Softer Six: This is it then, the beginning of the end for
Sixie. Colin Baker has made some waves in the world of Doctor Who recently with
his controversial interview in Doctor Who magazine and inflammatory tweets
about a Radio Times article. It is true that his Doctor is not always held in
high regard by the majority of fandom and that his era is often pointed at as a
low point for the show. It's not a view that I share, I was a huge fan of Sixie
even before he enjoyed his phenomenal renaissance with Big Finish but the way
his character flourished on audio on reinforced what I already though about the
character. Strong, determined, ruthlessly intelligent, emotional and a little
bit crazy. The Doctor. And Colin has been a firm supporter of the show
ever since his sacking and never given less than 100% of what has been asked of
him. Regardless of recent events, I'm one of the biggest supporters of Sixie
and Colin and this box set gets me very excited indeed. After Sixie's
ignominious exit on the show it is time for one of the most colourful and
exciting Doctor's to have his final story revealed. Just how will Big Finish
bring his story to a close? He's taking charge in his immutable way, stepping
into the aftermath of a crisis and investigating the circumstances. Being lost
is just a state of mind, the Doctor finds that whichever direction he follows
something always turns up. His sense of direction might be eccentric but it's
never concentric. Even if Jack is lying and he is a danger to them, the Doctor
cannot take the chance that somebody might be harmed either way. He can't stand
bureaucratic bafflegab and takes every opportunity to mock it. All this talk of
alternative universes leads the Doctor to discuss darker versions of yourself
and his own unique take on that idea in the Valeyard. We're taking steps
towards that finale. He diagnoses the Master as utterly mad for wanting to
control all realities but then we all knew he was nutty as squirrel shit,
right?. Despite everything, despite their rivalry and hatred for one
another...the Master needs the Doctor's help. 'Forget you, Mrs Clarke?
Never!' he laments as he agrees to help his foe in order for his friend to
survive. There are some planets where the Doctor's coat is considered the
epitome of understatement.
Constant Companion: Leave it to Big Finish to bring the
release of this box set forwards and shoehorn an adventure with Constance in
before her introductory story is even upon us. It's a bizarre marketing strategy
because it effectively renders her opening story moot and she could just be slipped
into his adventures like Mel was, unceremoniously. Despite this little piece of
timey wimey (sigh) magic, I have to say I am mightily excited about the
introduction of this character. Miranda Raison is a very accomplished actress
and looks like she belongs with Colin Baker on the covers and the character
spec for Constance just screams of potential - a member of the Women's Royal
Navy Service, icy cold and intelligent, brave and uncompromising. Somebody that
comes with all the skills to cope with the Doctor's adventures but hasn't
experienced the horrors of the universe yet. How does she fare in her 'first'
adventure? Rather well as it goes. Constance is not afraid to make a dig or two
at the sixth Doctor or to stand up to him, which is an entry requirement if you
are going to be one of his companions. Her clipped, plummy tones and go to
attitude are very appealing, similar to but very different from Charley Pollard
because Constance is an adult (and a professional). She prefers to be called
Mrs Clarke. The Doctor isn't afraid to let her go off into a dangerous
situation and to leave her in charge of peoples lives. He clearly has a great
deal of faith in her. Constance is smart enough to get her head around the idea
of alternative universes and the implications for their situation here but is
also willing to admit that there is more to the idea than she is able to
comprehend. I'm looking forward to hearing more from her and that is all I can
ask.
Standout Performance: This is an ensemble piece and they all
acquit themselves beautifully. There wasn't one performance out of place.
Especially the two grandiose villains sparring at the climax.
Sparkling Dialogue: 'To lose one Dave might be considered a
misfortune but to lose three...'
'Let the other yous pay the price...'
'That's enough to rewrite the textbook on megalomania!'
Great Ideas: A train that gets lost in the fog and is
discovered by the Doctor and Constance, with blood slick on the door. You
wouldn't catch me going inside. The sun has failed to show up and time has
stopped. A train station with platforms that keep multiplying at random. The
ingredients for this story are very Sapphire and Steel and it conjures up a
similar feeling of disquiet and claustrophobia that the best of their adventures
did. A feeling of danger, of wrongness. How can there be multiple versions of
the same person being killed over and over? Kettering Junction is not just a
railway interchange, it is a dimensional interchange and it's breaking down.
