The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

‘If you’ve got a date, you have to make an effort.’

‘It’s not like that. It’s not the end of term dance.’

‘I know, but you’ve still got to look the part. Otherwise she won’t lift a claw to take a second look...’

The Fifth Doctor and Turlough return to the world of audio Doctor Who with Marc Platt’s Loups-Garoux a dark tale of werewolves in the future of 2080 in Rio de Janeiro. Wealthy heiress Illeana de Santos is fearful of the return of the ‘Grey One’, and is concerned for her sick son who is treated by the sinister Dr Hayashi. Despite the Carnival, the Doctor and Turlough soon find themselves besieged by strange dogs and unusual happenings as an ancient werewolf is returning once again.

With the announcement that Marc Platt was writing Loups-Garoux, I had the feeling that this would be something special, and I wasn’t wrong. Platt was responsible for possibly the greatest Doctor Who story in the television series in the superlative Ghost Light, and wrote two excellent novels for the Virgin New Adventures including the final Seventh Doctor story Lungbarrow. With such a proven track record of excellence, it is no surprise that Loups-Garoux is the best Fifth Doctor story that Big Finish have produced so far.

Platt takes the familiar approach of introducing the villain of the story immediately with a sequence set in Germany 1589 which sets up the story up well but could probably have been excluded. It takes away a little of the mystery about what is happening but this doesn’t undermine the strengths of the story.

Peter Davison is on extraordinary good form in this story, performing on a higher level to his previous good performances in the audios. During the course of his audio adventures he has built up the character of the Fifth Doctor, evolving it into something greater than it was on television, combining the strengths of his portrayal there with his added maturity which mix to create an all round more effective Doctor.

Mark Strickson reprises his role as Turlough for only the second time in a Big Finish audio, the first being Phantasmagoria, and he gets his character almost perfectly. At times he’s borderline unpleasant with his self interest being evident, but in the subplot with the character Rosa, we get to see the other side of Turlough. Strickson’s performance is good, especially in scenes in the latter episodes, especially in the scenes where he is telling Rosa of his own world.

The cast of Loups-Garoux is very impressive indeed. Eleanor Bron shines brightly as Ileana de Santos, and puts in an excellent performance and the relationship that she develops with the Doctor is very interesting with it at times verging on being romantic. Her performance is at its best when she is getting angry and her darker side emerges. Nicky Henson as Pieter Stubbe is a very convincing villain, with a voice suitably menacing to the tale that is being told. His performance is possibly the most memorable villainous turn to be featured in a Big Finish audio drama with it being very strong. Weak villains have been occasionally problematical in the audio series but Henson’s performance is so strong that he becomes a remarkably memorable villain. Burt Kwouck plays the mysterious Doctor Hayashi to great effect with an understated performance full of subtle characterisation. Sarah Gale’s Rosa Caiman is also an interesting character well played.

Like the previous months story Minuet In Hell, Loups-Garoux is considerably longer than a standard four part Doctor Who adventure, running at just over 135 minutes, and I for one find that these longer stories are more satisfying than the shorter ones as they allow the story to be developed in depth. Loups-Garoux is no exception to this and the longer running time is used to maximum effect by creating an interesting scenario which is then explored fully over the running time.

The production of Loups-Garoux is as ever superb. The early scenes set at the time of the Carnival in Rio really do sound effective. The werewolves themselves are very chillingly created, and maximise the use of the audio format to create this. The way the howling is created in some scenes is excellent, with the impression that there are many werewolves out there.

Loups-Garoux is a fantastic piece of drama, full of intrigue. Platt’s script is excellent with some good plotting and fantastic dialogue. The performances are universally good with Peter Davison on top form, giving easily his best one in a Big Finish audio. The combination of the Fifth Doctor and Turlough is one that works well, and should be used again in another audio soon. The guest cast is one of the best that has been assembled with Bron, Kwouck and Henson standing out as inspired casting choices. Without doubt the best Fifth Doctor story that Big Finish have produced, and also one of the best stories they’ve done in total, Loups-Garoux is excellent and entirely and unequivocally recommended.