On the planet Cray, the Doctor and Nyssa are drawn in to a deadly game where losing means death.
1 Comment
Styre
on May 8, 2016 at 12:25 AM
THE GAME
In his author’s note, scriptwriter Darin Henry commented that the fifth Doctor had never been given the chance to tackle a memorable Doctor Who experience: the six-part story. Of course, at the time producer John Nathan-Turner had done away with the six-part story, making this feat impossible for Peter Davison — but with the aid of Big Finish, Davison finally became able to fill this monstrous hole in his Doctor Who career. And unlike many of its predecessors, this six-part story is quite good.
Henry has a long career in comedy television scriptwriting, and it shows in this script. Though the plot doesn’t always make a great deal of sense, Henry has an excellent sense of dramatic pacing: there isn’t a scene here which outstays its welcome while the narrative throws in a new twist every time the story seems to be getting repetitive. This alone sets The Game above many Big Finish plays — the author clearly knows how to keep his audience interested, and true to form, the play never gets boring. It’s fairly obvious from the beginning how the game of naxy is actually played, but it’s also a fairly believable degeneration from a real game in context.
Unfortunately, despite its length, the play also bears a striking resemblance to many half-hour television comedies in negative ways: there is little to no character development, for example. While Carlisle is a believable character, his relationship with Nyssa seems forced and hurried. Her decision (later changed, obviously) to leave the TARDIS is abrupt and not supported particularly well by the script. Secondly, Henry struggles with the audio format to some extent: the use of a play-by-play commentator to call the action was a brilliant move (even if his call of his own death is a bit too silly), but once Diblick is removed from the play, Henry is forced to resort to clunky descriptive dialogue. This is at its worst at the climax of part six, which is not the place where you want poor dialogue to sneak into the script.
Peter Davison is, as usual, excellent as the fifth Doctor. Surrounding the fifth Doctor with unspeakable violence works rather well, and his ability to (barely) control it here provides an unintentional yet fascinating point of comparison with his behavior in his final television episodes. Of course, it’s a great help to Davison that he doesn’t physically have to act the part as written — but he delivers his lines with such desperation that it’s easy to believe that he’s in mortal danger.
Sarah Sutton makes her first appearance for Big Finish since all the way back in Creatures of Beauty, and shows no difficulty in returning to the role. Some deride her performances as wooden — I think there’s a surprising degree of subtlety and restraint on display. Her relationship with Carlisle is touching, too, even if her aforementioned decision to leave the TARDIS is somewhat unbelievable.
And speaking of Carlisle, our attention must turn to William Russell, original companion Ian Chesterton, returning to Doctor Who for the first time since 1966. Russell, one of the most talented regular actors in the history of the series, proves here that he’s still got it with a brilliant performance as Lord Carlisle. This is easily the best character in Henry’s script, which helps, but Russell plays the character perfectly: at the start of the play, it’s seemingly obvious that Carlisle is a brilliant negotiator that pretends to be a senile old man to take advantage of his opponent — but all of this is a facade, as Carlisle really is a helpless old man with little diplomatic skill. His relationship with the Doctor is close to unique to performed Doctor Who, if not to the books, and his final scene is quite touching. All in all, this is an amazing performance.
Unfortunately, the rest of the supporting cast is not nearly as interesting. Christopher Ellison is over the top and cliched as Morian, a character that, despite his crucial involvement in the plot, never proves interesting or compelling. Greg Donaldson and Dickon Tolson don’t even beg comment for their roles as the opposing coaches, so unmemorable were they. Ursula Burton is horrible as Faye, too — maybe I’m just not used to hearing American accents in Doctor Who plays? And while Jonathan Pearce does his job, I’m curious if he sounds like the typical English pxp announcer — the average American play by play style is much different, and the lines seem to have been written with an American announcer in mind.
Gareth Jenkins does phenomenal work on the sound design, somehow managing to convincingly recreate the sound of a sports stadium from field level. Andy Hardwick’s music is suitably energetic, too. Gary Russell’s direction doesn’t do much with the actors, unfortunately, but the pacing here is some of the best in BF history and is, more than anything, the saving grace of The Game. The cover is wonderful — but why are they at Busch Stadium? 😉
Overall, The Game is yet another solid entry in the BF canon. Though the plot doesn’t make a good deal of sense, and some of the acting isn’t up to par, the pacing and the performances of the leads ensure that The Game is never anything less than fun to hear. I realize as I give this play yet another 7/10 that I haven’t given any release an 8 or better since Arrangements for War, almost a year ago — here’s hoping that BF hasn’t settled only for above-average releases.
