Big Finish - Blood of the Daleks

Two recent sale offerings from Big Finish - Blood of the Daleks parts 1 and 2, written by Steve Lyons and directed by Nicholas Briggs.

 

A two part story which introduces the character of Lucie Miller and throws her straight into the fray with her sudden appearance in the Tardis. The Time Lords are interfering with the Eighth Doctor's life and have sent him a companion whose mission is to get him involved in events on the planet of Red Rocket Rising where a mad scientist is tampering with Dalek technology.

These adventures were clearly written for radio broadcast on BBC radio 7 as it then was (BBC 4 extra now). They are a perfect introduction to the Eighth Doctor and Lucie, and they have a suitably impressive cast to deliver the goods. I confess that after listening to so many four part stories recently I find that the rhythm of these shorter stories is slightly difficult to get used to. However they are very entertaining and listening to them one straight after the other did help.

I can't keep going on about how good Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith are (but they are), they just seem like natural occupants of the Tardis and their slightly spiky relationship is great value. Meanwhile Kenneth Cranham, Anita Dobson and Hayley Atwell are all splendid and Nicholas Briggs does his usual marvellous job as the voices of the Daleks and their mutant brethren.

I think that taken together this adventure gets a 3.5 out of 5 star rating from me. Obviously I have listened to the Luice Miller saga in completely the wrong order, Starting with the end of her character arc and then jumping all the way back to the beginning. I'm not sure if I have the time or money to explore more of her stories. I still have 14 more Big Finish dramas waiting for me to get through, and goodness knows what I will pick up at next week's Big Finish Day. I think a Fifth Doctor adventure is next on the list. Stay tuned.

Big Finish - Lucie Miller - To the Death

Two Eighth Doctor stories that have to go together: Lucie Miller and To the Death, both written and directed by Nicholas Briggs.

 

The Daleks have returned to invade Earth again. First they bring a viral plague to weaken humanity, then they begin to mine into the Earth's core in a repeat of the events from the original Dalek Invasion of Earth. With the Eighth Doctor missing it is left to Lucie, Susan and Adam to lead the resistance  Meanwhile there's another Time Lord on the scene, the meddling Monk who appears to have struck a deal with the Daleks.

These two titles were also in the Big Finish Christmas sale and and they mark the end of a long story arc featuring the Eighth Doctor's companion Lucie Miller. They also set up some of the events, and the Doctor's feelings of hopelessness, at the start of Dark Eyes.

Like most stories Doctor Who can be reduced to the essentials of heroes and villains. The Daleks are the ultimate villains of these tales and, as ever, are brought to life with mechanical malevolence by Nicholas Brigggs and his ring modulator. They are assisted by Graeme Garden as the rogue Time Lord, the Monk, who adds some humour to the grim proceedings. Alongside him is his own conflicted companion Tamsin Drew, played by Niky Wardley. Tamsin believes she is working for the good guys and her gradual realisation that the Monk is not to be trusted leads to some powerful moments.

On the side of the resistance we have Susan who witnessed the original Invasion with the First Doctor. In previous stories I had some problems with Carole Ann Ford's performances but here she is on fine form, and is ably assisted by Paul McGann's son Jake playing Adam. McGann himself eventually turns up as we always knew he would, but even he cannot save the day this time. The Eighth Doctor may be my current favourite Big Finish incarnation, I like how natural Paul McGann sounds in the role. But here he is up against an insoluble problem which is directly related to events from one of his previous adventures in Patient Zero.

So that just leaves Lucie Miller. Sheridan Smith has played a companion to Jonathan Creek, Gavin and Stacey, and even Ronnie Biggs, but her best role may be here in these audio dramas. Lucie's narration has to carry much of the story until the Doctor's return, and as the enormity of the Daleks' plan threatens to defeat even him it falls to Lucie to save the day. I generally try to avoid spoilers in these reviews but the clue is in the title. Everyone knows what is coming and the resolute Lucie Miller goes out screaming her defiance against the Daleks. It is a powerful moment that comes at the end of a tremendous build up.

Nicholas Briggs writing and direction are perfect. There is a real sense of menace as the Daleks finally make good on all those electronic threats to "Exterminate!". People die in this story, they die at unexpected moments, and with unexpected poignancy. This invasion story restores the Daleks to their rightful place as the Doctor's most terrifying enemies, and it gives us one of the their most memorable opponents in Lucie Miller.

