Teeth and Curls: The Doctor is travelling on his own and talking to himself, as is his want when that is the case (The Face of Evil, The Deadly Assassin). If I was going to listen to any Doctor rabbiting on to himself, it’s going to be Tom Baker. Is he funny haha or funny peculiar? Either way, he’ll get his nose blown off with this overcast bunch. He’s not just the Doctor, he’s entirely the Doctor (to this he is greeted with ‘Good grief – he’s an idiot!’) and I can’t help but think that is Tom Baker talking and not the character he is playing. I’ve heard him espouse something similar at conventions. He’s acting like something of an imbecile for a chunk of this story but it completely puts the crew at ease and allows him to get on with his work. The Doctor knows that saying ‘it’s just one Dalek’ has been the famous last words of countless civilisations. A Doctor who is paralysed by a Dalek weapon is still a dangerous intelligence, but for a moment he sounds defeated. When the Dalek admits that this is not the only Doctor he has encountered (I believe the eighth Doctor met him before this), the fourth Doctor cheekily asks if he is his favourite.
Standout Performance: In a recent discussion with my podcast partner, Jack Shanahan, he made an observation that if you are going to tell a fresh Dalek story then you have to have a new take on the Dalek voice to truly capture the audience. I think that’s a fantastic point because it worked in Dalek, The Stolen Earth (‘I fleeeeew into the time vortex!’), Victory of the Daleks (say what you will about the chubby Daleks, the voices were terrifying), Into the Dalek (it’s pathetic hum of a voice as it explores fresh ideas), and Resolution (the terrifying Dalek mutant that is clinging to Linn’s sanity). All of those voices are courtesy of Nicholas Briggs and the man deserves massive kudos in his ability to flex his vocal chords (with additional technological assistance) to portray a diverse array of Dalek characters. He’s at it again here; a foreboding, daringly gentle purr of a voice as the Dalek mutant promises Brooke all the secrets that Skaro has to offer whilst simultaneously manipulating him to his will. It works because it is almost seductive in parts, gruesomely so.
Great Ideas: You know that this crew is in for a shock when one of their number starts taking the piss out of the Daleks. His murder was assured at this point. They want to unlock its casing and steal its technological and defensive secrets inside. Is it possible to scream YOU STUPID FOOLS at an audiobook whilst your partner is in the next room without seeming like a complete madman? What is it about this Doctor and his ability to turn up on vessels that are guarding cryogenic numbers in their thousands and facing a threat to their existence? The Dalek plans to take cells from his own body and inject them into the sleepers (essentially what Davros did to create his army in The Stolen Earth). Imagine 10,000 humans being genetically polluted and turning into Dalek mutants?
Standout Dialogue: ‘The creatures that exist inside these cases don’t abandon them without good reason.’
‘My Masters orders are that you be brought to him alive’ ‘They sound like excellent orders! I suggest you obey them.’
‘Out of any good must come something evil.’
Audio Landscape: It is very popular in the new series for the Daleks to turn up en masse, and to have some whacko SF explanation as to how another legion of them came to be (the Emperor Dalek gave part of himself in one story, Davros in another, and goodness knows where that Parliament came from in Asylum of the Daleks…or where they went more to the point) but Genetics of the Daleks actually goes to the lengths of letting you hear the birth of a new Dalek race invade your ears. It’s really unpleasant, but it certainly drives him the idea that something truly horrific and against nature is happening. ‘They’ve all been transformed. Even the children.’ We heard about obscene things happening during the Time War. It might not be enjoyable listening, but it is authentic evidence.
Isn’t it Odd: I need to let you in on a little secret that probably won’t enamour me to anybody reading this review but I have zero interest in the whole Time Lord Victorious Empire that is slowly being assembled. In fact, part of me feels downright cheesed off at the fact that we have a huge, multi-platform narrative being marketed to hell when we have an existing Doctor who is barely getting any attention at all. If you think this is a IHEARTJODIE rant then think again. I would feel the same if it was Capaldi still in the lead, or even Matt Smith. To bold facedly pretend that David Tennant is still the face of Doctor Who in such a dramatic way whilst merchandise for the 13th Doctor is few and far between shows a lack of faith in the BBC and their current product. It also buys into the worst excesses of the nostalgia spin off merchandise for the show; lots of Daleks, a popular Doctor, plugging continuity gaps that were left empty for a reason (they don’t really matter) that I think has plagued Big Finish and the BBC for some time now. Make a statement about Doctor Who by all means, just don’t do so by shining a torchlight on where it was over a decade ago whilst emptying the pockets of desperate fans who are eager for new content. Why the fuck are you reviewing this story then? I hear you ask. No? Well, I’m going to tell you anyway. Not only is there a really rebellious part of my brain that is desperate to dip its toes into this universe just so I can say that I have…but this is a piece of work that is being put together by one of the greatest contributors to Doctor Who merchandise (James Goss), features some of the best writers and directors of Big Finish in the past 20 years (Jonathan Morris, Scott Handcock, Jamie Anderson) and honestly reading some of the blurbs of the individual stories makes me intrigued to see how they might handle those ideas. I’ve been sucked in regardless of my objection to the mindless sausage factory of nostalgia driven stories that the BBC (or Big Finish in particular) have been churning out for the last five years. I guess I am one of those idiots that will buy anything after all. The idea of a multi-platform story has legs and had never really been attempted on this scale before. Let’s see how we go. If it’s lots of Daleks screaming EXTERMINATE ad nauseum, I’m out.
