The Seventh Doctor and Ace find themselves incarcerated in Colditz Castle and the TARDIS in the hands of the Third Reich.
1 Comment
Styre
on May 7, 2016 at 10:40 PM
COLDITZ
With popular perception of the stagnation of the seventh Doctor/Ace pairing as growing stagnant, it was important for Big Finish to shake things up somehow, whether through changes to the characters or their dynamic. Using a Steve Lyons script to accomplish this should have made things smoother, given his prior performance with Mel in The Fires of Vulcan, but unfortunately a number of factors conspire to make Colditz average at best.
Of course, after only one trip to World War II in the entire 26 year run of the television series, the territory has become familiar ground in the novels — and now the audios join in with a trip to a German prison camp. Not that the era is bereft of dramatic value, but it seems overused — and this is directly underscored by Ace’s statement that she hates Nazis. Such a statement implies that she has had several prior experiences with Nazis, something which cannot be accounted for by The Curse of Fenric. Unfortunately that leaves the NAs as her source of Nazi encounters, leaving Colditz as a possible implicit acknowledgment of the continuity of the NAs.
Of course, Gary Russell is on record as saying “I don’t give a damn about what happened in the New Adventures.” This is clearly in relation to the continuity of Big Finish — Russell wrote an NA and commissioned two NA Big Finish audios, so it’s not like he dislikes the range — but unfortunately this meant that he felt it necessary to reinvent the character in a manner different from both the NAs and the TV series. The chosen manner? Put the character through exactly the same amount of stress she’s felt in a million other adventures but this time… change her name at the end! Yes! Notice, too, that she goes by McShane from here on: obviously, she’s grown up enough to do away with a nickname, but she’s still rejecting that stupid name Dorothy. Sounds like maturity to me. It also doesn’t help that the script gives no clue whatsoever that this is coming — but that’s hardly Lyons’ fault as he had the content ordered into the script after it was already written.
Of course, it doesn’t help that the performances of the regulars are lacking for the second consecutive McCoy outing. McCoy himself is below-average, sounding as though he hasn’t read the script before entering the studio. Most of his line readings are hurried and he’s clearly emoting as he goes — whatever the reason, someone needed to keep a tighter leash. There are a few moments where he recaptures the old power of his performance, but for the most part he’s just going through the motions. This is disappointing — he can clearly command the ear, as demonstrated in the earlier Lyons script The Fires of Vulcan.
Sophie Aldred hasn’t really ever been good as Ace and this trend continues here, as she yet again shouts her way through the script in an attempt to inject more of that “maturity” into the character. But then I’ve never liked her performance as Ace, and I find that it’s very difficult to get a great performance (but it’s possible: see The Fearmonger) from her.
I realize this sounds like a terribly negative review, and honestly the play isn’t that bad: Lyons’ script is fascinating, his usual time-paradox approach using the conceit of a future Doctor in imaginative fashion. The supporting cast is developed well and the actors are more than capable, with only David Tennant’s performance being anything less than excellent. Tracey Childs turns in a nicely desperate performance as Klein.
Of course, this is the story that’s been lambasted for awful production values, and ultimately the problems come down to levels. The effects by Toby Richards and Emily Baker sound accurate and the music is very good, but unfortunately nothing is mixed properly and the characters are constantly drowned out. Gary Russell’s direction is solid, but I really do find myself wishing that he had been more authoritative with the regulars — this pair, more than any other, seems to phone in performances.
With the various factors affecting Colditz, it would have been impossible for this play to have been anything better than average. Unfortunately, Lyons’ script is nowhere near his best Doctor Who work and the performances are flawed in places, meaning that Colditz is a true struggle. It’s still better than McGann’s first season or the works of Mike Tucker, but that isn’t saying much. Probably not worth picking up, but some will enjoy it all the same.
COLDITZ
With popular perception of the stagnation of the seventh Doctor/Ace pairing as growing stagnant, it was important for Big Finish to shake things up somehow, whether through changes to the characters or their dynamic. Using a Steve Lyons script to accomplish this should have made things smoother, given his prior performance with Mel in The Fires of Vulcan, but unfortunately a number of factors conspire to make Colditz average at best.
Of course, after only one trip to World War II in the entire 26 year run of the television series, the territory has become familiar ground in the novels — and now the audios join in with a trip to a German prison camp. Not that the era is bereft of dramatic value, but it seems overused — and this is directly underscored by Ace’s statement that she hates Nazis. Such a statement implies that she has had several prior experiences with Nazis, something which cannot be accounted for by The Curse of Fenric. Unfortunately that leaves the NAs as her source of Nazi encounters, leaving Colditz as a possible implicit acknowledgment of the continuity of the NAs.
Of course, Gary Russell is on record as saying “I don’t give a damn about what happened in the New Adventures.” This is clearly in relation to the continuity of Big Finish — Russell wrote an NA and commissioned two NA Big Finish audios, so it’s not like he dislikes the range — but unfortunately this meant that he felt it necessary to reinvent the character in a manner different from both the NAs and the TV series. The chosen manner? Put the character through exactly the same amount of stress she’s felt in a million other adventures but this time… change her name at the end! Yes! Notice, too, that she goes by McShane from here on: obviously, she’s grown up enough to do away with a nickname, but she’s still rejecting that stupid name Dorothy. Sounds like maturity to me. It also doesn’t help that the script gives no clue whatsoever that this is coming — but that’s hardly Lyons’ fault as he had the content ordered into the script after it was already written.
Of course, it doesn’t help that the performances of the regulars are lacking for the second consecutive McCoy outing. McCoy himself is below-average, sounding as though he hasn’t read the script before entering the studio. Most of his line readings are hurried and he’s clearly emoting as he goes — whatever the reason, someone needed to keep a tighter leash. There are a few moments where he recaptures the old power of his performance, but for the most part he’s just going through the motions. This is disappointing — he can clearly command the ear, as demonstrated in the earlier Lyons script The Fires of Vulcan.
Sophie Aldred hasn’t really ever been good as Ace and this trend continues here, as she yet again shouts her way through the script in an attempt to inject more of that “maturity” into the character. But then I’ve never liked her performance as Ace, and I find that it’s very difficult to get a great performance (but it’s possible: see The Fearmonger) from her.
I realize this sounds like a terribly negative review, and honestly the play isn’t that bad: Lyons’ script is fascinating, his usual time-paradox approach using the conceit of a future Doctor in imaginative fashion. The supporting cast is developed well and the actors are more than capable, with only David Tennant’s performance being anything less than excellent. Tracey Childs turns in a nicely desperate performance as Klein.
Of course, this is the story that’s been lambasted for awful production values, and ultimately the problems come down to levels. The effects by Toby Richards and Emily Baker sound accurate and the music is very good, but unfortunately nothing is mixed properly and the characters are constantly drowned out. Gary Russell’s direction is solid, but I really do find myself wishing that he had been more authoritative with the regulars — this pair, more than any other, seems to phone in performances.
With the various factors affecting Colditz, it would have been impossible for this play to have been anything better than average. Unfortunately, Lyons’ script is nowhere near his best Doctor Who work and the performances are flawed in places, meaning that Colditz is a true struggle. It’s still better than McGann’s first season or the works of Mike Tucker, but that isn’t saying much. Probably not worth picking up, but some will enjoy it all the same.
5/10