The Sixth Doctor and Evelyn meet Charles Darwin on the Galapagos Islands where the Silurians have awoken.
1 Comment
Styre
on May 7, 2016 at 10:27 PM
BLOODTIDE
Yet another old monster would return to Big Finish in Bloodtide, the company’s 22nd Doctor Who release. Jonathan Morris, who, as far as I’m aware, had not yet been published as the author of the celebrated Festival of Death, was tabbed as the author. The result? A story that deals with religious matters in a surprisingly forthright matter, but one which also fails to climb above an average level of achievement.
I should start by pointing out that I believe in evolution and that I generally consider those that embrace creationism to be demonstrating some level of willful ignorance. However, I’m not sure if the Doctor should be quite so challenging of the tenets of organized religion. Yes, he’s a rationalist, and no, he’s not likely to openly encourage an ignorant viewpoint, but a deleted line has the Doctor saying “[e]nlightenment will always defeat ignorance” in regard to evolutionary theory over religion. I do, however, love the image of a man’s belief in God being torn down by the sight of an alien race, something I’ve always envisioned happening on a mass scale if the aliens ever do land on the White House lawn.
Unfortunately, the nature of the story leads to a conundrum. Yes, it’s interesting to reveal the Silurians as having shaped the course of man’s evolutionary development (joining a million other races, but that’s perfectly okay with me), but unfortunately Morris’s decision to tell a Silurian story just like the other two leads to a strong sense of sameness. There are good Silurians and bad Silurians and the Doctor in the middle, trying to get both sides to reconcile and achieve peace with humanity. There’s a virus, and a Myrka, and so on. As I’ve said in other places, repetition such as this doesn’t mean the final product will fail to equal the originals, but it does mean that the final product will struggle to do so.
Colin Baker’s first performance in almost a year is first-rate, as this most oratory of Doctors is given a strong stage from which to perform. His monologues on the nature of humanity compared to its potential superiors are gripping, Morris demonstrating a strong understanding of the character compared to his other incarnations. I particularly enjoyed his discussions with Darwin, especially at the conclusion of the episode where he requests anonymity for himself and Evelyn.
Speaking of Evelyn, this is a strong outing for Maggie Stables as well. Her character has the same spark of intelligence and sarcasm we’ve come to expect, but she’s much more subdued here, keeping her out of the “older Benny” trap into which many authors fall. Her self-aware dialogue while sabotaging the submersible actually works, which is somewhat rare for BF, but it’s a testament to Morris’s ability.
Unfortunately, the supporting cast does not do nearly as well. The Silurians blend together into the usual good/bad/scientist mold and, as such, Daniel Hogarth, Helen Goldwyn, and Jez Fielder are mostly unmemorable. Jane Goddard’s performance as Greta is almost too annoying for words — who on earth thought that performance with that character was a good idea? Sorry, but when she was killed, I cheered. Miles Richardson plays Darwin as written, and does a fine job, but his lines were just too heavy-handed for my taste. Everything Darwin said was an agony of some kind over the nature of evolution — it’s as though the man had some sort of mental disorder. Darwin came across as a mouthpiece for the author, something which generally removes me from belief in a particular medium. Robert Shearman, though, deserves a BAFTA for his turn as the Myrka.
As usual, Alistair Lock’s sound design is excellent. The Silurians sound almost exactly as they did on television, and the Myrka is made to sound threatening for the first time ever. As with most of Lock’s scores, this one is understated yet effective. Gary Russell’s direction is solid as well, though I maintain that he should correct some actors’ interpretations of their characters if those interpretations create more Gretas.
Bloodtide is a solid, ultratraditional Doctor Who tale that allows Colin Baker to take center stage and assume command of proceedings. Unfortunately, the themes aren’t subtle at all and there’s really nothing particularly original going on here, so it’s incredibly difficult to acclaim the play as anything better than average. Still a solid first BF effort for Morris.
BLOODTIDE
Yet another old monster would return to Big Finish in Bloodtide, the company’s 22nd Doctor Who release. Jonathan Morris, who, as far as I’m aware, had not yet been published as the author of the celebrated Festival of Death, was tabbed as the author. The result? A story that deals with religious matters in a surprisingly forthright matter, but one which also fails to climb above an average level of achievement.
I should start by pointing out that I believe in evolution and that I generally consider those that embrace creationism to be demonstrating some level of willful ignorance. However, I’m not sure if the Doctor should be quite so challenging of the tenets of organized religion. Yes, he’s a rationalist, and no, he’s not likely to openly encourage an ignorant viewpoint, but a deleted line has the Doctor saying “[e]nlightenment will always defeat ignorance” in regard to evolutionary theory over religion. I do, however, love the image of a man’s belief in God being torn down by the sight of an alien race, something I’ve always envisioned happening on a mass scale if the aliens ever do land on the White House lawn.
Unfortunately, the nature of the story leads to a conundrum. Yes, it’s interesting to reveal the Silurians as having shaped the course of man’s evolutionary development (joining a million other races, but that’s perfectly okay with me), but unfortunately Morris’s decision to tell a Silurian story just like the other two leads to a strong sense of sameness. There are good Silurians and bad Silurians and the Doctor in the middle, trying to get both sides to reconcile and achieve peace with humanity. There’s a virus, and a Myrka, and so on. As I’ve said in other places, repetition such as this doesn’t mean the final product will fail to equal the originals, but it does mean that the final product will struggle to do so.
Colin Baker’s first performance in almost a year is first-rate, as this most oratory of Doctors is given a strong stage from which to perform. His monologues on the nature of humanity compared to its potential superiors are gripping, Morris demonstrating a strong understanding of the character compared to his other incarnations. I particularly enjoyed his discussions with Darwin, especially at the conclusion of the episode where he requests anonymity for himself and Evelyn.
Speaking of Evelyn, this is a strong outing for Maggie Stables as well. Her character has the same spark of intelligence and sarcasm we’ve come to expect, but she’s much more subdued here, keeping her out of the “older Benny” trap into which many authors fall. Her self-aware dialogue while sabotaging the submersible actually works, which is somewhat rare for BF, but it’s a testament to Morris’s ability.
Unfortunately, the supporting cast does not do nearly as well. The Silurians blend together into the usual good/bad/scientist mold and, as such, Daniel Hogarth, Helen Goldwyn, and Jez Fielder are mostly unmemorable. Jane Goddard’s performance as Greta is almost too annoying for words — who on earth thought that performance with that character was a good idea? Sorry, but when she was killed, I cheered. Miles Richardson plays Darwin as written, and does a fine job, but his lines were just too heavy-handed for my taste. Everything Darwin said was an agony of some kind over the nature of evolution — it’s as though the man had some sort of mental disorder. Darwin came across as a mouthpiece for the author, something which generally removes me from belief in a particular medium. Robert Shearman, though, deserves a BAFTA for his turn as the Myrka.
As usual, Alistair Lock’s sound design is excellent. The Silurians sound almost exactly as they did on television, and the Myrka is made to sound threatening for the first time ever. As with most of Lock’s scores, this one is understated yet effective. Gary Russell’s direction is solid as well, though I maintain that he should correct some actors’ interpretations of their characters if those interpretations create more Gretas.
Bloodtide is a solid, ultratraditional Doctor Who tale that allows Colin Baker to take center stage and assume command of proceedings. Unfortunately, the themes aren’t subtle at all and there’s really nothing particularly original going on here, so it’s incredibly difficult to acclaim the play as anything better than average. Still a solid first BF effort for Morris.
6/10