In the Vortex, the TARDIS comes under a form of psychic attack – resulting in the abductions of first Adric, then Tegan. Following their trail, the Doctor and Nyssa arrive under the lurid skies of the planet Zaltys, whose entire population has vanished in strange circumstances. Soon, they discover that Zaltys is now the target of treasure seekers, come to scavenge this so-called Planet of the Dead…
Meanwhile, deep below the planet’s surface, Adric learns the earth-shattering reason why the people of Zaltys disappeared… and why they were wise to do so. And Tegan is, quite literally, in the dark – enduring interrogation by the mysterious Clarimonde. Any friend of the Doctor’s is Clarimonde’s enemy… because theirs is a blood feud!
ZALTYS
I don’t often judge stories by their titles; nevertheless, a title can tell you a great deal about the story contained within. When it comes to Matthew J. Elliott’s “Zaltys,” the third release in the 2017 monthly range, the title is the name of the planet on which the story takes place. If you find that flat and uninspiring, fear not – the rest of the story is equally flat and equally uninspiring.
The problem with “Zaltys” can be summed up quite simply: it doesn’t know what it wants to do. The story’s main villain is a “necro-biological” named Clarimonde (Niamh Cusack) who has personal history with the Doctor – once upon a time, the third Doctor and Jo defeated her. She spends the story longing for revenge on the Doctor, glorying in abducting one of his companions, and instructing her lackey to keep the Doctor alive so she may personally drink his blood. Everything is setting up a confrontation between the two characters, and then she’s killed off before they meet and the story ends. And it’s not like this was an attempt to wrong-foot the audience; there’s no alternate threat introduced and no reason given to expect anything new. So why foreground their personal history to such an extent? Furthermore, the story takes pains in the first episode to remind the listener that Adric has experience fighting vampires – and he doesn’t encounter them either!
The actual plot doesn’t fare much better, not least because it takes until the end of episode three for the story to reveal the actual conflict. The people of Zaltys have been duped into putting their entire population into cryogenic storage, thinking a meteor is coming to wipe out their civilization. But the “meteor” is actually a ship carrying the necro-biologicals, who plan to land on the planet and feed upon the sleeping population. Adric figures out that the “meteor” isn’t real after looking at the data for about eight seconds. I understand that Adric is particularly gifted in mathematics, but this is a society that built an entire underground cryogenic complex capable of supporting its entire population in what sounds like a matter of months. Nobody looked at the data and raised an eyebrow? Zaltys is also a deeply insular society that forbids its people from interacting with alien life. Understandably, this upsets Perrault (Sean Barrett), so he… orchestrates the genocide of his people and plans to become a vampire? That seems excessive – and more importantly, it turns what could have been an interesting or even sympathetic character into a raving maniac.
Perhaps the only interesting character is Gevaudan (Philip Franks), a telepathic Vulpine who is the only alien living on Zaltys. He laments the loss of his mate and his pack, and he is keenly aware of his status on a planet that has little interest in making him feel welcome. His relationship with Nyssa is compelling as well, as it introduces the idea of Nyssa’s psychic abilities. Tegan is sidelined for the entire story – she spends the vast majority of it aboard the vampire ship hiding in the darkness and has no impact on the story’s outcome. Even the Doctor is oddly passive – after he figures out what’s happening, he can’t come up with a solution, and it falls to one of the guest characters to save the day.
It’s a shame about the script, because the production is first-rate. Barnaby Edwards is still one of Big Finish’s finest directors, and here he has assembled a particularly strong cast. The sound design and music from Steve Foxon are also of superior quality. Overall, though, “Zaltys” is a disappointment. For a story featuring planet-spanning, genocidal threats, it feels small and unimaginative. Not only is it not about anything in particular, it doesn’t even feel like it *wants* to be about anything – it’s just a loose assembly of set pieces around which some uneventful moments happen until it’s time for the credits to roll. I’ve often criticized Big Finish stories for feeling pointless, but “Zaltys” is a particular offender in this area.
Shrug.
4/10