crow. Because the Moonflesh is reputed to have the power to call down spirits from another real…and soon, the hunters will become the hunted.
An English Gentleman: I've been hoping for some time that
Peter Davison would be afforded the chance to enjoy a trilogy without being
encumbered with companions that steal his limelight. Such a shame that it
should be with Nyssa because I feel the character, despite a renaissance that
has seen her character live up to its potential in a way that it never did on
television, has been overused in recent years. This would have been an ideal
time to feature a 5/Peri or 5/Turlough season or even introduce a new companion
to jazz his stories up a bit. There's nothing especially impressive in the
writing of the character beyond the usual fifth Doctorish clichés and despite
Davison admitting he likes the historical stories in the interview at the end I
couldn't help but feel that he was a little disinterested in the whole affair.
Fanfare for the Common Men aside, I haven't felt much creative energy from
Davison or his stories since the Emerald Tiger trilogy. The Doctor thinks his
body might be allergic to late October although he makes a great show of the
fact that there is nothing more appealing than Suffolk at dusk at this time of
year. As you could imagine from the most diplomatic of Doctors, he remains
firmly on the fence when it comes to hunting. It makes sense not to upset his
hosts but it would make far better drama if he had a stronger viewpoint. Sixie
would tear through this crowd with his post-Two Doctors vegetarianism. He's
ready to offer himself as the host to save Phoebe and appease Nathaniel. The
Doctor was taught by Crazy Horse himself.
Alien Orphan: Described by an aristocrat as impudent but the
Doctor corrects that to curious. With Nyssa on hand as the voice of reason
opposing the hunt of creatures that have been shipped in from Africa, this
looks set to be a moral tale that examines the rights and wrongs of hunting.
Unfortunately the script never takes this route and offers little more than
token objections on Nyssa' part. It would have been very right-on for her to
take matters into her own hands and sabotage the hunt. Like everything else in
Moonflesh, the obvious is the order of the day and so Nyssa is left on the
sidelines moaning when she should be pro-active. She's a little unsure of the
etiquette of the era, suggesting that Phoebe encourages the advances of Hector
and seeks his company after the hunt. Since she has a latent psychic ability
Nyssa is the obvious choice to play host to the alien seed. With Nyssa's mind
(once again) taken over by an alien force (on television she was hypnotised by
the Master and embodied by the intelligence in Time-Flight and she has been
puppeteered several times in Big Finish stories) you might think that this
would be a good time to explore the effect of so many exotic intelligences
strolling through her psyche. Instead we just get a token
'oh it was
horrible...so much rage!' Very revealing.
Standout Performance: This is a stunning cast that
suffers the indignity of being shackled to a less than impressive dramatis
personae. It's painful listening to decent performers trying to breath life and
extra dimensions into characters that have none. Morris admits that this story
was written in a hurry and it's clear that none of that scant writing time was
wasted on the characters who wander about the story in a painfully predictable
pattern. It's a group of upper class toffs that sound as though they have been
assembled for an Agatha Christie effort. I would always give my time for a
story that features the likes of Hugh Fraser, Time Bentick, John Banks and
Francesca Hunt but Moonflesh almost convinces me that I shouldn't. It's isn't
even that they are boring characters - they are simply exactly what you would
expect from this setting without offering a single surprise. We're one more 'what
ho!' and 'golly!' away from a Wodehouse pastiche. And boy did they
shout a lot.
Terrible Dialogue: 'On a journey. A journey of the mind...'
'It's a head! It's a giant flying head!' - why would the
Doctor feel the need to explain that when he and Silver Crow are both flying
towards it?
Great Ideas: It did amuse me that the second the Doctor
figures he is in a zoo in England that it has to be Whipsnade. The Order of the
Crescent Moon are a group of like minded individuals who believe that mankind
lives in the thrall of invisible beings who stroll through time and space. Although
that apparently is a gross misrepresentation by a disbeliever, even though we
don't find out much more about them so it is hard to discredit the claim. The
Moonflesh is like intelligent lightning, a creature that has the ability to
invade and influence anything; people, animals (even rock!). Vatoose fell to
Earth, drawn by Silver Crow's detached state of consciousness and attempted to
possess him and use him as a physical host. Somehow Silver Crow was able to
best Vatoose and the seed was reduced to a harmless rock. Gripping stuff. The
murder of Edwin was the first time my eyebrow even twitched in anything
approaching surprise.
Audio Landscape: An owl hooting, an elephant screaming, a
lion roaring, pouring drinks, approaching horse and cart, crackling fire, dogs
barking, a scream in the night, clock ticking, a scream in the dark, firing a
shot, red lightning crackling, horses whinnying, dogs barking, meteorites
falling, screaming shadows, beating wings, clay birds, hissing snakes,
splashing under water, swimming ashore, a giant octopus.
