Teeth and Curls: An immediate, engaging rapport between Tom
Baker and Louise Jameson bourne out of two previous seasons in the studio
together. There is a generally uplifting feel to their scenes together that is
the actors' chemistry bleeding into the recording booth. The Doctor suggests
that interfering with the development of indigenous species is highly unethical
but Leela points out that he does that every other week. One rule for one and
one rule for the other, he knows what he is doing apparently. I always like it
when Tom Baker plays against type and the fourth Doctor is gentle an
understanding rather than simply wisecracking his way through a story. It
worked wonderfully in The Creature from the Pit when he had to try and
communicate with the creature (regardless of the difficulties in the
realisation of the creature) and it also works rather charmingly in this story
when he tries to have a conversation with the less developed natives. He isn't
patronising but brings his idiom down to their level so they can converse.
Noble Savage: Louise Jameson gets to play the screaming
heroine in a way that Leela rarely is...but only because Leela is tortured to
an extreme level by the city. Beyond that there is nothing to justify her
involvement. Any companion could have slipped into this role.
Standout Performance: It is far from her most impressive
performance in a Big Finish production (simply because she isn't even given
surface characterisation, Calura is constructed out of pure cardboard) but I
have to say I found her unrecognisable with an American accent. Hugh Ross scowls
and growls his way through the story, again not an in inspired role as written,
but certainly a passionate one.
Great Ideas: The first point where I was properly surprised
by The Exxilons was at the cliffhanger. I genuinely believed that the story was
leading in the direction of the reveal of the city as the work of the grunting
savages and not the humanoids that the Doctor and Leela have teamed up with.
That was the last time it surprised me too.
Audio Landscape: I have wonder with this range if the
creators sit back and think which Doctor Who stories offer up the best
opportunity for a gripping audio landscape first and whether the story actually
needs telling second. Death to the Daleks is rife with wonderful sounds that
can be nabbed for The Exxilons and Nick Briggs adds some exotic and alien
additions of his own. Switching off the critical part of my brain that looks at
the construction of the story and merely focussing on the aural atmosphere,
this story is first rate. Running footsteps, an arrow screaming through the
air, TARDIS bleeps and blurts, K.9's nose laser, a ship landing, the atmosphere
of the planet, grunting, beating chests, chanting crowds, banging drums,
unsheathing Leela's knife, the city beacon reaching out and screaming,
crackling fire.
Musical Cues: Alistair Lock, let me count the ways I love
thee. The Exxilons has a gorgeous musical score, a hybrid of the faux Dudley
Simpson music that the range excels at mixed with the more controversial
saxaphone and glockenspiel madness that Carey Blyton favoured in his infamous
Death to the Daleks score. The result is a fusion of the two eras, which is
exactly what this story is aiming for.
Isn't it Odd: Whilst the marketing boys go to town with the
promise of a sequel to Death to the Daleks (or at least elements of it) I think
it would have been quite a nice shock had this been billed as a standalone
story with no familiar elements and the Exillons introduced as a surprise. I
would still complain that this range is using too many elements of the past but
it would at least be doing something engaging with the re-use of old ideas.
Instead we are in the know and are waiting for the Doctor and Leela to catch
up. With dialogue like 'This your metal thing everywhere man?' from a
grunting native you can imagine how demanding this story gets. Wouldn't this
have been a good excuse to explore the city some more and get under its skin?
It is described as a living creature in Death to the Daleks so surely there is
a fascinating psychological to be explored rather than simply focussing on the construction of another city on a primitive planet?
2 comments:
Great review, Joe. I can't find a single thing in it that I disagreed with. Calling the audio play "The Exxilons" and then building to a cliffhanger with who the aliens are is a bit flimsy.
I know Nick Briggs said he wanted to put in a bit of misdirection and make us think the Exxilons were the Tarl. But I had it sussed from the beginning, which isn't much to be proud about really.
I agree with you on wishing that it explored the nature of the City a lot more, and the mention of the symbols appearing in Peru are even more intriguing.
Do you think that the two-part nature of the Fourth Doctor Adventures are hampering the stories?
I've listened to all of the Leela series and the rush to the part 1 cliffhanger and then the rush to wrap everything up in part 2 doesn't leave much room to breath.
"Passing an hour amiably" is really all I've come to expect from the 4DA range after listening to the first few seasons. I'd love to stumble upon one that is really, really good or revelatory in some way, but in the meantime I'm still quite entertained by them.
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