"Okay, Matthew. We've one more story to fill for the 5th Doctor trilogy for 2017 and we want you to do it. Any ideas?"
"Um.......Okay, here's a thing, we set it up like a b-movie-esque horror story...."
"Yes..."
"We kidnap two of the companions and have them chases by werewolf and vampire creatures..."
"Okay...."
"The other two are held hostage by this crazy pilot one who slowly loses it...."
"Got it...."
"And to finish....a big slap in the face to xenophobia. Whaddaya think?"
...
...
...
"BRILLIANT!!"
DOCTOR WHO MAIN RANGE REVIEW
223: ZALTYS
By Jack Ryan
BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
Okay, I know that isn't the best way to describe this story (that will be in the next paragraph), but listening again, it's surprising the number of slight but present allusions there were to the simple concepts of horror movies. Of course they get completely subverted in this and become something more original as the time goes on but it's still a pretty interesting origin for all these elements. And speaking as someone who is slowly becoming more accustomed and interested in classic horror (Dracula, Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde an' all tha' jazz), discovering that made this more interesting on the re-listen. And ultimately.... well, let's see,,,
The Doctor is being procrastinate, Tegan and Adric are fighting and Nyssa is wondering when logic will be back from it's daily tea break. It's another day in the TARDIS... until Adric vanishes, with Tegan following soon after. Soon the separated crew find themselves beset by frustrated pilots, walking, talking, telepathic wolves, a supposedly dead planet, it's less than housewarming inhabitants.... oh and a vampire on a space station doing Rassilon knows what.... Yep, just another day in the TARDIS...
Oh, hey, Matthew J Elliot's back! And he's done it again, taking a story where you think you know what to expect and then turns it on it's head. As stated earlier, this time it's traditional gothic horror elements and our familiarity, or unfamiliarity, with them. I don't know if that's what he was deliberately going for, but that seems to be the vibe I got from it, and that's what makes me enjoy the story. You have all these well done element that work well in their own right that you don't know where precisely the story is going, or what the main crux of the plot is until round-about the end of episode three. This might deter people, but, as I was hooked from the free first episode, there'll be a good many people who will lap it up, thanks in no small part to Elliot's style and the directorial efforts of the great Barnaby Edwards...
Adding to that is a brilliant cast made up of rather familiar names for the most part. As always, the dynamics between Davison, Fielding, Sutton and Waterhouse is the main highlight of the stellar cast, especially the continuing development of Adric as a likeable character. But the supporting cast is where the true meat of this story lies, with stellar performances from Father Ted's Sean Barrett, Heartbeat's Niamh Cusack and Phillip Franks, Boy Meets Girl's Rebecca Root, video game voice actress Alix Wilton Regan, and Carol Sloman, all bringing their talents and quirks to their roles, especially in trying to make us deduce who is friend and who is foe. Toss in the remarkable talents of Steve Foxon with his stellar sound design and modern 80's soundtrack and you've a brilliantly designed, budget horror thriller.
As said, a re-listen might need to be done to truly appreciate this story, but again, that shouldn't be driving you away. These things are meant to be designed to be listened to over and over again. And not only have I done so with this one, but I might be doing so again in the near future.
VERDICT: 8/10 Slight bit confusing the first time around, but after another listen, a near bona-fide classic. ;D
Doctor Who: Zaltys is available to purchase on CD or Download from the Big Finish website here, or from all good stockists.
Cover (C) Tom Webster
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