Pages

Tuesday 8 January 2019

Day: 8 Red Dawn

THE YEAR OF BIG FINISH
Day 8: Red Dawn


Well, one week down, several more to go.... best make a crack with it then! With their worth proven absolutely with the last couple of releases, the BBC have given Big Finish another few items from the toy box to play with. The first of them being the Ice Warriors, surprisingly enough (you'd think it would be the Cybermen, but don't worry, they arrive next week). And following from one of their prior appearances on the main show, Justin Richards has decided to take the opportunity to make them a little more three dimensional. Does it pay off?

A time between Guinevere One and Bowie Base One, Ares One, the first manned mission to the red planet, Mars, has made a successful landing. Their mission, explore, collect, and investigate. The latter especially, when the team aboard comes across a bizarre anomaly on the planet's surface. An anomaly that leads the team to a buried building, a couple of extra odd travellers, and something sinister behind a wall of ice. But The Doctor, Peri and the crew of Ares One will soon discover that the Ice Warriors are not the thing they should fear the most...

If there is a single critique I must make with Richards' tale here, it's that it all feels a bit too familiar. It feels like a hodgepodge of all the previous Ice Warrior stories rolled into one. The Base Under Seige story-line, the grey area of ally and villain the Ice Warriors are contained in, there are a number of familiar beats. But Richards does do something good with them, and by making us recall the original tropes of the cold-blooded Martians, is able to give us a few new and interesting elements of their established canon. Elements that have continued to be used not only in the subsequent audios featuring the giants, but also a couple of elements sneakily finding their way into the TV series.

With regards to bringing the Ice Warriors back to life, the cast and crew have given their all, and although it rises and drops in terms of stakes and drama, the effort given is truly exemplary that it helps hide the cracks and project every last good element it has. Alongside Davison and Bryant as the Fifth Doctor and Peri, not to mention a rare family team up with Davison's daughter Georgia Moffett, Maureen Oakly, future companion Robert Jezek, and Stephen Fewell all help bring a very human cast to life, with elements both noble and villainous. But the stars have to be our ssssenssssational Ice Warrior performers of Hylton Collins and Matthew Brenher, alongside the multi-talented director Gary Russell, sound designer Alistair Lock, and even executive producer Jason Haigh-Ellery, taking a very rare acting role. But the five of them each give their own unique take on the performance of the cold-blooded combatants, similar to David Banks and Mark Hardy making their own unique takes on the Cybermen during their TV appearances in the eighties.Maybe they should try it again sometime...

It isn't perfect, but with a decent script from Richards, Russell's directing on fine form, an atmospheric soundtrack from Russell Stone, superb sound work from Lock and all the cast giving all they've got, Red Dawn is still an entertaining listen, and lays good foundations for the Ice Warrior lore. Lore set to be revisited around a decade later... but that, of course, is another range altogether...

Doctor Who: Red Dawn, is available on Download for £/$/€2.99 on the Big Finish Website, and on limited CD, Cassette and Download from other stockists. 

TOMORROW: Nick Pegg takes over the writers and directors chair for the return of Sixie and Evelyn... and a very old, and long awaited, friend...

No comments:

Post a Comment