Parallel universes are not supposed to meet but here they are bleeding into one
another. A multifarious multiverse of possibilities, as the Doctor puts it. If
the Doctor doesn't put a stop to it soon there will be an infinite number of
trains arriving with an infinite number of passengers to be killed. They will
have run out of space before the convergence reaches infinity. Some of the
alternative realities will be very nice places, others will be darker, rotten.
Alice's realisation that she has always played the good girl when there have
been alternative versions of her out there her were enjoying their lives and
letting themselves go is a very dark moment. It's a dangerous path for your
thoughts to go down. Why can't I be more like them? If they got away with it
then why can't I? I can do what I want...free of consequences. What a
terrifying notion it is to consider the idea of multiple versions of the same
person and a primary timeline where only one should exist. Where all the others
are expendable. Fodder. Ripe for murder because they are alternatives. Is there
something in the fog that is driving everybody mad? The Parallel Sect are a
mythical race of dimensional pioneers that traversed reality the way mere
mortals cross the streets. The created a Reality Web, threading through the
whole of infinity of parallel universes. An awe-inspiring notion. Imagine being
able to negotiate such a web, to hop from one reality to another, from one
universe to another. New management has moved in to take of the Parallel Sect,
a figurehead who haunts the Doctor from his past. Can you guess who it is?
Nope, it isn't the Valeyard. Very cleverly the writers have managed to slip in
another returning villain right under the noses of the audience. Imagine the
Master being handed the Reality Web, being able to stride dimensions and nip
and tuck to his will. Spreading misery and despair in a billion realities.
Platforms leading off in all directions, impossible to look at, let alone
navigate. Passengers killing one another as they go mad with the absurdity and
clarity of what has befallen them.
Audio Landscape: Footsteps on gravel, a train racing along
the track, the sound of that weapon revealing the presence of you know
who..., a knock on the door (amazing how scary that can be), a scream in
the distance.
Musical Cues: Sinister and brooding for the most part,
Howard Carter has been at this game too long now to deliver anything but
excellence. He knows precisely the point where to stop too and let the silence
do its work.
Isn't it Odd: Striding from the intimate to the epic might
seem a little
Standout Scene: I haven't been chilled to the bone quite so
much by an audio than when Hilary revealed that she killed Dave and why. It's
remarkably creepy because the speech she is given to say attempts to justify
her actions before the payoff of revealing what she has done. It's grounded in
character and it's convincing and that is why it's so terrifying. 'I enjoyed
killing him...so who wants to be next?'
6 comments:
The "isn't it odd" section isn't complete.
So its betetr than Spiral Scratch, then?
Is Constance any good?
An incomplete review, I rather like that.
Yes, it is much better than Spiral Scratch.
And Constance is very good - check out my End of the Line review
Well as also a firm Sixy fan for years, (not the least because Mr. Baker is like myself a Gilbert and Sullivan enthusiast), I was really looking forward to this one.
I'll admit this isn't the place where I expected things to start, but wow did they start with a bang! I don't think I've been this scared in a bf story for a long while, and to say I heard this on a bright and sunny morning and genuinely got scared when i needed to take the train later that afternoon?
I find it interesting that in the extras section for this one the writer said he scaled back the horror, and yet the horror was so, ---- well horrifying!
The high concept bit worked too, and I loved the revelations of both the master and The Valeyard (someone I've always been a huge fan of).
My only issue on a conceptual level with this one is The Valeyard's brief reference to "our last meeting" with the doctor and his need to be enervated was not exactly clear, indeed I listened to Trial of the Valeyard before starting this box set and I couldn't see the add up here.
then again The Valeyard just fitted so well with the idea of dark alternative realities that have gone rotten and the aesthetic of an infinite foggy train station that I'm not going to grumble.
My one actual grumble is with constance. yes, she's a sassy lady who uses 1940's speak and tells off the doctor, but really i didn't care for this character at all, indeed in your review you mention Charley, well I just wanted Charley back. It felt like Constance was stamped out of the "another independent minded lady for the 6th doctor, this one second world war flavoured" (less than subtle after Molly O'sullivan), and btw can bf again please! give the bloody second world war a rest? Really aren't there other times and places to go to?
Of course, I am quite prepared to eat my words. Miranda Raison has certainly acquitted herself magnificently in everything Bf have cast her in, and I have no problems with her performance at all. Likewise, I'm quite prepared to see Constance get some interesting plot and background.
Still, I'm not going to let a rather bland companion spoil my enjoyment of this one, not after there was so much awesomeness!
If you listen to them chronologically, the story that proceeds this is Stage Fright, which makes sense of that phrase
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