The Doctor thought he had defeated the microscopic Nucleus of the Swarm in his fourth incarnation. He was wrong. It survived within the TARDIS, and now it has brought it back to Titan Base, back to the point of its own creation. It has a plan that spans centuries, a plan which will result in the Nucleus becoming more powerful – and larger – than ever before.
To defeat it, the Doctor, Ace and Hex must confront the Nucleus within its new domain – the computer-world of the Hypernet, the information network crucial to the survival of the human empire. But if the Doctor is to save the day, he has to risk everything and everyone he holds dear…
REVENGE OF THE SWARM
August 2014, and the annual Sylvester McCoy trilogy is upon us, this time picking up from the ongoing plot established in “Afterlife,” the final release of 2013. The first story in this trilogy, Jonathan Morris’s “Revenge of the Swarm,” is our first full story with quasi-new companion Hector in the TARDIS. Naturally, this means we get an intelligent, character-driven story that helps define the subtle differences between Hex and Hector, how his relationships with Ace and the Doctor have changed, and so forth, right? No? All we get is an uninspired callback to one of the worst stories of the 1970s that essentially writes out the one character we want to learn more about? Great.
I’m going to go back to my review of “Afterlife” for a moment:
“This could be a great arc if it’s used to explore Ace, if she does indeed get it all wrong, if she can’t bring her friend back, if it focuses on her inability to relate to the real world. But if, as I fear, it becomes a quest narrative that ends with Hex back in the TARDIS, it’ll be a colossal failure.”
Anyone want to guess where we’re headed? Remember at the end of “Afterlife” how Ace flatly stated she was “moving on” from Hex, her relationship with the Doctor irreparably changed? It’s not an exaggeration to say that this isn’t addressed at all: the Doctor and Ace are right back to their old ways, with Ace making the occasional insensitive comment to Hector about Hex and furiously defending the Doctor from Hector’s anger. Did “Afterlife” not happen? Honestly, that story wasn’t even subtle with how it developed the regulars, so why are those developments so comprehensively ignored here? Sure, we get some practical matters addressed – Hector’s missing memories are mentioned as part of the plot – but does this sound anything like a story following immediately on from the one that started with the painful meltdown over pancakes? We’re right back to the Doctor being a manipulative bastard, tricking Hector into making a painful, risky sacrifice instead of explaining the dangers to him from the start – and only after talking to him and confirming that there’s nothing of Hex left inside him. This is a deeply cruel thing to do, yet Ace pops right up to defend him against Hector’s fully justified anger. Are we setting up yet another story setting Ace against the Doctor? Shouldn’t she still be pissed off at him? How many times do we have to go through this?
I’m harping on the characterization because there’s honestly nothing else of interest going on in “Revenge of the Swarm.” Have you seen “The Invisible Enemy?” Then you’ve also heard the first half of “Revenge of the Swarm,” which is basically a repeat of its predecessor – the Swarm has been hiding in the TARDIS console the entire time, waiting for its moment to strike! This is clearly intended to be as over-the-top as possible, with director Ken Bentley obviously instructing his actors to chew as much scenery as they can find, but couldn’t we have something with even a hint of imagination? Perhaps we get it in the second half, where the Nucleus becomes more of a computer virus and the Doctor and Ace engage with it in virtual reality. Other reviewers have compared this to “Tron” – and rightfully so, given how derivative it feels. The dialogue is pure B-movie, the Swarm and Nucleus in particular given lines even more ludicrous than the ones they had on television.
Philip Olivier does hilarious things with his villainous dialogue, and clearly loves every moment he gets as the bad guy. I also appreciated Big Finish getting John Leeson back to voice the Nucleus again, and I must admit his vocal work is great. Sylvester McCoy, though, is anything but: it sounds like he’s reading the script for the first time as he performs it, rolling his “R”s to an unbelievable extent and using confused inflections when an “R” isn’t around. McCoy remains my favorite Doctor to this day, but this performance isn’t good enough. Sophie Aldred gives her usual performance, which isn’t a criticism except for the fact that this story shouldn’t feature Ace-as-usual.
I’ve gone on for long enough. This is reheated, derivative, unnecessary Doctor Who, in a release slot that should have been anything but. Pretty typical of the monthly range of late, sadly – and what a perfect time for my subscription to run out, huh?
Bad.
4/10