THE GAME
In his author’s note, scriptwriter Darin Henry commented that the fifth Doctor had never been given the chance to tackle a memorable Doctor Who experience: the six-part story. Of course, at the time producer John Nathan-Turner had done away with the six-part story, making this feat impossible for Peter Davison — but with the aid of Big Finish, Davison finally became able to fill this monstrous hole in his Doctor Who career. And unlike many of its predecessors, this six-part story is quite good.
Henry has a long career in comedy television scriptwriting, and it shows in this script. Though the plot doesn’t always make a great deal of sense, Henry has an excellent sense of dramatic pacing: there isn’t a scene here which outstays its welcome while the narrative throws in a new twist every time the story seems to be getting repetitive. This alone sets The Game above many Big Finish plays — the author clearly knows how to keep his audience interested, and true to form, the play never gets boring. It’s fairly obvious from the beginning how the game of naxy is actually played, but it’s also a fairly believable degeneration from a real game in context.
Unfortunately, despite its length, the play also bears a striking resemblance to many half-hour television comedies in negative ways: there is little to no character development, for example. While Carlisle is a believable character, his relationship with Nyssa seems forced and hurried. Her decision (later changed, obviously) to leave the TARDIS is abrupt and not supported particularly well by the script. Secondly, Henry struggles with the audio format to some extent: the use of a play-by-play commentator to call the action was a brilliant move (even if his call of his own death is a bit too silly), but once Diblick is removed from the play, Henry is forced to resort to clunky descriptive dialogue. This is at its worst at the climax of part six, which is not the place where you want poor dialogue to sneak into the script.
Peter Davison is, as usual, excellent as the fifth Doctor. Surrounding the fifth Doctor with unspeakable violence works rather well, and his ability to (barely) control it here provides an unintentional yet fascinating point of comparison with his behavior in his final television episodes. Of course, it’s a great help to Davison that he doesn’t physically have to act the part as written — but he delivers his lines with such desperation that it’s easy to believe that he’s in mortal danger.
Sarah Sutton makes her first appearance for Big Finish since all the way back in Creatures of Beauty, and shows no difficulty in returning to the role. Some deride her performances as wooden — I think there’s a surprising degree of subtlety and restraint on display. Her relationship with Carlisle is touching, too, even if her aforementioned decision to leave the TARDIS is somewhat unbelievable.
And speaking of Carlisle, our attention must turn to William Russell, original companion Ian Chesterton, returning to Doctor Who for the first time since 1966. Russell, one of the most talented regular actors in the history of the series, proves here that he’s still got it with a brilliant performance as Lord Carlisle. This is easily the best character in Henry’s script, which helps, but Russell plays the character perfectly: at the start of the play, it’s seemingly obvious that Carlisle is a brilliant negotiator that pretends to be a senile old man to take advantage of his opponent — but all of this is a facade, as Carlisle really is a helpless old man with little diplomatic skill. His relationship with the Doctor is close to unique to performed Doctor Who, if not to the books, and his final scene is quite touching. All in all, this is an amazing performance.
Unfortunately, the rest of the supporting cast is not nearly as interesting. Christopher Ellison is over the top and cliched as Morian, a character that, despite his crucial involvement in the plot, never proves interesting or compelling. Greg Donaldson and Dickon Tolson don’t even beg comment for their roles as the opposing coaches, so unmemorable were they. Ursula Burton is horrible as Faye, too — maybe I’m just not used to hearing American accents in Doctor Who plays? And while Jonathan Pearce does his job, I’m curious if he sounds like the typical English pxp announcer — the average American play by play style is much different, and the lines seem to have been written with an American announcer in mind.
Gareth Jenkins does phenomenal work on the sound design, somehow managing to convincingly recreate the sound of a sports stadium from field level. Andy Hardwick’s music is suitably energetic, too. Gary Russell’s direction doesn’t do much with the actors, unfortunately, but the pacing here is some of the best in BF history and is, more than anything, the saving grace of The Game. The cover is wonderful — but why are they at Busch Stadium? 😉
Overall, The Game is yet another solid entry in the BF canon. Though the plot doesn’t make a good deal of sense, and some of the acting isn’t up to par, the pacing and the performances of the leads ensure that The Game is never anything less than fun to hear. I realize as I give this play yet another 7/10 that I haven’t given any release an 8 or better since Arrangements for War, almost a year ago — here’s hoping that BF hasn’t settled only for above-average releases.
Recommended nonetheless.
7/10