The planet Colophos is a dead world. Nothing but dust and rubble – and the ruins of a once-great civilisation. But is it really as dead as it appears? When the Doctor and Leela land, joined by the crew of the Oligarch survey ship, it’s not long before they receive a communication from one of the ruins. A communication from Astaroth Morax, the last of the Colophon. Attended by a sadistic robot nurse, Morax is in a wheelchair and bound in bandages to conceal his terrible injuries. But is he really as powerless as he seems? What became of the rest of his race – and why didn’t he die with them?
Entering his lair, the Doctor uncovers a terrifying secret…
LAST OF THE COLOPHON
The fifth release in the third series of Fourth Doctor Adventures, Jonathan Morris’s “Last of the Colophon” is yet another in a long series of traditional runarounds, but it’s confident and smart enough to be successful in spite of this. It’s just a shame there isn’t very much to say about it.
You really couldn’t ask for a more predictable story, and this is the primary downfall of “Last of the Colophon.” So when the Doctor and Leela discover the last survivor of a long-dead race, being held captive apparently against his will, it’s not a question of if he will turn out to be a deranged megalomaniac, it’s a question of when. And since it’s Big Finish, and since they have to adhere to the episodic structure, “when” comes right near the end of the first episode, meaning most of it is just an exercise in killing time until the revelation. Fortunately, Morris realizes “he’s evil!” isn’t enough to support the cliffhanger, so he brings in a second, more surprising revelation: Morax (Gareth Thomas) is also invisible! This is the story’s one unpredictable moment, and bodes well for the second episode.
Naturally, the second episode does nothing interesting with the revelation. Morax uses his invisibility to stalk and kill his enemies. There’s a fake ending where the Doctor and Leela head back to the TARDIS, but it’s so excruciatingly drawn-out that it’s obviously about to reveal that Morax survived an explosion and is still around. And then stuff like this: Quick, hurry onto the bridge! Shut the door! Whew, we escaped Morax! You don’t think he snuck through the door with us, do you? Nah! Oh crap, he did! Also, I’m not sure Morris thought this through all the way – an invisible character is threatening because he can’t be seen, but this is audio drama and we can’t see any of the other characters, either. So we rely on the characters to tell us what’s going on – but they don’t know because they can’t see him. It doesn’t hold together as well as it should, and I can’t help but think this is a reason
There are a couple of very entertaining scenes featuring Leela and Morax doing battle, though. There’s no question that Morris is one of the most talented writers on the BF roster, and his script coupled with the performances from Tom Baker and Louise Jameson is worth an above average rating even if it doesn’t push any boundaries. The supporting cast is very skilled, the story moves along at a good pace in the second half – this is a solid, entertaining slice of Doctor Who. But yet again I am left wishing for more: you’ve got the last survivor of an alien race, you’ve got some brief attention paid to the idea that invisibility leads to amorality, you’ve got supporting characters of questionable morality of their own – and all we get from this is running up and down corridors. Nicholas Briggs directs well, the sound design from Jamie Robertson is solid – I enjoyed this, but could we please have something with a little depth? Maybe something to do with the Doctor/Leela conflict from early in the season that’s been completely abandoned? Please?
Eh, not bad.
6/10