What's it about: When the Doctor falls ill, Susan is forced to leave the
safety of the TARDIS behind. Exploring a disused research centre in search of
medical supplies, she becomes embroiled in the deadly plans of a terrorist
holding an entire world to ransom – and the soldier sent to stop him.
Hmm: If the Doctor falls seriously ill, what would happen to
Susan? This is before the time of Ian and Barbara and you can almost see why
the Doctor might like some adult company after this adventure just so he is
sure that she would be taken care of if anything severe should befall him.
Alien Orphan: It hadn't taken them long to think of the
TARDIS as home. It took them to many strange and wonderful places, this Ship.
Not just a craft or a means of conveyance but their safety and refuge. But
sometimes the walls would close in and Susan would be desperate to be anywhere
else. I suppose after becoming accustomed to the wide open spaces and epic
architecture on Gallifrey the claustrophobia of the TARDIS would stifle,
despite its infinite dimensions. Forcing Susan out of the TARDIS into an
adventure of her own affords her the sort of development and material she
rarely enjoyed on television, the companion chronicles tapping into her
intelligence and bravery rather than just turning her into a screaming violet.
She objects to being called a kid.
Standout Performance: I've made no secret of the fact that
Carole Ann Ford is not on my list of favourite Doctor Who performers. She's an
adequate actress who can acquit herself well when the material is up to
scratch. Fortunately she is given the opportunity here to truly carry the story
and I was quite surprised at how well she carried it off. The last time she
impressed me this much was Here There Be Monsters, another CC thick with
atmosphere and a first episode that featured Susan wandering a spooky, desolate
environment. I really enjoyed her turn as the computer.
Sparkling Dialogue: 'These days I prefer the term bio
hacker...'
Great Ideas: A planet where civilisation had never arisen is
an intriguing idea, simply because it has never been attempted before. There
wouldn't be much of a story if they had landed on a planet with no people or
aliens or monsters in Susan's tenure on TV. Life has not involved beyond
insects stages and the planet is one of lush rainforests. Martin Day figures a
smart reason for Susan to narrate this story alone, having the Doctor
incapacitated and Susan needing to find medical aid that would help him. It
means he gets to tap into that same feeling of dread when Susan ventured out
into the dead forest on Skaro alone, the feeling that she is literally on her own
and quite helpless but having to head out regardless to help her Grandfather.
An abandoned medical research centre, abandoned and caked in dust. With a few
lines there is a mystery and a story begging to be told. This is the colony
planet Rua, thus named because of the extreme wind speeds when the first
colonists arrived. Nobody uses antibiotics anymore, immunity due to overuse is
prevalent. Nano-medicene is all the rage now. Over the years they have become
completely reliant on nanotechnology and The Butcher has figured a way of using
that technology against them. He's ended up with a kill switch for most of the
population. The crew that are attempting to find the Butcher are unique insofar
as they haven't needed nanotechnology at any point in their lives, so they
should be immune to his manipulation. Which is what makes it such a shock when
one of their number convulses and dies. The nano machines are described as a
virus running through their systems, even Susan's. Utterly benign until the
Butcher directs them otherwise. Why does a research centre need a secure
bunker? The description of the Butcher as a blind rodent at home in the dark
and scared of the day is vivid, festering in a technological cesspit.
Audio Landscape: Wind, water flowing, alarms, Susan
panicking and running, door falling away, technological clicking and humming.
Musical Cues: Subtle, menacing and adding pace.
Isn't it Odd: I understand why the companion chronicles were
halted from a business point of view, there were so many releases that the
range was putting off potential new customers who had an enormous back
catalogue to catch up with. Switching them to much more manageable box sets was
a smart move because people can jump on board here as though the range was
starting afresh. The biggest problem I have had with this approach is...I miss
them so much. Without a doubt my favourite range that Big Finish has ever
produced, the consistent quality of this range is apparent in the releases
themselves. I miss the intimate nature of the narration, the ideal length of the
stories, the clever sound design and atmospheric scores and the regular use of
actors of the calibre of William Russell, Peter Purves and Anneke Wills. And
given they ran for so many years I went into slight withdrawal when they were
no longer being released every month and the main range simply couldn't pick up
the slack. The idea of having four companion chronicles to listen to in one go
might sound like a fantastic idea in theory but I know I will sate myself on
them rather than pacing myself. I prefer to have one story a month as a reward
rather than gorging myself on four
adventures in one go. I sound so ungrateful and most of this is my
problem rather than anything that is wrong with this box set. Also, listen out
for the least convincing chant of hooray ever to be recorded in episode two.
Give it a bit more welly next time, folks.
Standout Scene: I had an uncomfortable feeling that things
weren't quite as they appeared when the Butcher claimed that he wasn't a
terrorist. I was chomping at the bit to listen to the recording and find out
the disturbing truth about the situation on Rua. When the reveal comes, it is a
like a slap in the face.
1 comment:
I completely agree on this one, despite the fact Carole Ann Ford is not the most enspiring narrator, or the best able to bring to life the character she played all those years ago the shear atmosphere of the story with it's hard hitting point is astounding.
I do lots of reading (indeed pretty much all my reading), via talking books, which I tend to listen to on speakers when I'm at home sinse unlike with full cast audio dramas there really isn't much bennifit to just having a voice in the higher, more intimate quality that a set of headphones can give you. With the Companion Chronicles though I just found the amazing scores and how they're woven with the atmospheric descriptions of so many gorgious settings, setting which are often much more varied and strange than those in pure audio sinse your getting the full on the spot stream of conscienceness description was something I wanted in as sharp audio detail as possible.
This as a zseason zero adventure I also really like because it shows a little more of how Susan and the Doctor were before meeting Ian and Barbara (really landing in Forman's junkyard was as much a change for them as it was for the lost teachers). Susan putting into practice some of what on Gallifrey were obviously junior school science tricks to reprogram nanno machines, which did make her a little less useless than she might have been, and the first Doctor actually explaining that after his still mirky (and hopefully to remain so), stand on his home planet for some moral cause finding that once out in the universe his people's none interference credo was something he felt more necessary, indeed I hope there is a follow up with him and Susan on this one as it's a really interesting arc for the first Doctor and much more explains how the aloof, rather alien figure of Unearthly child turned into the Dalek's greatest enemy and champian of the downtrodden we see in Master plan.
I only really have two specific gripes. Firstly, what was with the reverb on the Doctor's voice when he appeared? It sounded like he was partially cyber converted. Secondly, the Butcher? great character, beautiful description, but why does he sound like a cockney gangster!
"the butcher's gonna nutchaa!"
Maybe it's that I've not long sinse listened to the novelization of Damaged goods, but really the Butcher sounded far more like crime boss of the east end than a miss understood bio researcher. Menacing certainly, but more someone I'd expect to send his boys around to sort out the competition than someone who's holding a hole planet to biological ransome.
Still, despite the niggles, this was an awsome story, actually it makes me want to do a relisten of the companion chronicles, sinse I've only heard them the once thus far and yet some I remember very fondly indeed.
Now we'll see what the next few stories have to offer (I'm looking forward to seeing how the cliff hanger with Steven gets sorted out).
Post a Comment