Time Reef: The TARDIS crash-lands on an uncharted time reef. However, the Doctor, Nyssa and Brewster are not the only mariners marooned on this barren rock.
A Perfect World: Who wouldn’t want a perfect world? Thomas Brewster for one.
Time Reef: The TARDIS crash-lands on an uncharted time reef. However, the Doctor, Nyssa and Brewster are not the only mariners marooned on this barren rock.
A Perfect World: Who wouldn’t want a perfect world? Thomas Brewster for one.
TIME REEF
I’ve ranted about this before, but it’s true: I’m not the sort of person who relies upon plot for satisfaction with drama. I’ll gladly sacrifice an airtight, logical progression of events in lieu of good characterization and atmosphere, and in that vein I quite enjoyed Marc Platt’s “Time Reef,” the third in the progression of fifth Doctor audios featuring Thomas Brewster. To say the plot is muddled would be charitable — I’ve listened twice and it’s still not entirely clear — but it feels different and innovative, something Big Finish has been sorely lacking of late.
While hijacking the Doctor’s TARDIS, Brewster (John Pickard) sold some of the ship’s equipment to a group of soldiers returning from a war, and the net effect of this equipment was to create a “reef” in the time vortex, upon which they have become marooned. These soldiers are fascinating characters, given indeterminate origin by Platt and exhibiting an odd blend of literary conventions. They’ve achieved advanced space travel, but still believe in ritual sacrifice, worrying about their fate now that they have run out of goats. Love and courtship, seen between Gammades (Nicholas Farrell) and Vuyoki (Beth Chalmers) are carried out in the chivalrous, Romantic sense. One of the soldiers is wiped away by the vortex, his last moment endlessly preserved in an eerie moment reminiscent of “Silence in the Library.” They are menaced by the Ruhk (Sean Biggerstaff), a massive winged creature, trapped in the reef bubble and painfully, blindy limited in its dimensions. That these fascinating concepts are never tied together into a coherent whole is perhaps what keeps “Time Reef” from classic status, but the play is nonetheless endlessly fascinating.
The star of the show, though, is Peter Davison, who gives one of the most impassioned performances in his long history in the role of the fifth Doctor. Brewster, of course, has been away in the Doctor’s TARDIS for months, but the Doctor’s anger is surprising — this isn’t the irascibility Davison sometimes displayed around Tegan or Adric, this is genuine anger. Also surprising is the depth of the Doctor’s sadness when he suspects the TARDIS has died — generally speaking, I’m sick of this overused plot device, but Davison sells it so well that I found myself believing it. The quality of the lead performance isn’t surprising, however, as “Time Reef” expertly captures the feel of Davison’s first year in the role. The science of the reef sounds like Christopher H. Bidmead at his best, while the archetypal characterization is reminiscent of more abstract stories like “Kinda.” While undoubtedly difficult to realize on television, “Time Reef” would genuinely have been a good fit in season 19 — and I don’t say that about many stories in any medium.
I’ve heard this story compared to some of Paul Magrs’s better offerings, and I don’t entirely agree — the magical realism and postmodernity aren’t substantially on offer — but as a play to be felt more than it is to be understood, “Time Reef” certainly fits the description. Nyssa gets to be more heroic and proactive than usual, something which naturally gets her into trouble with the Ruhk but gives Sarah Sutton a chance to impress. If anything, the least believable part of the story is Brewster himself — it certainly fits his personality, but a Victorian street urchin piloting a stolen time machine and turning it into a traveling yard sale is a bit much to take! Again, this isn’t the kind of thing that makes me dislike a story, but it’s a head-scratcher nonetheless.
When it comes to the supporting cast, Platt’s decision to write them as archetypes makes for interesting listening, but it also results in their performances being naturally unmemorable. I did enjoy Beth Chalmers, though, and figuring out the significance of her character. Perhaps the most difficult thing about “Time Reef” is creating a mental image of the setting — we hear talk of coral, making this sound like an actual reef, but unfortunately it’s not the sort of thing you can communicate through sound, and Simon Robinson’s otherwise-excellent sound design struggles in this regard. “Time Reef” is very well-paced, perhaps due in part to Barnaby Edwards’s direction and experience with the shorter Paul McGann stories.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. For some reason, I can’t justify giving it a higher score than what’s listed below — maybe it’s that while I find the story fascinating, I can’t even begin to explain why — but while “Time Reef” might not be the best story ever, it’s easily the most innovative story in quite some time. Big Finish should be doing more of this.
7/10
A PERFECT WORLD
For the first time in a while, Big Finish takes a surprising turn — Thomas Brewster (John Pickard) was given all the setup of a new companion, fron contentious introduction to the Doctor and Nyssa to the start of a mellowing of their relationship. But it is here that Brewster’s turn in the TARDIS comes to an end, as his creator Jonathan Morris provides a one-part story to write the mischievious youth out. “A Perfect World” is a slight story, and the adjective I’ve seen used time and again to describe it is “sweet,” something I agree with. Brewster learns, effectively, the reasons why changing things arbitrarily can’t work, and that he’s better off departing the TARDIS for a stable, accepted lifestyle. In many ways it’s a distillation of the new series idea that some people aren’t cut out for the life of a companion — but rather than showing that Brewster doesn’t understand it, Morris shows that he just doesn’t desire it. It’s quietly pleasant in a way that few Doctor Who stories are, and elegantly writes out a “companion” in an understated manner. And for once, the love interest isn’t ridiculous — they both admit it might not work out, which is refreshing. And, to the story’s credit, much more like life.
Highly recommended.
8/10
Time Reef is the latest story in the Big Finish audio range staring Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton. Its a three part story with The Perfect World as a special one parter at the end.
I really enjoyed Time Reef. It showed Nyssa at her best, a sweet and caring soul. The Doctor was still annoyed with Brewster for taking the TARDIS and they discover that Brewster has been selling bits of the TARDIS off. Brewster doesn’t say how long he was away in the TARDIS but I was given the impression that he had been away for quite a while. The story was very interesting with a peculiar enemy and by the end, the Doctor had almost accepted Brewster (of course, Nyssa accepted and befriended him straight away). It seemed to be all wrapped up a little bit to quickly.
The Perfect World was a nice little surprise. It was focused on Brewster and a woman he met while he was travelling alone in the TARDIS. Set in present day London we get to see two parallel lives (well, sort of). Its interesting to see how and why Brewster affected this person but the ending was the biggest surprise. Brewster stays in London! I wasn’t expecing him to leave so quickly. I’m not sad about it though. I was never too sure about Brewster. I liked hat he brought to the stories but more than three stories of him and the Doctor arguing would have gotten very repetative. I do think that Nyssa works best when it is just her with the Doctor, which is why I love her audios so much.