Sick of the same-old slaughter-appliances? In need of a killer new killing-machine? Then look no further than Garundel Galactic’s secret arms auction. Blasters, tanks, missiles and bombs – no bang too big or micro-laser too small. If you’ve got the credits, Garundel’s got the kill-sticks. (Cash buyers get preferential rates.)
In search of the key to a sinister alien technology, the Doctor, Klein and Will set their sights on an illicit intergalactic arms fair run by an old acquaintance – the slippery Urodelian crook, Garundel. But what are their chances of pulling off a particularly audacious heist from under the noses of Garundel and his alien clients, the ever-belligerent Sontarans…?
STARLIGHT ROBBERY
After the disappointing opening story “Persuasion,” the 2013 Sylvester McCoy trilogy rolls on with Matt Fitton’s “Starlight Robbery,” a caper story featuring multiple returning characters. It’s entertaining – much more so than its predecessor – and while it struggles with some inconsistencies, it’s still a worthwhile release.
There’s no question that this story is pitched for laughs. The humor is balanced with quite serious moments – appropriately so for Doctor Who – but with Garundel (Stuart Milligan) being promoted from supporting character in “Black and White” to lead antagonist, it’s hard for it not to seem silly. Milligan turns his Paul Lynde impression up to 11, and it’s actually quite impressive; the accent only slips for a brief moment or two across four episodes. Thankfully, Fitton grants Garundel some depth – but only upon his turn in the fourth episode. Before that, the character is resolutely one-note, vamping his way from scene to scene and overwhelming even the Sontarans when they’re together on screen. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with any of this, though it does start to grate by the end of the third part. After that, the story grows surprisingly dark, ending on an ominous note leading directly into the final part of the trilogy. Unlike some of Fitton’s previous stories, the shift in tone is quite natural, leading to a more rewarding production.
I’m not as sure about the regular characters, though. The Doctor is his usual self, pushing buttons behind the scenes, moving his companions into position to execute his plans. Klein, however, is given some awfully clunky dialogue: from her near-death undercover experience to her confrontations with the Sontarans, she’s often reduced to generic companion status, even being asked to actually exclaim “No! Was that really necessary?” at one point like an Eric Saward character. And then there’s Will Arrowsmith – he’s still the utterly useless geek stereotype, but at least he’s allowed to accomplish things here, and he’s even given something of a relationship. There has to be something significant coming with this character in “Daleks Among Us,” because he’s added absolutely nothing through two thirds of the trilogy.
For that matter, what’s this story doing after “Persuasion?” That story was unapologetically the first part of a trilogy: it didn’t come to any meaningful resolution, nor was it intended to. “Starlight Robbery,” on the other hand, is concerned largely with Garundel and the Sontarans while moving the arc story to the back burner. This leads to an awkward fit – it’s sort of like “Paper Cuts” coming after “Patient Zero,” where the story is entertaining enough but the overhanging arc elements make it seem unimportant. Big Finish often seem unsure of how to handle these trilogies: they’re most successful when the stories barely interrelate, as the most directly connected attempts always seem to contain at least one slipup.
On a more positive note, I love the Sontarans in this story. They’ve always been presented as “comedy aliens” in Doctor Who, but they’re at their best when they’re not self-aware: these Sontarans take themselves quite seriously, and their answers to questions are only funny from the listener’s perspective. It helps to have Dan Starkey, who’s pretty much established himself as the greatest-ever Sontaran performer by this point, but Fitton writes the Sontarans as dangerous, brilliant military thinkers, and that’s what makes them most effective. If the “But not for the Doctor!!!” cliffhanger is a bit silly, well, that’s just in keeping with the tone of the story.
The production front is successful as ever. Ken Bentley’s direction is unassailable, while Simon Robinson’s sound design easily captures the challenging setting of the auction. Howard Carter’s score is probably the best part, though, especially the bombastic Sontaran theme we’ve come to enjoy. Overall, “Starlight Robbery” is a success. I’m not entirely convinced by the characterization or the structure, but the tone is steady, the humor is entertaining, and the final episode is impressively ominous. Hopefully “Daleks Among Us” will provide a suitable conclusion.
Recommended.
7/10