Mythical creatures stalk the streets of a spaceborne city populated by statues. Soon after arriving, the Doctor crosses in to the Dreamtime.
Mythical creatures stalk the streets of a spaceborne city populated by statues. Soon after arriving, the Doctor crosses in to the Dreamtime.
DREAMTIME
To call the run of Big Finish audios from 2004 onwards a “rut” would be somewhat unfair, given that I’ve given more “7” ratings recently than I care to count — but the fact remains that the excellent play seems to have escaped BF’s grasp of late. Enter Simon A. Forward, an author I greatly admire — his BBC novels “Drift” and “Emotional Chemistry” were both excellent, his Telos novella “Shell Shock” was stunning, and his previous audio “The Sandman” was, and still is, one of the best of the range. Dreamtime, his latest script and Big Finish’s March 2005 offering, features some brilliant writing — but unfortunately production flaws render this yet another missed opportunity for Big Finish to achieve superiority.
This is a relatively unique script in many ways. The plot and its conflicts are quite conceptual — there’s very little in terms of pure action or direct conflict — and yet it succeeds by turning up the atmosphere and allowing the Aboriginal mythology to police itself. Some have complained that there is little to no explanation of the Dreamtime and this mythology, but I feel that such explanations would have ruined the mood. Furthermore, there is no villain as such, and what dangers there are are by their nature rather nonthreatening — but the proceedings never become unbelievable.
Episode one is, additionally, one of the best I have ever heard. From the wonderfully diverting opening, to the arrival of the TARDIS on a mysteriously empty Earth city/landmark floating in space, to the discovery of the statutes and the inevitable realization that they used to be people, this is gripping stuff and comes across as the sort of thing that would work amazingly on television. The final three episodes aren’t weak, but it’d be almost impossible for them to measure up: for 25 minutes, at least, I thought I was listening to a masterpiece.
Unfortunately, the acting told another story. Many have praised the acting in Dreamtime, and I honestly cannot see why — and the faults begin with Sylvester McCoy. Yet again, he sounds as though he’s never seen the script before: he frequently gets inflections completely wrong and rolls his “r”s far too often. Certain scenes — those with his companions, or those where his righteous anger come forth — capture the old magic, and his performance as the “death” version of his character is chilling. But there are just as many bad points as good. Listen to The Fearmonger, or Project: Lazarus, or Master — these are great performances from McCoy, and prove he can act as well as anyone. So why doesn’t he do it here?
Perhaps the most surprising performance in this play comes from Sophie Aldred — she’s actually great! Forward very casually adds to the character’s maturity, while shying away from the ridiculous “McShane” thing whenever possible, and Aldred turns in a solid, assured performance. She works better as the assured counterpart to Hex’s wide-eyed amazement, and her confident leadership here is much more convincing than her corresponding characterization in the NA audios.
Philip Olivier makes his first official appearance as a companion, and Forward writes a solidly natural progression from his appearance in The Harvest — even if, apparently, this story wasn’t supposed to be released in this slot. Hex’s medical background comes to the fore quite nicely: though he’s overwhelmed by the alien environments, he rapidly asserts himself in stressful situations, just as would be necessary in an ER. I like this character — he could be a much more modern Harry Sullivan, maybe?
As for the supporting cast, Steffan Rhodri and Tamzin Griffin turn in solid performances as the two Galyari — I like Forward’s characterization here and he works in Sandman continuity without it sticking out. John Scholes is excellent as Baiame, too — he portrays a fascinating, mysterious character who adds to the play’s atmosphere. But then we come to the rest of the supporting cast. The liner notes say the UK is “pretty full of Aussie thespians” — why, because they can’t find work in Australia? The “human” actors are stunningly poor, barely seeming to grasp basic concepts of performance, wrongly enunciating words, and catastrophically failing to inject the play with any sort of emotional resonance. This doesn’t measure up to a professional standard, in my opinion.
Which is a shame, because the rest of the production is so good. Steve Foxon’s sound design is magnificent — atmosphere takes an appropriate script and a wonderful soundscape, and Foxon comes through perfectly here. Gary Russell seems to have a fine grasp of the script through his direction, but some of the acting faults must lay at his feet as well as those of the actors in question. Overall, though, the sound on display here is some of the most beautiful BF has released.
