recent listen; Doctor Who - UNIT: Dominion

Big Finish synopsis;

The universe stands on the brink of a dimensional crisis – and the Doctor and Raine are pulled into the very epicentre of it.

Meanwhile, on Earth, UNIT scientific advisor Dr Elizabeth Klein and an incarnation of the Doctor she's never encountered before are tested to the limit by a series of bizarre, alien invasions.

At the heart of it all is a terrible secret, almost as old as the Time Lords themselves. Reality is beginning to unravel and two Doctors, Klein, Raine and all of UNIT must use all their strength and guile to prevent the whole of creation being torn apart.

As you can see from the photo, UNIT: Dominion is a bit of an epic tale spanning four CDs (the fifth CD is behind-the-scenes interview content.)

This was epic, but it kept my attention all through. Plenty of setups and payoffs. In addition to Sylvester McCoy as the (7th) Doctor, the supporting characters were well done.

Elisabeth Klein continues to be one of the best, most interesting supporting characters Big Finish have created. This time around, she's been slightly reinvented. Integrated back into the proper historical timeline, she is now an efficient scientist and the Scientific Advisor of UNIT (the Doctor's old gig.) But, the Doctor has been keeping tabs on her, to ensure her Nazi previous personality doesn't reassert itself. Unfortunately, his plan has backfired and she has become almost paranoid & obsessed with "the Umbrella Man" - the Doctor.

Alex Macqueen was a real treat as the “Other Doctor.” Now that the story has been out for a few years, the spoiler can be mentioned here. The Other Doctor is, in fact, the Master; the Doctor's arch-villain. Big Finish have created their own incarnation of the Master here. Macqueen does a great job, too. Though, he is only revealed as the Master in the last episode, so we only get a taste of the Master in this story. But, it highlights how similar the Doctor and the Master truly are – two sides of the same coin.

I really enjoyed this one. I look forward to listening to both the next Klein trilogy, as well as Alex Macqueen's continuing performance as the Master in the Dark Eyes series.

recent listen; Doctor Who - Masters of Earth

Big Finish synopsis;

The year is 2163. Ten years since the Daleks invaded the Earth. One year until the Doctor, in his first incarnation, will help bring the occupation to an end. But for now, their reign of terror goes on.

The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Peri to Scotland – enslaved, like everywhere else on the planet.

When the Doctor falls in with an unlikely group of freedom fighters making that dangerous journey to Orkney, he finds himself trapped – but not only by the Daleks, their robotised henchmen and their human collaborators.

By history.

Because history shows that for another year, resistance is useless...

Masters of Earth brings the Doctor dangerously close to changing his own past. In Doctor Who, this is referred to as the Web of Time. Yes, the Doctor can mess about history & future, but he must be very careful not to change his own past. If the Daleks capture him, interrogate him, they will be prepared for his first incarnation's involvement in future. Not to mention, they will learn of the Doctor and perhaps Time Lords decades or even centuries before they should.

Of course, the Doctor's own attitude & character and events plunge the Doctor into the middle of the muddle, anyway. Along the way there are prison breaks, Slythers, Vargaplants, Daleks and Robomen. All the classic 1960s Dalek elements are sharply realized through very experienced use of soundscapes plus the listener's imagination.

Colin Baker really shines in these audio-plays. He gets to work his Doctor they way he never could on television, and by-&-large, he has had far better material to work with. Hearing him battle classic Daleks is a treat.

Doctor Who month

Last year was the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who. That makes this November the 51st anniversary, and there wasn't any of the hoopla. The eighth series of the 'new' show wrapped up early in the month, and things got quiet.

I decided -  Whovian that I am - to explore some other areas of Doctor Who this month. I read two novels and listened to one of the audio-dramas from Big Finish.

The Dalek Generation by Nicholas Briggs

The Daleks benevolent? The Dalek Foundation, creating habitable worlds for throngs of human beings? An entire generation raised up believing the Daleks are rarely-seen philanthropes? What are the Daleks really up to?  That is the mystery the (11th) Doctor must solve.

Briggs has a good handle on describing the 11th Doctor in prose. That was a strong point. The Doctor did not feel like a placeholder, or a rewritten different Doctor. He rang true as the 11th Doctor.

Ironically, the issues I have with the story are the Daleks. The plot is a fun conceit, and it is impishly enjoyable to read as the Daleks behave, engage in bureaucracy and simmer under the surface just dying to let loose with guns and screams of "Exterminate!"  The trouble is, because of that setup, there isn't a whole lot of Dalek action in the story.

The Daleks' villainous plot is another weak point. It's vague, at best. A bit of hand-waving (sucker arm waving?) at the end. Some great power (unexplained what) will cause massive galactic changes (unexplained how.)

