London, 2017. Except… it isn’t. Berlin, 1961. But it isn’t that either. Not really. Not in the timeline the Doctor knows. Something is very wrong.
While Ace tries to save the life of a wounded British spy, Mel and the Doctor must get to grips with the modern day socialist Republic of Mokoshia. For Mel it feels strangely familiar and ‘right’, which makes the Doctor feel even more uneasy.
Soon, a message from a dark and blood-soaked distant future is on its way… But the Doctor will have to act fast to stop this timeline becoming reality.
And with Ace stranded in an alternate 1961, will saving the Earth end her existence?
RED PLANETS
There’s a lot going on in “Red Planets” by Una McCormack, the latest entry in the Doctor Who monthly range from Big Finish. There’s a strong attempt at social commentary, a modern approach to music and direction, and… well, and massive chunks of the plot in which absolutely nothing happens. Okay, so it has flaws, but it’s still one of the most interesting monthly releases to come along in quite some time.
It’s London in 2017, and the Doctor and Mel are enjoying the town – but slowly discovering that the Communist Revolution spread across Europe in the 1960s and everything is under Soviet control as the socialist Republic of Mokoshia. History has been changed, and even Mel isn’t immune as she forgets the correct history in lieu of the changed version. What follows is a story of intrigue, of the Doctor and Mel encountering and escaping from spies working for both the government and a local rebellion, slowly piecing together how this world has changed and what prompted the shift in history. There’s even a manned Mars mission going on at the same time, and probably the best revelation in the script is related to that, about the only people who actually saw history change.
Meanwhile, Ace is in 1961 East Berlin, trying to get wounded British spy Tom Elliot (Matt Barber) across the border so that he can deliver secret photographs of an upcoming nuclear attack. It is this attack that changes history, destabilizing the continent and leading to a Soviet westward blitz. And history itself knows it is being damaged: the closer Tom comes to failing his mission, the more Berlin is covered in a mysterious fog full of dangerous creatures. (Are these Reapers? It’s hard to tell for sure.) But if Ace can ensure that he crosses the border, history will be preserved once and for all. This segment of the story is largely consumed with Tom and Ace learning to trust one another – and, naturally, the complications that force Ace to be the one to save the day and maintain history. As expected, she succeeds, and everything is put back to normal.
The big problem with the story is that the entire plot following the Doctor and Mel is completely irrelevant. Ace saves the day 56 years in the relative past, and the Doctor and Mel are just there to experience the consequences of Ace’s successes and failures. It doesn’t matter that the Doctor is able to talk himself out of interrogation, it doesn’t matter which side the various covert operatives are on, and the outcome of the Mars mission doesn’t matter either: it’s all going to be erased as soon as Ace succeeds. And while McCormack does a fine job of building the alternate socialist future, it’s hard to escape the feeling that none of it matters – since, obviously, the story is going to end with history being put back on the right track.
The production is worthy of mention. Jamie Anderson directs, and actually gives the story a “modern” feel – there’s a lot of rapid intercutting between scenes, interesting scene transitions, and very few prolonged dialogue scenes. Furthermore, Joe Kraemer’s score is pleasantly different from the usual: it’s orchestral, even using choral refrains in places, and actually gives the story a different sound and feel from a typical Doctor Who release. As mentioned above, the story is surprisingly uneventful, and the production keeps the attention focused. The individual episodes are also quite short, which is good – there’s no reason to force every episode to be 25 minutes long. Hopefully this is a first step down the road of abandoning the four-episode structure entirely, as there’s really no need for it after 250 audio releases.
“Red Planets” is a fascinating listen in spite of itself. McCormack builds an interesting world that you want to learn more about even though you know it won’t last. The scenes in Berlin are gripping and emotional, and the production grabs the attention. Unfortunately, it doesn’t hold together very well, but if you’re looking for something different, something that doesn’t feel like every other release in this range seems to, I’d still recommend giving this a listen.
6/10