A shame, then, that the acting was such a disaster, given that we’ve got a strong script supported by excellent design. Merely competent performances would rate Dreamtime at least an 8, possibly a 9, but as it stands, that can’t happen. It’s worth hearing, and Forward is to be commended on his writing, but ultimately this is yet another BF offering that fails to reach any heights of greatness.
Recommended all the same.
7/10
Multicultural Dreams
Doctor Who: Dreamtime
Written by Simon A Forward
Starring Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred and Philip Olivier
The TARDIS, carrying the Doctor, Ace, and new recruit Hex, materialises in a settlement around Ayers Rock that turns out to be part of a piloted asteroid floating in space. If that isn’t enough to wet the appetite of a Doctor Who fan I don’t know what is!
The story opens as the new boy get to grips with his surroundings. Hex was created to breathe new life into a Doctor/Companion team that had been exploited like no other. The New Adventures ‘era’ took Ace on a journey no one could have predicted. The teenage misfit had become, over 40 novels, several comic strips, and even a couple of audios, a Time Protecting Soldier!
Big Finish, under the reigns of Gary Russell, made the decision to ‘ignore’ this timeline and give the Ace we were familiar with on television another chance to mature. After a horrifying experience in Nazi Germany Ace decides to ‘grow up,’ and starts calling herself McShane. As ideas go it probably ranks as Big Finishes all time worst. How many women like to be known by their surname? Thankfully the idea burnt itself out after a handful of stories and came in at the time of a much better one. Hex!
Thomas Hector Schofield is the young nurse who first encountered the Doctor and McShane at St Gart’s Hospital, during a particularly gruesome tale involving body parts. This is his second adventure and we get his reactions to alien races and seeing a familiar landmark under the darkness of space. As images go it’s a compelling one. Philip Olivier was an inspired choice to play Hex. He was the first ‘star name’ to play a Big Finish companion, and it’s nice to see him playing against type as a charming, nice natured, kind young man, as opposed to the scallies and heartbreakers he is more well known for.
The story concerns refugees from a doomed Earth. They have chosen a rather unique form of travel by being able to harness the spirit of the earth around Ayers Rock and piloting it into space. They have been able to do this thanks to the power of a mysterious guru known as Baiame. The plan is to find an inhabitable planet and begin again, the replanted Ayers Rock providing the terraforming template for the new world.
When the Doctor and his friends arrive Ayers Rock is a dead place, with its people and buildings turning to stone and being dragged back into the earth. The terraforming has gone wrong. With only a handful of survivors and a couple of passing Galyari, an alien race of traders, to help it’s a race against time to save the ‘Uluru’ colony from extinction.
Dreamtime is a densely written story, typical of its Big Finish era – Gary liked them dark and foreboding! There are twists and turns, returning Big Finish aliens, a bleak set up, more angst from Ace (again!), and a premise that requires attention. The imagery of the set up is impressive, especially when witnessed through Hex’s eyes. Visions of an asteroid containing Ayer’s Rock travelling beneath a sea of stars are stirring, as is the imagery created by the detachment scenes throughout the play – on television with the right budget they would have looked spectacular.
The situation is interesting, taking the well used scenario of refugees abandoning a doomed Earth for pastures new. As with The Ark In Space or The Mysterious Planet you get the sense of bravery and fear in the undertaking. It’s the choice between certain death and taking an impossible risk that will almost certainly lead to certain death.
Exploring the area the TARDIS crew encounter embittered, humourless, frightened survivors. The Doctor is sucked into the Dreamtime and finds his way back to the past and the moment of embarkation. There he meets the enigmatic Baiame and uncovers the secrets of the rock. His companions meanwhile attempt to discover survivors in the present by journeying down into the tunnels beneath the rock. There, horrors of their own await them.
Overall the play demands a lot of attention from the listener. The story isn’t easy to follow in just one sitting. The performances are somewhat detached, especially Sylvester McCoy, who gives a somewhat ‘lazy’ interpretation of the Doctor – he’s seen and done it all before. Philip Oliver is on good form, and I enjoyed Jef Higgins as Commander Whitten, a man determined to carry out his duty despite the consequences to himself and his colleagues.
Equally spaced out are the soundtrack and sound effects. They really add to the atmosphere of a dying city out in the depths of space. It’s not a play to be listened too whilst relaxing though, as it will send you off to sleep! I found the scenes in Baiame’s layer to be particularly ‘trippy.’
Overall a very satisfying release. It’s not for everyone though.
3/5