John Hurt leads the Big Finish New Who war on the masses in this
first box set (well from the New Series Doctors at least) which looks at
some of the atrocities committed by the Doctor of War that eventually
led to this incarnation stealing the Moment and what drove him to cite
double genocide as a valid reason to end the Time War.
But before we get into the stories, let’s first discuss the War
Doctor’s opening theme. Yes, even if you don’t call yourself the Doctor,
you still need a theme all your own.
In short, while the militaristic add-on to the famous opening tune
fits John Hurt’s incarnation to a ‘T’, I frankly don’t like it. It’s not
bad, but it’s not really one of the better renditions of the theme. I’d
cite Colin Baker’s second opening as the worst so far and place this
version right above that.
Secondly, this box set had a lot of competition. December saw the release of two Seventh Doctor novel adaptations, Theatre of War and All-Consuming Fire, the latter of which is Doctor Who meets Sherlock Holmes and we also had the superb You Are The Doctor and Other Stories.
For this reason, my expectations regarding this box set were very high
given the quality Big Finish put out not only this month, but in general
regarding their New Who license.
The Innocent
Ironically, the cover with the best artwork features the weakest story.
Admittedly, the box set gets off to a bad start with this first
instalment. I had three goes before I could finish it. But that isn’t to
say The Innocent is a bad story, it just…it feels very awkward
in that it’s more like that character piece filler episode following a
very dark two-parter instead of being the actual dark two-parter fans
are hoping for. The plot deals with the Doctor being nursed back to
health after combating the Daleks in another adventure while juggling a
seemingly more action-packed and interesting flashback plot.
Unfortunately, the bits of the story you want to follow are told in
flashbacks and the bits you don’t really care about is the main focus of
the episode.
I can never find any fault with John Hurt’s non-Doctor. In fact, he
is more not-the-Doctor than he claimed to be in the 50th Anniversary.
Big Finish really has a tight grip on this incarnation and it shows. The
War Doctor is at times just plain rude and unlikable (unlike Capaldi’s
sardonic and funny-rude incarnation), a side effect of his lifestyle I
believe, but Big Finish seem to be doing a variation of the “Am I a Good
Man” arc from Series 8, though unlike Twelve, the War Doctor already
knows the answer.
As mentioned, this instalment doesn’t really have an antagonist to
deal with. Most of the action and threat is either in the background or
easily dispensed with, choosing instead to focus on the mindset of the
Doctor, which again, isn’t a bad thing, it’s just not the right time.
One thing Big Finish nailed though was not giving the Doctor any
companions, but instead giving him the traditional pseudo-reliables. You
know the guest stars who aid the Doctor and company in a story.
I don’t have a lot to say about The Nursemaid, good or bad as she
seems like a genuinely nice person, but not much attention is given to
her to make her unforgettable. Her attachment to the Doctor still
puzzles me though as the story leans towards a romantic or a
father/daughter relationship, though there are no absent daddies or
likewise issues present in this story. The latter options feels
unsettling as the War Doctor looks like he’s in his seventies while the
Nursemaid sounds like she isn’t even in her thirties yet.
Rating this story: 6/10. Would have scored higher if it followed directly after showing us the whole of the great disaster it draws its inspiration from.
The Thousand Worlds
The
second story is substantially better in both drama and quality,
choosing to show us the Doctor’s relationship with the Time Lords and
how close they’ve become to being indistinguishable from Daleks. It also
sends the Doctor on a rescue mission behind enemy lines.
I know. I know. Nick Briggs already mentioned that these stories were
born from his love of war movies. A Behind-Enemy-Lines story had to be
done. Better to get it out of the way now.
The second story ups the tension and drama exponentially and puts the
Doctor between the Daleks and a hard place, though the setting feels
somewhat shoehorned in and the same problems that plagued the first
story are present in this one here, but to a less noticeable degree.
It’s a step in the right direction, but we’re not quite there yet.
What this story does remarkably well is give us insight into what it
means to be the War Doctor. The War Doctor Adventures is basically
Doctor Who without morals. So putting the War Doctor up against someone
who holds the same morals that he used to hold when he called himself
the Doctor is just a fascinating notion. Unfortunately, the script
doesn’t dig deep enough into that strange role reversal.
Rating this story: 7/10
The Heart of the Battle
The
trilogy ends on its highest note with this instalment. Going into
detail is tricky as a lot of plot points from the previous stories get
sorted in this instalment. There are also several noteworthy twists
listeners probably won’t see coming which makes for a great listen.
One of the things I wanted from this box set was bad endings. I
didn’t want any sort of happy conclusion. It either had to be a downer
or a bittersweet ending. The whole point of the War Doctor is an
incarnation forced to constantly do bad things for the greater good and The Heart of the Battle
is a fine example of just that. The decisions taken and explanations
given in this story will make you hate certain characters. You’ll
respect them, but you’ll also hate them.
The one constant throughout this series is John Hurt, who sounds as
though he is really enjoying the scripts. Jacqueline Pearce’s Cardinal
Ollistra starts off a little bland, but eventually transforms into a
character you love to hate. If you like the Seventh Doctor, you’ll love
her. As does Beth Chalmers’ Veklin (known for playing Raine Creevy in
the Seventh Doctor audios) who is another character that works your
nerves with every fibre of her being, but you don’t mind because it
makes for great drama.
Alex Wyndham’s Seratrix starts off sounding like one of the highlight
characters of the box set, but quickly devolves into sounding more like
a naïve fool, who fans will no doubt find themselves criticizing.
Rating this story: 7.5/10
Conclusion
This box set as a whole feels like the low man on the totem pole. Well, still miles ahead of The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield,
but The War Doctor Adventures feels weak compared to all the other box
sets Big Finish put out this year. This box set certainly ranked way
lower than I hoped it would, though the blame could go to me for raising
my expectations to an unrealistic bar.
Ending on a more cheerful note, it looks as though Big Finish is
listening to the fans and not making the same mistake they did with Dark
Eyes. While all four box sets need to be listened to in order to fully
understand the plot, it looks as though The War Doctor Adventures will
deal with self-contained trilogies, each time recounting different
incidents in the Time War. Whether or not this is true is yet to be
seen, but it is something of a hope for fans who want to skip this box
set.
Doctor Who: Only The Monstrous is available on Big Finish's website HERE.
Note: If you liked this review, please like and share
it. If you’re interested in getting into Big Finish or want suggestions on
which stories are great, check out my ranking of them HERE
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