It is a fairly fun, quick read to pass the time - as long as you don't analyze it too much.

Engines of War by George Mann

Through a bit of creative retroactive continuity, it was revealed during last year's anniversary barrage, that there had been one regeneration of the Doctor that shunned the name of "Doctor." He became a soldier and a warrior who directly engaged the Daleks in the great Time War. In the end, it was he who destroyed both the Daleks and the Time Lords, to put an end to the war.

That 'other' Doctor (or, 'War Doctor') was played by John Hurt and only appeared briefly in one episode, and then was a central part of the anniversary special that followed.

This novel gives a look into that Doctor, and also events that drove him to such genocidal actions. Engines of War is a very good story that pulls together various threads of two episodes - "The End of Time" and "The Day of the Doctor." In addition there are plenty of other references for the fans without coming off as poor fan fiction.

The Daleks' villainous plot(s) are well realized. The Time Lords, too, have their own maniacal plans to halt the Dalek advance - even if it means sacrificing billions of people to succeed. Plenty of murderous, dangerous Dalek action, too.

Can the Doctor stop the Daleks, and the Time Lords, and still come out ahead?

I liked this one, a lot. One of the best Doctor Who novels I have read.

The Light At The End (audio)

While the BBC were creating their own anniversary special last year, the folks over at Big Finish audio came out with their own celebratory story, too.

The Master, the Doctor's arch-enemy renegade Time Lord, has thrown all laws of time out the window. He crosses his own future (the Master here being played as an incarnation from the past) and sets a trap that causes the Doctor to meet his previous incarnations, tearing apart his own timeline and history in the process.  Can the Doctors unite and escape the ultimate trap before the Doctor himself is wiped from all time & space?

This was fun. The story meshes the Doctors together very smoothly. Of course, a story like this could be a convoluted, confused time travel story, but the causality plot-line is not overly complex. The reveals are well-paced enough to keep the mysteries engaging. The Doctor actors play off each other very well. There are even actors performing good mimic to the voices of the first three Doctor actors who have passed on.

A very fun romp.  Well done.

Whovian 2-fer

On the way to NECON last month, I had an hour & a half ride each way, so I loaded up some Doctor Who audio dramas for the ride.

Energy of the Daleks

Though released later in the series, this story was Tom Baker's first audio return to Doctor Who. It is also the first time his companion, Leela, gets to tangle with Daleks.

Speaking of Daleks, this is a welcome return to conniving Daleks with attitude and a plan for world destruction. During Tom Baker's era, Davros, the creator of the Daleks, was invented by Terry Nation. In the two Dalek appearances for Tom Baker run, the focus was more on Davros. The Daleks were reduced to (sometimes none-too-bright) foot soldiers.

This is a very convincing Dalek tale that fits right into the 4th Doctor era. You can almost see the t.v. episode in your head. (My head, anyway.) The Daleks are "old school" and there is a nice return of Robomen (first used and only seen in The Dalek Invasion of Earth.) The Daleks are behind a new "free energy" beaming scheme that will rescue the near-future Earth from its energy crisis. The Doctor intends to find out why.

It is one of those stories that you don't want to think too hard about. If the Daleks can send a scout ship with six Daleks onboard back in time to alter history, why not just send a whole fleet? Such things are easily explained away by "timey wimey wibbly wobbly," so a line or two of dialog to explain away the question would have been nice, but, whatever.

Tom Baker was the first Doctor I ever watched. I don't subscribe to the "your first Doctor is your favorite Doctor" paradigm - especially with all the Doctors to choose from now. But, I had forgotten just how enjoyable he can be as the Doctor.

This was a lot of fun.

This is nearly pitch perfect for a 4th Doctor era story. I will absolutely be visiting more Tom Baker audios from Big Finish.

The Architects of History

This story closes out a trilogy featuring the villain, Elisabeth Klein. Klein is a Nazi from an alternate timeline where the Doctor's negligence helped the Nazis to win World War 2. During their previous adventures, the Doctor obliterated her timeline and tried to enlighten her. But Klein was patient, and gained enough knowledge to abscond with his TARDIS, and establish a future Reich that spread across the galaxy. Now the Doctor has arrived to put things right - which doesn't seem very possible from his prison cell.

Klein is a wonderful, thought out villain (villainess.) I wish she could have been on the t.v. show, proper. (Let's face it, The Rani never came up to potential on t.v.)  She has motivations, she goes toe-to-toe with the Doctor and nearly pulls off her grand schemes.

I really enjoyed this one. There is a second Klein trilogy - as well as a series that focuses on her non-fascist counterpart in the correct timeline. I look forward to listening to all of them.

