DOCTOR WHO MAIN RANGE REVIEW
219: ABSOLUTE POWER
By Jack Ryan
BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
I freakin loved this trilogy. Order Of The Daleks was just bloody brilliant (as I've said) and the other two... well, let's talk about them. Absolute Power is the only one without any returning elements and as such, fits nicely into the middle of the second Constance Clarke series. And it deserves to be called the Constance Clarke series for reasons which I'll get into pretty soon. So how did it do? Pretty good, in my opinion....
Something happened.... long ago.... something major happened on the Planet Teymah. One day, all life vanished. No one knows why or how. All that's known is that it was an AELE: an Anomalous Extinction Level Event. So, of course galactic entrepreneur Lyan Yce should launch a huge archaeological dig event to find out what happened. Lyam's interested, his wife, Florrie is interested and, of course, when The Doctor and Constance Clarke turn up, they're interested. But soon, they come across something bizzare, and when they find out what it is and what it means, they're going to wish they never became interested. The influence of the Teymahrians still exists, and they are not the only secrets being uncovered...
So after proving himself with Terrahawks and several directing jobs on the main range, the legendary Jamie Anderson is finally writing his first full two-hour script for the range. After breaking into it with his half-hour story Come Die With Me in December 2015's anthology, You Are The Doctor and Other Stories, Anderson's writing and directorial skills in this release are at their absolute finest. Anderson has constructed a near perfect thriller/mild horror film, like the Mummy movies from the 90s. In fact, even the influence of his father, Gerry Anderson's work can be felt in some places in this story. All these elements are combined together to form a brilliant script that is, quite simply, breathtaking to listen to.
And to add to that breathtaking script, we have a breathtaking cast. Joining Colin Baker and Miranda Raison are a fantastic group of names that I didn't initially know. And as I have said before, sometimes that's a good thing. It means that there aren't any big roles that eclipse the actor's performance in the story and that they can be judged on their performance in the story alone. And in this, everyone is brilliant. Paul Reynolds as the narcissistic entrepreneur, Jenny Bede as the seemingly dim wife who knows far more than what she lets on, Arian Nik as the hopelessly romantic assistant who enjoys Constance's company, and Neil Edmond, Gary Martin and Esther Hall rounding it off, everyone is just perfect and play it throughout with an air of effortlessness that not many actors can truly pull off.
And then we have the music and sound design, both done for this release by newcomer Joe Kraemer. And.... sorry, Jamie and Benji, I've found my new favourite BF soundman! Every tune, every sound, every composition in this release is just gob-smackingly perfect. I've no other way to describe it, other than, somehow, Kraemer has managed to evoke a John Williams-esque feeling in every second it plays. Nick, Jason, if you're reading, KEEP this chap! He is just a pure fountain of talent!
This was brilliant. Just brilliant. The only problem I had was that I found it a bit disjointed at times, but that was more down to me listening to it on and off on first hearing. Listening to it on a single runthrough, it is a brilliantly epic and perfect story for anyone with an interest in Doctor Who, the works of Gerry Anderson or just audio dramas in general. I have no other words for it apart from...
VERDICT: 5/5 Perfect. Just perfect. ;D
No comments:
Post a Comment