Doctor Who Big Finish Audios

[peteryoung]

   

7) The Genocide Machine, 2000
— While Seven is returning an overdue library book to the planet Kar-Charat, he and Ace discover a Dalek plan to capture all the knowledge of the universe that the library contains.
This was the beginning of a Dalek story arc that spread across several other audios, and the idea of a universal library was one that re-emerged with Ten in 2006. There also seems to be plenty of other referencing going on, connecting it to other events in the Dalek timeline. The character of the chief librarian Elgin comes across particularly well although another key character, Bev Tarrant, had to wait for a later story (Dust Breeding) to benefit from some proper development. A couple of key scenes are delivered by McCoy with an uncharacteristic level of bad temper and anger that's not often seen with Seven, while Sophie Aldred also gets to play a deadpan, Dalek-cloned Ace in a way that didn't really convince me at all. I've got no actual objections to the story or its unexpected twists – a bigger and better story emerges from the shadows of the library itself – just with how the characters were scripted to deal without much sense of wonder in what they were being put through. I wasn't knocked out by this, but then scriptwriter Mike Tucker's stuff rarely appeals to me.

8) Red Dawn, 2000
— On Mars, Five and Peri encounter the first NASA trip to the red planet, a mission with hidden intent.
I don't think anyone would include Red Dawn among their favourites. My own biggest problem is the Ice Warrior voice of Matthew Brehner who plays Lord Zzaal, and who simply doesn't convince as his accent is just too damn well-rounded and English. Justin Richards's story begins by imitating The Tomb of the Cybermen a little too obviously but then the story turns several corners, involving human duplicity vs. Ice Warrior honour; Peri for once gets plenty to do and there's an unexpected exchange involving NASA's Brookings Report. At least the Ice Warriors are treated sympathetically but it has to be said they don't come across well in an audio format: maybe that's because Richards seems to have replaced much of their sense of danger with a repetitive preoccupation with honour, and they felt far less menacing as a result.

9) The Spectre of Lanyon Moor, 2000
— Six and Evelyn arrive in Cornwall to discover an archaeological team influenced by an evil alien abandoned on Earth.
A good romp that was initially written with two other scripts all presented to Tom Baker, in a futile attempt to entice him back into playing the Doctor. That failed of course, but this story was able to showcase the first Big Finish gig for Nicholas Courtney, also teaming up with Colin Baker for the first time. One aim of these early Big Finish adventures was to tone down Six's abrasiveness, and this story features a scene in which he's taken to task by his companion/foil Evelyn and actually made to apologise. The writer and director Nicholas Pegg delved not too deeply into ancient Cornish history to embed the story in local folklore; it was good to hear James Bolam doing Who at last and there are some witty lines delivered perfectly by Maggie Stables. It's far from being a groundbreaking story – it's too deliberately riddled with cliché and the aliens come across as little more than childish, evil pixies – but otherwise it's a good ensemble piece that holds together very well indeed.