After the bloated mess that was fortieth anniversary tale Zagreus, the Eighth Doctor adventures continue to misfire with a story that is hamstrung by producer Gary Russell's brief to writer Rob Shearman of "a two-hander, Doc and Charley alone, lost in a new universe and being somewhat fractious". That Shearman makes it even half listenable is a minor miracle.
Following on from the events of Zagreus, the Doctor (Paul McGann) has been infected with anti-Time and can only control it if he leaves the normal universe. Taking his TARDIS into the Divergent Universe, he finds a world where he has lost his unique perception of time. Worse, he sacrificied everything so Charley (India Fisher) may live yet she has followed him into this strange new place. As he tells his young friend, this action renders his sacrifice meaningless. Trapped in a world of blinding light and with their senses dulling, the travellers find themselves at the accidental birth of a creature of pure sound. Evolving at an accelerated rate will the creature lead to the Doctor and Charley being rendered obselete or can the pair evolve themselves?
Shearman is incapable of being a bad writer but there's only so much you can do with the premise he's been presented with here. Why the producer would wish to start a new audio era for Big Finish's flagship range with a dull talky exploration of the Doctor and Charley's relationship, instead of plunging straight into a dazzling new adventure, is simply beyond me. That said, Shearman's tale of a creature of music, while elegent, is a little avant garde and the whole things feels more like experimental theatre rather than recognisable Doctor Who. There's no faulting the commited performances of our two leads and McGann gets to frame each episode with a fable in his wonderfully silky voice. In terms of the play's content, it's interesting to note, two years before the show blazed back onto TV, how much of the revived series DNA is present here, especially in the Doctor engaging in a romantic relationship with his companion. He admits that he loves Charley, which is something not even Russell T Davies could allow Doctor Ten to utter to Rose.
Of greater interest is the darker Doctor that McGann channels. Shorn of his name dropping and optimism, this is a wonderfully effective new reading of his character played to perfection by the actor. Never have we witnessed (up to this point anyway) a Doctor so bereft of hope and so cynical. At times you could almost believe that this Doctor could coolly walk away and leave it all behind, including Charley. So, all in all, Scherzo has interesting ideas and is not a total failure. That, however, does not mean it is any good.
GK Rating: ** The Blog of Delights
No comments:
Post a Comment