The 7th Doctor visits Artaris and finally unravels the mystery his two previous incarnations discovered, as the planet faces slaughter on a massive scale and a return to barbarism.
The 7th Doctor visits Artaris and finally unravels the mystery his two previous incarnations discovered, as the planet faces slaughter on a massive scale and a return to barbarism.
EXCELIS DECAYS
With Paul McGann’s second season building to an epic climax, Big Finish’s parallel series of releases, the Excelis trilogy, draws to a bleak conclusion. While the initial release was an expectedly comedic travelogue from Paul Magrs, here we see Doctor Who novel author Craig Hinton go against type for his first audio script. And while Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor is usually either manic or manipulative, here we see him at the end of his life, much more calm and brooding. These factors combine to make a neat conclusion to the Excelis series — and the third installment is the best of the group.
It’s quite unexpected that Excelis Days is as bleak as it is, but ultimately this was the only logical conclusion to which the series could come. On the one hand, there’s the Relic, which serves in a way as the arbiter of the afterlife on Artaris, while on the other there’s Lord Sutton, who’s been around from the beginning orchestrating the development of the planet precisely to his insane scheme for control. It’s a brave step for Hinton to write the series’ end in nuclear fire, but it’s necessary: this is a situation too big for the Doctor, one which he can’t be expected to control.
Given his desperate situation, a powerful performance is required from Sylvester McCoy, and the actor comes through exceptionally well, surpassing some shaky performances in his last few appearances. It’s been said that McCoy can’t do anger, but I’ve always disagreed — he just needs strong direction to pull it off, and that’s exactly what he does here: McCoy’s outbursts of righteous anger are quite powerful. Indeed, the actor is required to run through a wide range of emotions, but never flags: his delivery of the final line is haunting. Hinton demonstrates a strong grasp of the character, capturing a unique time in the Doctor’s long life with admirable skill.
Opposite McCoy is, of course, Anthony Stewart Head, appearing as the third manifestation of Grayvorn, Lord Vaughan Sutton. This may be Head’s best performance in the trilogy: rather than the sometimes one-note Grayvorn and Maupassant, Sutton is a villain bordering on the edge of madness, and Head is utterly convincing as the man trying not to fall off that edge. By the play’s end, he’s lost his mind, and Head really gets his teeth into the role; this is a far cry from Grayvorn and the play is all the better for it. Ian Collier, meanwhile, had apparently been retired from acting before being cast in Excelis Decays, but it’s impossible to tell — his turn as Sallis is the best performance in the play, as his gravelly voice conveys perfectly the character’s world-weariness. I’d forgotten Mark Gatiss was in this, but his relatively brief performance as Baris is worthwhile. Unfortunately, though, Yee Jee Tso is in this — and he receives billing on the cover! Perhaps a “Danger: Bad!” sticker would have been more appropriate, as Tso is painfully wooden — quite why his performance in the TVM warrants BF celebrity casting is utterly beyond me.
On the production front, David Darlington is once again at the sound design helm, and he does not disappoint, investing the play with the same bleak, industrial feel demonstrated in the script. Gary Russell’s direction is excellent — this is a very wordy script but the action never flags, while the performances (save Tso, but you can’t squeeze blood from a stone) are excellent across the board. And I love the cover — the seventh Doctor looks absolutely perfect out of that stupid question mark jumper, and the background isn’t bad either.
Flawed, but still the best of the series.
7/10.
Overall, the Excelis series is something of a curiosity. It certainly served its purpose as a past Doctor alternative to the McGann arc, but it’s hard to say whether or not the series is particularly necessary on its own. I’ll say it’s worth owning, but not essential; it’s unique and features some great performances, but there’s nothing here that’ll go down in BF history either as a triumph or as a failure. It’s mainly an exploration of a planet’s history and, much like that planet, I’m afraid it’s doomed to fade into obscurity.