Softer Six: When the jubilant sixth Doctor has a sudden desire to high tail it back to the TARDIS you know that something must be very wrong indeed. He needs to get Constance away from here as soon as possible because she will be armed with knowledge of the future when she finally returns to her own time. That’s a really interesting approach to a story that Doctor Who in its long history has never taken before – what if they materialise in that companions near future…and does that mean they can never go home because of the knowledge they gain? Suddenly the cuddly Uncle sixth Doctor has been stripped away and in his place is a man who needs to try and keep history on track and his companion in the dark. He wishes that human beings were as industrious during peace time. He does have experience in running. Murderous creatures like to introduce themselves in his experience. Watch as the Doctor tries to understand the fire creature, rather than simply trying to extinguish it. That’s the actions of a real hero. Someone who tries to communicate, rather than destroy. If the Doctor hasn’t heard of you, it makes you rather special. The Doctor is extremely charming with the Furio when tempting the fire creature with a much bigger feast of hate and anger. He’s dancing with an inferno. His means of transport is a little unpredictable. You don’t have to know the Doctor for very long but when the shit hits the fan, it is easy to trust him. He suggests that he can multi-task, and Constance knows that is rubbish.
Flippin’ Heck: She’s never one to say no to a party and a wartime bash seems to excite her. It’s so nice to have a pair of companions who are so different from each other but get on so well and can have prolonged scenes together that feel real. I don’t think we’ve properly had this since the days of Ace and Hex and Peri and Erimem. Flip and Constance are from different times and have very different ways of approaching these adventures, but they very keen on each other and enjoy each other’s company. Flip admits that Connie has more self-control than she has. She would have been straight on Wikipedia. Flip has always been impulsive but for once her stepping into action should be congratulated. She stands before a seven-foot bully and removes his instrument of torture. Flip versus the mob? I’d root for Flip every time. She questions why it always has to be about robots and aliens and why it can’t just be about the little people. In a moment of contemplation Flip questions whether she really knows Connie at all after how she has reacted. It feels perfectly natural and I think we all go through moments like this with our friends. It gets to a point where Constance is calling Flip naïve and Flip is calling Constance a fool and you have to start to wonder if they will be able to come back from this. Why does she always end up doing crazy things with the Doctor? The last scene between Flip and Connie is very powerful, truly earned.
Constant Companion: As resourceful as ever, Constance doesn’t batter an eyelid that the TARDIS has been dumped down on a massive fresh cowpat. For Constance, this is a fantastic portent of the future. The war won and the Allied Forces the victors. She genuinely believes that everybody was a part of the war effort, whether they were on the front line or not. To feel the relief of these people at the end of the war is such a joy for Constance. The second the Doctor asks Constance if the French girl being punished had a chance to defend herself and she replies that things were messy during the war and not as neat and tidy as they might be. It’s an ugly point of view, and I like that because it makes her feel more real. Constance says ‘you can’t live with monsters like that’, proving that she would always have fought if England had been under occupation. She has always believed in fairness and ‘do as you mean to be done by.’ I can understand why Constance would be reluctant to walk into a burning building – that is how she died after all. The moment Constance punches Lucien in the face I cheered out loud. Constance realises that you have to let go of all of your hate and prejudice otherwise ultimately it will consume you. You will be lost. She’s flawed, she has moments of hate, she can acknowledge it, but she can learn from it too. That’s some wonderful development for a companion. And Miranda Raison delivers this moment beautifully. For Constance to say ‘I am at peace’ is a watershed moment for her character.
Standout Performance: Towards the end of episode one you have a scene where the Doctor, Flip and Constance are all coming at the public humiliation scene from very different places. One from a historians point of view, one from an emotional point of view and one from the point of view of somebody who fought in this conflict and understands the need to punish those who betray their cause. Baker, Greenwood and Raison are all excellent. It’s the zenith of what this trio has achieved to date and I love the fact that it is a conflict scene that feels rooted in character, personal and real. That’s why the moment hurts because there is no way to reconcile all of their beliefs neatly.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Knowing that the Allies won the war, visiting post-war Europe that’s all well and good but actually setting foot in your immediate future and having a good nose around the most important historical event of your lifetime, that’s potentially far more dangerous!’
‘No idea but they’re screaming…so that’s our cue!’