As you can tell I was impressed. It's a 5 star production all round. That's two top scores from the Big Finish Christmas sale. Good value indeed.

Big Finish - Relative Dimensions

Another Eighth Doctor adventure from the Christmas sales: Relative Dimensions by Marc Platt, directed by Barnaby Edwards.

Let me get another quick Eighth Doctor review out of the way. It's Christmas again but this time the Doctor and Lucie Miller are planning a celebration meal in the Tardis and there are some very special guests coming, the Doctor's grand-daughter, Susan Campbell, and her son Alex. Once again best laid plans go awry as the Tardis seems to have picked up a very fishy stowaway and they keep catching glimpses of the Doctor's future self battling for survival.

This is a bottle episode with its small cast trapped within the Tardis. It's fairly amusing listening to Lucie struggling with the Turkey and all the trimmings in the galley, while Susan and the Doctor catch up on old times and discuss Alex's future. But is all a bit small canvas again. And the mystery of the brief appearances of the Doctor wearing a survival suit and wrestling with the trans-dimensional fishy foe is no great puzzle. We know that he will eventually have to don the strange outfit and deal with the intruder.

So we are left with the performances of the four cast members. Sheridan Smith is effortlessly funny and enjoyable. I really sympathised with her efforts to get the Doctor to pay attention to her warnings, an often pointless task for a companion as is the case here. There is the neat twist of having Paul McGann's own son Jake play Alex and he acquits himself very well. His dad, on the other hand, sounded somewhat bored in this drama. Most of that is down to the script but do I catch hints that McGann was losing interest in the character at this time? Thank heavens for the re-vitalisation that Dark Eyes has given him.

That just leaves Carole Ann Ford returning to the role of Susan which she played nearly 50 years ago in the very first season of Doctor Who. I know she has done some previous Big Finish stories but this was my first encounter with her and I had the same problem that I had with her slightly stilted performance on television. It is somehow very 1960s with her perfectly clipped dialogue and speech patterns. Acting has moved on and become much faster and looser. I suppose it suits the character of Susan but it bothered me when heard next to the more natural sounding Smith and McGann.

One more negative point was, again, the lack of a break in the story. There was a perfect point half-way through for a break, cliff-hanger and the theme music but there was obviously some deliberate production decision not to do that for this series. Possibly because they were also being packaged for broadcast on Radio 4 Extra?

My least favourite of my Christmas presents so far. 2 out of 5 Dimension hopping fish monsters. However something much darker is coming up for the Eighth Doctor. Stay tuned.

Big Finish - Death in Blackpool

Another Christmas sale present to myself: Death in Blackpool by Alan Barnes, directed by Barnaby Edwards.

The Eighth Doctor returned for the start of his fourth Big Finish series with this seasonal story featuring Sheridan Smith as companion Lucie Miller, and all she wants to do is get home for a traditional family Christmas in her home town. But events conspire to leave her fighting for her life while the Doctor has to deal with some loose ends from a previous adventure and the Zygon who fell to earth.

This is one of those trapped inside stories where the Doctor and his companion adventure in a psychic landscape. It is also a single CD like the rest of the Eighth Doctor adventures. Strangely It doesn't even split the story into two parts but just trots straight on to the end. Surely all Doctor Who fans love a cliffhanger leading into that famous electronic scream of the theme music? It is one of the features that I enjoy in the four parter monthly releases and I missed it here.

On the plus side Paul McGann continues to impress me as the most naturalistic of the actors currently playing the Doctor for Big Finish. I'm not sure if I can choose between him and Peter Davison as my favourite incarnation at the moment. Their recent outings in Dark Eyes and The Burning Prince are my pick of the best releases from 2012.

Meanwhile what more can I say about Sheridan Smith that hasn't already been covered in all the Sunday colour supplements. She is flavour of the month on stage and screen and still manages to come across as a likeable and plucky girl next door in the Tardis

On the down side it is rather short and self-contained and lacks the broad canvas of something like Dark Eyes. It is possible that listening to the Eighth Doctor adventures would require a slight adjustment in my expectations. Not bad for my £2.99 in the sale but not one of my favourites. McGann and Smith lift it from a middle of the road score to a just above average 3 out of 5 Blackpool illuminations.