Standout Scene: ‘You will become a warrior without morality, without compassion, without mercy. The Destroyer of Worlds…’ The Dalek taunts the Doctor with future knowledge of his existence and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture. This should be the most appalling fanwank, a Dalek telling the fourth Doctor that he will become a genocidal maniac called the Time Lord Victorious. Brilliantly, he laughs in the face of this information and refuses to believe a word of it. He thinks the Dalek is playing mind games. Frankly, it’s the only reasonable reaction to such an irrational notion. It’s a scene of magnetic energy, as good as the best scenes from Dalek, Into the Dalek and Resolution.
Result: Jonathan Morris has been producing Doctor Who stories from his abundant imagination for 20 years now. I’m happy to report his work is as sharp and exhilarating as it was when he brought out the novel Festival of Death and quite took the readership of the Past Doctor Adventures by surprise in 2000. Given the prolific number of stories under his belt, that is nothing short of a miracle. He’s absolutely my favourite Big Finish writer and he’s showing no signs of fatigue. Genetics of the Daleks should have been another dreary Big Finish Dalek adventure (Generics of the Daleks is an obvious joke, but many adventures in recent years could be labelled with this title) but it takes some well-worn ideas (a smart Dalek turning greed into power, the Doctor with his finger on the button and the ability to make a dent in the driving force of the Daleks, cryogenic sleepers ripe for conversion into something horrific) and packages them in a enjoyable piece that is so economic in it’s storytelling and cast it feels urgent, important and bizarrely, original. At least in its presentation. He writes the cliches as though they are spanking new, and almost convinces you that they are. An impressive cast (including Pippa Haywood, Clive Mantle and Andrew James Spooner) bring the grungy space crew to life with some verve and Tom Baker flouts onto the scene as though he owns the place, which he does so magnificently. Not bad for a story where he has no real impact on the narrative, but much needed for the best scene of the story where he basically scoffs in the face of an idea as absurd as Time Lord Victorious. Good for you, Tom. I have no idea how this story impacts on the three Time Lord Victorious BF stories that came before this. It serves as a punchy, powerful story all on its lonesome and provides Tom Baker with a small but memorable corner of the Time War all of his own. Bollocks, this was so enjoyable I am going to have to check out some more: 8/10
"I need to let you in on a little secret that probably won’t enamour me to anybody reading this review but I have zero interest in the whole Time Lord Victorious Empire that is slowly being assembled. In fact, part of me feels downright cheesed off at the fact that we have a huge, multi-platform narrative being marketed to hell when we have an existing Doctor who is barely getting any attention at all."
ReplyDeleteYANA. The whole affair is decidedly puzzling; I think the target audience are people like myself, who were children when the New Series began, but it does little to instill nostalgia in me. Judging by the synopsis of the book which supposedly kicks the story off, the premise seems to be, in effect, "The Doctor travels back to the Garden of Eden to prevent the Fall". This could be interesting, but the presentation is abysmal; it's not like there's a dearth of Time War or Dalek-related stories.
As you note, the absence of the current Doctor is somewhat baffling, even given the nostalgic nature of the event. Surely you'd want to market her to as broad a swathe of fandom as possible? I'd love to know what birthed the whole endeavor; surely it didn't spring unbidden from the head of James Goss?
FWIW, the obvious parallel is Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, but that occurred in a year with no ongoing SW trilogy or series.
Nice to see you reveiwing big finish again Joe
ReplyDeleteOverall there is some fun stuff in The Time Lord Victorious the second novel All Flesh is Grass was very enjoyable and the Dalek animated series is like the 60's comics. I have listened to this story I thought it was ok and the scene where the Dalek taunts the Doctor about his future was really well done but the rest was just fine didn't really wow me but kept me mildly entertained.
ReplyDeleteDark: You want to know why. Because Tennant is Doctor Who,
ReplyDeleteJodie Whittaker is a gimmick. It's even depressing that she has fewer books than the Ninth Doctor, but she deserves it for ruining the series.