Welcome aboard the space vessel Vancouver. Its mission: to guard a vast shipment of grain from Earth to the planet Safenesthome.
Its Captain is called Ace. She seems a little unsure of herself. In fact, some might almost think she was new to the job…
Its medical officer is called simply ‘The Doctor’, and he’s perhaps not all he seems either.
When mysterious ships target the Vancouver, Ace and the Doctor are pushed to the limit. Meanwhile, there’s something nasty in the grain containers. And it’s not very happy…
THE LOST STORIES: EARTH AID
And so, Big Finish’s “season 27” audios – and their second series of Lost Stories – comes to a close with “Earth Aid,” co-written by Andrew Cartmel and Ben Aaronovitch. Much like the other stories in this run, “Earth Aid” has a disjointed feel, as though it’s a series of set pieces cobbled together – but in this case the central plot is much stronger, and the overall feeling is one of success. But when season 27 is considered as a whole, something is decidedly lacking.
I love the central conceit of this story: the Doctor has put Ace in charge of a starship and she’s left largely to fend for herself. It’s true that the specific reasons for this are left unexplained, but sometimes I enjoy being thrown into the middle of a story in this manner. The authors focus on Ace being out of her depth, and Sophie Aldred pulls it off to largely hilarious effect, relying almost entirely on what she remembers from Star Trek: The Next Generation for her command style. As such, there’s lots of “Make it so” and “Engage” thrown around, and the Doctor slyly acknowledges this with an offer of Earl Grey tea. The Doctor, a Trekkie? Why not. I’ve seen this criticized as a Star Trek parody, but it’s really not – it’s just someone relying on Star Trek clichés while pretending to be a starship captain. Unlike the tedious parody of “Bang-Bang-a-Boom,” everyone except Ace is thoroughly competent at their jobs, making “Earth Aid” much more enjoyable.
We’re also left with the problem of Raine, who isn’t given very much to do. After a fun inversion of her introductory scene from “Crime of the Century,” she spends most of the remainder of the story following the Doctor around and asking questions – and while this is traditional companion work, we should be expecting more from the same creative team that gave us Ace. She’s a fun character, I like her attitude, and Beth Chalmers is nothing but appealing, but I wish this series had done more to develop her character. The Doctor does well, though – in fact, Sylvester McCoy has had some great material in all four of these releases. Perhaps best of all is the scene in which the Metatraxi attempt to taunt him to death, which starts comical but rapidly becomes deadly serious. It’s reminiscent of the confrontation with Davros in “Journey’s End,” but falls down in comparison since it seems to come out of nowhere.
I think the primary difference between this and “Animal” is that “Earth Aid” takes itself seriously. The Metatraxi are presented as figures of fun through most of the story, but become dangerous adversaries when finally released. The grubs have some silly lines – and I love Alex Mallinson’s portrayal – but they’re threatening at heart as well. While the Doctor’s plan, if he even has one, is vague at best, there’s still a defined, threatening antagonist to work against, something “Animal” was missing. This doesn’t entirely save the story, as the resolution comes out of nowhere along with everything else, and seems surprisingly easy. In fact, I’d almost say that “Earth Aid” feels like it was made up as the authors went along – and if that’s true, the fact that it holds together as well as it does is impressive.
If this had been produced for television as season 27, how would we remember it? It’s certainly the most languid season in the history of the program, with very little urgency in any of the four stories. It introduces a new companion with an interesting story but doesn’t do as much as it could to develop her. It retains Ace, often showing the Doctor putting more trust in her to accomplish his goals. What’s most curious, though, is the lack of mythology: apart from a brief appearance by the Time Lords in the first story, there’s nothing here greater than the Doctor. No evil from the dawn of time, no Gods of Ragnarok, no Fenric, nothing. And that’s a mistake with this Doctor: we need to know that his manipulative ways are in the service of something greater. Every Doctor can land in the middle of a dangerous situation and resolve it; the seventh Doctor operates his master plans to defeat adversaries that otherwise could defeat him. And say what you will about the Metatraxi, but they’re clearly no match for a Time Lord.
On its own, “Earth Aid” is an entertaining listen with some fine performances. The production, from director Ken Bentley and sound designer Simon Robinson, is successful. Indeed, “season 27” as a whole is worth hearing for how it captures the feeling of the late TV seasons. But as a season, it fizzles – it just seems unimportant, like a few old friends getting together for a night of reminiscing and then quietly leaving. I enjoyed it, I’m glad I had the experience, but I can’t see myself returning to it in the foreseeable future.
6/10