Musical Cues: There's absolutely nothing wrong with Andy
Hardwick's score for Moonflesh. It is atmospheric, moody and occasionally quite
romantic but my issue is that I feel as if I have heard everything that this musician
has to offer. There wasn't a single cure here that I felt I hadn't heard before
in some place or another and many of them took my back to other, better
stories.
Isn't it Odd: Once the Moonflesh was a seed of the Prime
Cluster, heir to the Takeler Empire but the Cluster was scattered from within
by bad seeds. It slipped between dimensions to evade absorption and when it
reached Earth it fell into a dormant state so they would be unable to detect
them. It's as insubstantial an explanation as I think I have heard to explain
the strange goings in a Doctor Who story, again riding the formula of similar
back stories for aliens with unusual powers. Morris may have well have just
said
'I am an alien and shit happens when I'm around.' The assassins
following are tireless, fearless, creatures of instinct and savagery. Well it's
damn lucky that the Doctor has a ready made hunting party on hand to track them
down then, isn't it? Moonflesh does keep up the traditional of the fifth Doctor
allowing all and sundry into the TARDIS, both allies and enemies alike. In this
case he finally gets his hand bitten when Vatoose (predictably turning out to
not be the victim it painted itself as) tries to take over the ship and use it
to escape. An alien seed causing mischief? I can't be the only person who was
cringing at the thought that it might turn out to germinate into the Isolus
from Fear Her. The only thing that could make this story more tedious would be
an appearance by Chloe Webber. Vatoose is a rogue element responsible for the
cessation of numerous energy links within the cluster - how is that supposed to
mean anything to an audience that was brought up on Terra Firma?
Standout Scene: The ghost dance ritual at least has a little
atmosphere, thanks to Ken Bentley's direction and John Banks' performance.
Result: With the advent of this release there has been
something of a backlash against the state of the main range over at Gallifrey
Base (dissatisfied customer on that forum - what a shock!) and when Moonflesh
is latest example to test the quality of the merchandise currently being
produced it is hard to argue with the air of disillusionment. Looking back at
the past years worth of releases there has been a wildly inconsistent altitude
of quality with Eldrad Must Die!, Persuasion, Daleks Among Us and Antidote to
Oblivion being amongst the worst Big Finish have ever delivered. This story can
be added to that list; an intellectually stunted, over described, under
characterised period piece without an iota of innovation. Moonflesh embodies
the worst of Doctor Who when it is churned out ad nauseum like a string of
sausages in a factory. There's nothing about this story that demands it be told
on audio and I think this is something that needs to be addressed. Moonflesh would
still be a rush job, predictably plotted and ill characterised but at least if
you could
see the action it might come alive in some visually
spectacular ways. On audio it is a painful experience, a bunch of characters
hunting and being hunted, shouting
'hit it!' and the audience being
assaulted by a number of animal noises. And lots and lots of shouting. If I
wanted to listen to Doctor Who stories that sound like audio recordings of
television adventures that have been destroyed I already have plenty to choose
from (and in the case of stories such as The Myth Makers & The Massacre
they work better on audio than some stories specifically made for the medium).
The Doctor is pleasant. Nyssa is pleasant. The upper classes hunting party are
toffy and arrogant. The foreign character talks in myths and legends. The alien
presence isn't as lily white as it presents itself. I could make this stuff up
in my sleep. Judging by the interviews at the end of the piece I figure this is
the audio equivalent of The Time Monster, where the cast and crew were having
much more fun than the audience were. Well, this audience member at least. Mark
Morris at his best is a writer that can thrill, chill and surprise (Forever
Autumn, The House of Blue Fire, The Necropolis Express) so I can only assume
that a much superior novel (seriously check out his non-Who work, it's
excellent)
was stealing the time away that was needed to make this meagre effort work:
3/10
3 comments:
As I have stated many times on the Big Finish Forums, I too feel that Nyssa should be given a break, and that a Fifth Doctor and Peri or Turlough or Tegan and Turlough trilogy is much overdue, as audios with just Turlough are far too rare. I also can't believe it's taken this long for Peri to feature in a trilogy (not counting The Space Race), and its been 2008 since she appeared with the Fifth Doctor.
There's a nice surprise waiting in Tomb Ship...
I think that Nyssa needs a break of at least two years, maybe even three.
I can't say that I considered the surprise in "Tomb Ship" to be nice, I'm afraid.
"Such a shame that it should be with Nyssa because I feel the character, despite a renaissance that has seen her character live up to its potential in a way that it never did on television, has been overused in recent years."
Thank you very much, Joe Ford, for finally admitting something that we already realized a long, long time ago. I miss so much the adventures of the Fifth Doctor with Peri Brown and Erimem. I'd like to hear a Tegan and Turlough (or Kamelion) trilogy set in season 21.
In fact, the only interesting this year is the return of Adric in Big Finish. It's exciting because the season 19 is a little explored land in both novels and audios. And the poor boy deserves a second chance after nearly thirty years of scorn and mockery from the fans.
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