‘At some point we all need to be able to forgive and move on.’
Great Ideas: There’s a fascinating scene where one of the French characters admits that when the Germans came to this town that they did so with chocolate and smiles and it felt as though they might be able to ride out the rest of the war in comfort and never have to fight again. It is a challenging viewpoint because when you have the choice between fighting clandestinely for your cause and attempting to remove the Germans from power of living the rest of the war in relative peace but under occupation…well I don’t think the former would always be the go-to option for a lot of people. I enjoy thought-provoking dialogue like that, that makes you consider your action in the same dilemma. The story of Clementine falling in love with a Nazi ought to be painfully clichéd, but it is very sensitively written and played and adds further depth to the Flip/Constance argument because Flip gets much closer to the reason why Clementine was being abused. Furio is a fire creature that could smell the war on Earth on the solar winds and attracted her, like a moth to a flame. She has a taste for hatred, and as she consumes it she removes it and cleanses it. In Lucien she found a somebody who was boiling with hate, towards the Germans and now towards those who collaborated with them.
Audio Landscape: Big Finish stories have had a bit of a mixed success in creating convincing crowd scenes. Often it sounds like a few people in a studio shouting their heads off and sound designer trying to replicate them in various ways. Kudos to Lee Adams here then, who manages to pull off an evocative and celebratory post-war party that really sells the jubilance of a town that has finally found peace after years of occupation. It’s very apparent when the cheers suddenly becoming boos and jeers. The ambience of a French town is authentically conjured up. Having spent a fair amount of time in France myself, I could shut my eyes and go on a little trip in my imagination. Right now, this is as close to travelling as we are going to get and it is much appreciated. And all those crackling flames are genuinely nerve-wracking.
Musical Cues: A terrific score; suspenseful, dark and thrilling.
Standout Scene: In a brilliant scene that perfectly underscores the tension that can arise between the morality of a woman from the 1940s and a woman from the 2000s, Constance understands the brutality of cutting the hair off a traitor in wartime whilst Flip refuses to stand by and let it happen. Both characters are completely relatable and yet violently disagree. It’s fantastic drama.
I hate moments of false of jeopardy in Big Finish and I’ve given my reasons a thousand times (especially when it comes to characters where we KNOW their fate on TV) but the second cliff-hanger is a humdinger because it puts Flip (a character whose fate is not determined) in terrible danger and once again adds weight to central dilemma of this story. We’ve heard why Clementine is considered a traitor (she fell in love with a Nazi) and that throws doubt on Flip’s side of the argument but now we see a extreme act of violence being committed on her, which leaves Constance with no way of justifying this approach of dealing with traitors. Plus, Flip is trapped in a burning building. It’s very suspenseful.
The Doctor, Flip and Clementine recalling their happiest moments. That’s a climax worth waiting for.
Result: ‘Now that Constance has punched him on the nose, perhaps he will be more inclined to comply…’ Chris Chapman really is quite a find. This is a terrific script, bursting with drama and conflict and taking the sixth Doctor, Flip and Constance trio to a whole new level. At this point their run has been so consistently excellent that the impossible has been achieved…Big Finish has replicated the success of the sixth Doctor/Evelyn run. Much like those early classics, this takes the regulars and puts them at opposing points of view in a meaty story and their battle of ideologies creates some riveting drama. It’s a story that could only take place with these characters – a Time Lord, a woman from the war and a woman from the 2000s – which means despite the familiar post-war setting, it feels unique in tone and content. I like the simplicity of the moral argument; Scorched Earth makes a case for (almost) pure historical in years to come because it dispenses with all the plot complexities that plague these main range stories and gives focus to the characters. And Chapman never loses that. Even when science fiction elements break in, this is always rooted in people. It’s an unusual creature that they face, which is anomalous in Doctor Who because you would think that everything has been seen and done but Chapman finds a way to tie this into the chosen time period perfectly. It's a time when emotions are running hot, and the Furio finds a natural home in post-war violence and eventually finds an even more suitable home. Emotion is being poured back into the main range and it is very welcome. The fresh writers, script editors and directors are giving the range a pulse again. You’ll come out of this story knowing the Doctor, Flip and Constance and what they stand for and what they mean to each other far more than you did going in. It’s quite a journey. This is the best main range adventure in at least a year: 9/10
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