The Doctor has a new companion forced upon him and together they face the Daleks on Red Rocket Rising.
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Styre
on May 7, 2016 at 9:38 PM
BLOOD OF THE DALEKS, PART ONE
In addition to the relaunch of the main Doctor Who range under new producer Nicholas Briggs, 2007 also saw a new direction for Big Finish: a series of plays, starring Paul McGann, produced for airing on BBC7 and later released to the public in CD format. With the new series naturally commanding attention, this was a fine opportunity for Big Finish to draw attention to their classic series-oriented product. And what better way to do so than to employ the Daleks?
The first part of Steve Lyons’ “Blood of the Daleks” serves an important function: it must introduce new listeners to the universe of the eighth Doctor. To facilitate this, a new companion, Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith), is introduced — but unlike “Rose” or “Smith and Jones” and the new series, “Blood of the Daleks” presupposes familiarity with the series and tells its story from the Doctor’s perspective. Unfortunately, Lyons’ script is incredibly jumbled during these crucial opening scenes. Lucie’s introduction is *too* confusing, with her sudden appearance in the TARDIS control room, and the Doctor is barely given time to react to her appearances or to the periodic revelations in her dialogue. I’m not sure it was necessary to couch her history in such secrecy — yes, the specific reason for her presence is clearly going to be an ongoing mystery, but a character acting obnoxious with existing knowledge of the Doctor is still acting obnoxious. Lucie isn’t likable at all in these first scenes, and the Doctor’s frustration doesn’t help, believable as McGann’s portrayal may be.
Fortunately, once Lucie’s background is revealed, the play opens right up. McGann and Smith have a fine chemistry, and Lucie’s sassy personality gels nicely with the eighth Doctor’s joie de vivre. They’re also thrown into a unique setting: a post-apocalyptic colony planet, barely hanging on after an asteroid severely damaged the atmosphere. Much of the play is reminiscent of Dalek Empire III, with the Daleks coming across a devastated human world and offering “help” — but Lyons’ central twist involving Asha Gryvern (Hayley Atwell), Martez (Atwell again), and the Daleks themselves is shockingly brilliant. The Daleks’ reaction to the Doctor’s presence is always entertaining, and their demands of the acting president, Klint (Anita Dobson), are expected but devious all the same. Thematically, there’s not much going on, but I expect much more from the second part now that the setup is complete.
As mentioned above, McGann and Smith share an easy chemistry that is evident from their first scenes together. Lucie sounds like a welcome addition to the Doctor Who family of companions after this first installment: she’s feisty without being annoying, self-sufficient without being repulsive, and not above using what’s available to her (read: sexuality) to get things done. The supporting cast is great as well: Dobson presents a beaten, stressed leader, ultimately willing to compromise her principles to save her people, while Atwell shifts from an annoying subordinate with something to hide to something much more chilling. Kenneth Cranham is excellent, too, as the unstable Tom Cardwell, prophet of doom who will no doubt be proven right. And, though it barely needs mentioning at this point, Nicholas Briggs once again acquits himself as one of the best-ever Dalek voice artists. The reliable team of Gareth Jenkins and Andy Hardwick offer fine sound design and a solid score, while Briggs directs the play and shows the same talent for Dalek stories on display in the Dalek Empire series.
Ultimately, “Blood of the Daleks, Part 1” doesn’t work nearly as well as it should as an introductory episode to a new series. The opening scenes are muddled and confusing, the central characters are given an adversarial relationship, and the action takes forever to get going. Things pick up rapidly from there, however, launching an entertaining story that promises to have a very strong conclusion in the second part.
Flawed, therefore, but promising, and recommended for what it promises.
BLOOD OF THE DALEKS, PART ONE
In addition to the relaunch of the main Doctor Who range under new producer Nicholas Briggs, 2007 also saw a new direction for Big Finish: a series of plays, starring Paul McGann, produced for airing on BBC7 and later released to the public in CD format. With the new series naturally commanding attention, this was a fine opportunity for Big Finish to draw attention to their classic series-oriented product. And what better way to do so than to employ the Daleks?
The first part of Steve Lyons’ “Blood of the Daleks” serves an important function: it must introduce new listeners to the universe of the eighth Doctor. To facilitate this, a new companion, Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith), is introduced — but unlike “Rose” or “Smith and Jones” and the new series, “Blood of the Daleks” presupposes familiarity with the series and tells its story from the Doctor’s perspective. Unfortunately, Lyons’ script is incredibly jumbled during these crucial opening scenes. Lucie’s introduction is *too* confusing, with her sudden appearance in the TARDIS control room, and the Doctor is barely given time to react to her appearances or to the periodic revelations in her dialogue. I’m not sure it was necessary to couch her history in such secrecy — yes, the specific reason for her presence is clearly going to be an ongoing mystery, but a character acting obnoxious with existing knowledge of the Doctor is still acting obnoxious. Lucie isn’t likable at all in these first scenes, and the Doctor’s frustration doesn’t help, believable as McGann’s portrayal may be.
Fortunately, once Lucie’s background is revealed, the play opens right up. McGann and Smith have a fine chemistry, and Lucie’s sassy personality gels nicely with the eighth Doctor’s joie de vivre. They’re also thrown into a unique setting: a post-apocalyptic colony planet, barely hanging on after an asteroid severely damaged the atmosphere. Much of the play is reminiscent of Dalek Empire III, with the Daleks coming across a devastated human world and offering “help” — but Lyons’ central twist involving Asha Gryvern (Hayley Atwell), Martez (Atwell again), and the Daleks themselves is shockingly brilliant. The Daleks’ reaction to the Doctor’s presence is always entertaining, and their demands of the acting president, Klint (Anita Dobson), are expected but devious all the same. Thematically, there’s not much going on, but I expect much more from the second part now that the setup is complete.
As mentioned above, McGann and Smith share an easy chemistry that is evident from their first scenes together. Lucie sounds like a welcome addition to the Doctor Who family of companions after this first installment: she’s feisty without being annoying, self-sufficient without being repulsive, and not above using what’s available to her (read: sexuality) to get things done. The supporting cast is great as well: Dobson presents a beaten, stressed leader, ultimately willing to compromise her principles to save her people, while Atwell shifts from an annoying subordinate with something to hide to something much more chilling. Kenneth Cranham is excellent, too, as the unstable Tom Cardwell, prophet of doom who will no doubt be proven right. And, though it barely needs mentioning at this point, Nicholas Briggs once again acquits himself as one of the best-ever Dalek voice artists. The reliable team of Gareth Jenkins and Andy Hardwick offer fine sound design and a solid score, while Briggs directs the play and shows the same talent for Dalek stories on display in the Dalek Empire series.
Ultimately, “Blood of the Daleks, Part 1” doesn’t work nearly as well as it should as an introductory episode to a new series. The opening scenes are muddled and confusing, the central characters are given an adversarial relationship, and the action takes forever to get going. Things pick up rapidly from there, however, launching an entertaining story that promises to have a very strong conclusion in the second part.
Flawed, therefore, but promising, and recommended for what it promises.
6/10