The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

‘I think whatever was keeping us out has decided to let us in...’

When the Doctor and Charley arrive at an Edwardian Mansion, they are immediately faced with plenty of contradictions. While the house seems to be deserted, there are many signs of the house being occupied and nothing is as it seems...

The Chimes Of Midnight marks Robert Shearman’s second play for the Big Finish Doctor Who audio series, his first being the highly acclaimed Sixth Doctor and Frobisher story, The Holy Terror. And while that was a bizarre mix of horror and comedy, this new story, the second of the 2002 ‘season’ for the Eighth Doctor, is very different in style and (if it were possible) it’s much, much more darker, but it matches, and indeed, surpasses the quality of its predecessor.

The Chimes Of Midnight takes place on a small scale. The drama is confined to one place and with a small guest cast the whole production takes on a very intimate feel which allows Shearman to really focus in on the characters of the story, including giving India Fisher’s Charley a larger than usual (in fact somewhat pivotal) role in the drama as the spectre of past events rears its head. The horror of The Chimes Of Midnight is much more subtle than in The Holy Terror with it taking on a more personal feel and given how the cause of the incidents of the story remains very much hidden away throughout the majority of the episodes, the effect is much more sinister. That said, there is still some humour, although it’s often decidedly black in nature, to be found in The Chimes Of Midnight such as the moment that the chauffeur is found dead where the Doctor’s retort to the suggestion that it might have been suicide is very memorable indeed.

The opening episode works spectacularly well, with the mystery of where the TARDIS has brought the Doctor and Charley being subsumed into the deeper conundrum of why the house appears to be deserted. As this is happening, the script is very clever as it shows the inhabitants of the Manor working hard to ensure that the preparations for Christmas are all in place ready for its dawn at midnight. By writing this episode in this manner, Shearman ensures that the listener is immediately drawn into the drama by the puzzle of how these individuals have come to be in the same place at the same time and yet they are not. As the episode progresses and the two places begin to collide together, the idea that there is some kind of controlling force creeping into play is skilfully introduced through very subtle means. And subtle is a good description of the story on the whole because a lot of clues towards what’s really happening are peppered liberally throughout the story, yet their significance only becomes manifest much later in the proceedings and this cleverness is also shown through the script which uses its dialogue to reinforces certain ideas and themes, the importance of which becomes clearer as the drama progresses.

The Chimes Of Midnight is notable as well because for the second month running, the story’s director is making his debut in the Doctor Who audio series, and for this story the directors chair belongs to Barnaby Edwards who has acted in many prior Big Finish Doctor Who productions. The result is very accomplished and given the quality of the script, he encourages the actors to give performances to match that calibre and they are all up for the challenge. And the results speak for themselves with each member of the cast giving standout performances, even in the relatively minor roles.

Over the course of his first ‘season’ of audios, you could almost hear Paul McGann’s confidence building as he really started to enjoy playing the role of the Doctor and by now he’s completely made the part his own once more. There are some wonderful scenes during the opening moments of the play with him and Charley showing how well the relationship between the Doctor and his companion has developed and he conveys the depth of his concern for Charley when he fears she’s cut herself by knocking something glass over with such force and conviction that it’s very impressive, and thanks to the sharpness of Shearman’s script, he turns this flashpoint into a moment of good humour as he realises the true nature of Charley’s ‘blood’. Throughout the story he’s a very commanding presence and he positively dominates the scenes that he’s present in, and given the strength of the character of the Doctor that’s just how it should be. There’s a wonderful scene towards the conclusion of the story where the Doctor has to confront Charley who has come under the influence of a force and he’s reminding her of everything that they’ve done together, it’s played in such a heartfelt manner that it’s a genuinely touching.

In many ways, The Chimes Of Midnight is the most significant story for India Fisher’s Charley Pollard so far, and while some of her previous appearances have seen her given perhaps not as great an active role as some of the other companions featured in the audios have done, her role in this story is of paramount importance to the plot. Given this weightier role, is excellent showcasing why Charley has proved to be very popular indeed with a powerful performance.

The guest cast is relatively small, yet they are all perfect for their roles within the story and each and every one of them ensure that their performances are of a very high standard indeed. Lennox Greaves portrays the butler Shaughnessy with great presence, giving the firm impression that he is the cog which ensures that the mechanism of the house run smoothly who believes totally in his duty and will not accept sub-service performance from the other members of staff. The cook, Mrs Baddeley is played with aplomb by Sue Wallace whose dedication to her role preparing the Christmas meals - with special attention to the plum pudding as Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Mrs Baddelely’s plum pudding - is total. Both Robert Curbishley and Juliet Warner perform their more minor - although still important - roles as the chauffeur Frederick and the maid Mary with adroit skill.

And then there’s the other star of the show, Louise Rolfe as Edith, who is quite simply magnificent, playing the downtrodden scullery maid whose constantly told that she is nothing, she is nobody, yet still has an important and surprising role to play. Her scenes with Charley in particular are very convincing and quite moving.

One of the most immediately apparent aspects of the production from the moment that the Doctor Who theme has died down, is just how atmospheric the whole story is. The opening segment in particular with its combination of child like musicbox music and the ticking of clock hands slipping into the more sinister tones of the music as the clock hands move quicker resembling a heartbeat, set the mood of the story superbly, giving a real sense of impending terror. The story is written very much as a murder mystery with dark overtones of horror and both Andy Hardwick’s sound design and Russell Stone’s score add a great deal to the sense of unease that pervades throughout the story. Whether it’s the ominous rumbling of the grandfather clock as its hands continue their journey around its face or the sections of the score which know exactly what points to build up into a terrifying crescendo perfectly accompanying the drama of the story. Russell Stone’s scores in the past have occasionally bordered on being intrusive on the story itself, but as with the best of Stone’s previous work (primarily on Shearman’s The Holy Terror) there is no question of that here with his unique style of incidental music adding an extra layer of ambience which adds tremendously to the enjoyment of the story as a whole. The fact that both of these production elements are so good is indicative of the overall quality of the story in that everything comes together to produce something very special indeed.

When the revelations about the nature of the threat that the Manor is facing in this story become apparent, it might have been easy for the script to have become convoluted given how the explanation as to how the events of the story came about, but Rob Shearman makes it seem effortless as it clearly shows why the occurrences played out the way that they did. And as the reasoning behind the story is itself very unusual, it makes for a most satisfying conclusion to this most intriguing release.

It’s difficult to quantify the greatness of The Chimes Of Midnight without revealing more about the actual story itself. Given the quality of the script, this was always going to be something unique and thanks to the fresh direction that Barnaby Edwards brings combining with some excellent performances from its cast, with Paul McGann once more standing out and showing his quality as a great actor and a great Doctor, and some superb sound design and a highly appropriate musical score ensuring that the story has the right degree of atmosphere, this is an astounding piece of drama.