With the Doctor and Ace lost in the siege of Sebastopol, Hex has rediscovered his calling. But there’s cannon to the left of him, cannon to the right of him – and a deranged spycatcher-in-chief on his case.
With the Doctor and Ace lost in the siege of Sebastopol, Hex has rediscovered his calling. But there’s cannon to the left of him, cannon to the right of him – and a deranged spycatcher-in-chief on his case.
THE ANGEL OF SCUTARI
After the letdown of the Key 2 Time series, I had my doubts about the new trilogy format offered by Big Finish. While the company has released countless examples of excellent Doctor Who stories, their track record when it comes to story arcs has been less than stellar. What a pleasure, then, to be proven completely wrong: “The Magic Mousetrap,” “Enemy of the Daleks,” and “The Angel of Scutari” are all among the three best Sylvester McCoy plays released by Big Finish, and “Scutari” is the perfect conclusion to the trilogy.
Paul Sutton is at his best when writing characters, and that trend continues here. This is, first and foremost, Hex’s story: after the dreadful events of “Enemy of the Daleks,” he quite reasonably feels helpless, and the Doctor brings him to the Crimean War to give him the opportunity to help. Hex’s medical background has often been downplayed, but it has come to the forefront in the last two scripts: here, the medical knowledge of a 21st century nurse surpasses that of a 19th century doctor, and Hex puts this knowledge to positive use. Of course, Florence Nightingale (Jeany Spark) is involved, and appropriately so: having essentially founded the nursing profession, she’s one of Hex’s heroes. Sutton surprises by keeping Nightingale on the sidelines — one would expect a typical “celebrity historical” considering the setting, but the focus remains on the Doctor’s companion.
While Hex labors over the living conditions at the Scutari field hospital, the Doctor and Ace find themselves embroiled in political intrigue. The Doctor is imprisoned in the jails of Tsar Nicholas I (Hugh Bonneville), suspected by both sides of being a double agent. Ace, meanwhile, escapes capture and flees with Leo Tolstoy (John Albasiny), of all people. The Doctor’s story is fascinating in its own right: he’s pursued by an insane British officer (Alex Lowe) intent on punishing his nonexistent treachery. But the best scene comes when the Doctor has tea with the Tsar — McCoy and Bonneville spark off one another, the Doctor seeming to be in control until the Tsar pulls the rug out, casting him into jail to await execution. Ace’s story, meanwhile, comes across as superfluous — it adds little to the story and teaches us nothing about the characters, but Sutton is skilled enough at these unrequited love stories to make it work.
Lastly, the plot revolves around a time travel gimmick: Hex dropped off in the future and the Doctor and Ace living long enough to pick him up. While this lends itself to a couple of fantastic scenes — the TARDIS being broken up for firewood chief among them — it doesn’t seem at all necessary and ultimately detracts from the drama, adding confusion where none was needed. This is, however, a minor complaint.
Despite his long tenure as part of the crew, this trilogy marks one of the first times that the Doctor/Ace/Hex dynamic has been properly explored. The Doctor, as always, is necessarily unrelatable, but Ace’s experiences have brought her closer and closer to the Doctor and further and further away from the troubled teenage girl she once was. Hex, though, is still very “human” — he’s vulnerable, emotional, and sees things from a realistic perspective. He’s wonderfully genuine, and Philip Olivier, who impresses in every appearance, lends him a sympathetic air. And now, after the events of “Scutari,” the cliffhanger ending doesn’t make me worry about Hex’s fate — rather, it makes me curious to know what will happen when the crew returns to St. Gart’s, where this all began.
Director Ken Bentley captures the atmosphere of the Crimea with accomplished skill, using evocative performances from his supporting cast to underscore the drama. Full credit to Toby Hrycek-Robinson, whose sound design and score allow the characters to retain center stage. It would be easy to establish the wrong tone for a story like this — it’s more subtle than some of Sutton’s more melodramatic work — but the production remains steady throughout. Overall, “The Angel of Scutari” is a third straight home run for Big Finish. Who would have thought that the range would be suddenly rejuvenated by a Sylvester McCoy trilogy? After this, nobody should be surprised.
Highly recommended.
9/10