Doctor Who: Frozen Time

Frozen Time (Doctor Who audio drama)

Plot:  In the early 21st century, Lord Barset mounts an Antarctic expedition to find the remains of his grandfather's 1929 lost expedition.  But Barset's motivation is not purely genealogical.  Barest believes there is a pre-human reptilian civilization buried under the ice.  He is half-right.  The Doctor knows better, but after a million-year coma, his memory is fragmented and he might not recall what they need to know in time to save themselves and the planet.

Strong points: Maryam D'Abo as Genevieve.  The tease defrostings;  Ice Warrior?  No, it's the TARDIS.  Ice Warrior?  No, it's the Doctor.  Ice Warrior - yes!  McCoy's performance as the amnesiac Doctor.  Lord Barset believes he's on the trail of Silurians (and he's not.)  The denouement tease that perhaps Genevieve had a few more adventures with the Doctor before returning to the ship.

The Ice Warriors.  They sound right, and they have layers to their society - they aren't just an entire race of baddies and this story remembers to highlight that.

(Originally when this was released, the Ice Warriors' appearance was kept secret - that would have been a strong point, too, but by this time most everyone knows they are in this adventure.)

Weak points:  The setup fails to suspend disbelief.  I'm not sure even the Doctor could have survived frozen for a million years, Time Lord induced coma or not.  Would the Doctor really aid a prison facility - even one for his foes?  Would the Doctor agree to a Martian prison for the most dangerous criminals existing in Antarctica on Earth (of the past,) knowing what will happen in the future of that planet?

Frozen Time is a good Doctor Who story if you go along for the ride and don't think too much about how it all came together to start the adventure.

The Doctor vs. the Daleks, again (Dark Eyes)

Doctor Who
Dark Eyes (4 part story)
8th Doctor Adventures
Big Finish (audio-plays)

This is a sprawling box set of four adventures of the Doctor, all directly connected to a woman named Molly and the Daleks that are pursuing her.  The Doctor rescues Molly, only to find the Daleks on their trail regardless of where they travel in time & space.  But the Daleks are not alone in their efforts, and the Time Lords have their own agenda to stop the Daleks' plan.

Nicholas Briggs (writer/director/producer) and Paul McGann (the Doctor) both have an interest in the history of the First World War, and details abound in the setting of the first adventure.  Molly, for one, is not a nurse nor a sister of a religious order, she is a V.A.D. (First I'd learned the difference, myself.)  The Doctor also has an appreciation for Sopwith Camels.

The next three adventures put the Doctor and Molly on a path through World War II, the 1970s and futuristic planets.

There's a lot here for Doctor Who fans - particularly if you enjoy the new series (2005-present) and the original series.  Briggs, along with Moffatt, have both claimed they want to keep the Time War mythic and not delve into details.  But, they can't help referencing it.  In the case of the t.v. series, it is a major backstory.  Here, in Dark Eyes, it's a bit of a tease though tastefully done.  The machinations of the Time Lords, here in this story, certainly earn them no favors with the Daleks nor the Doctor.

Also, McGann gets a new costume (which, yes, might seem unnecessary for an audio line.)  But, it allows the 8th Doctor to finally get away from the overused photoshopping of poses and costume that are 16 years old and redundant by this point.  He also dresses a bit more casual and even opts for leather.  Though it seems this was McGann's personal choice, one wonders if there wasn't some planned foreshadowing of the 9th Doctor's fashion sense.

Time, space, history, future, Daleks, Time Lords and the Doctor.  And most importantly, well done.  This story has it all.

The Doctor vs. the Daleks

Doctor Who
Lucie Miller (4.9) & To The Death (4.10)
8th Doctor Adventures
Big Finish (audio-plays)

In the last quarter of last year, Big Finish ran quite a few sales on their Doctor Who line of audio-dramas if you went the download route.  I had some of the initial CDs, but lost track for a while.  It seemed like a good time to get back into it.  Being a Whovian, having the CDs as collectibles is always tempting, but the downloads were priced very low at sale time, so I skipped the CDs (also saved shelf space at home.)

Lucie Miller and To The Death are two parts of a single tale that closes out the 8th Doctor's 4th Big Finish series.  (The numbering is a little confusing because Paul McGann also had many 8th Doctor Adventures in the main release line before they spun him out specifically.)

Anyway.  The Daleks are back.  Back on Earth.  Back in the 21st century.  Lucie Miller, the Doctor's off-and-on again companion for most of this season is trapped, crippled by a disease unleashed by the Daleks before their invasion.  The Daleks are following a very familiar pattern.  Susan - the Doctor's granddaughter - is exiled on Earth and she notes it is the same as before - referencing the television serial, The Dalek Invasion of Earth.  And the Doctor has failed to answer desperate summons from his friends and family.