The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

'All they took was the light...'

When the Doctor attempts to avoid an unexpected presence in the Time Vortex, the TARDIS brings him and Charley to the Cimmerian System, which was noted because it sun disappeared mysteriously. The Doctor's curiosity gets the better of him and he and Charley decide to investigate the cause of its vanishing. But the Cimmerian System is not as deserted as it appears, with a scientific base situated on the fourth planet whose staff are in danger, and a Rescue team on the way. There's something else too, something waiting - in the darkness.

Embrace The Darkness is the prolific Nicholas Briggs' main contribution to 2002's ongoing season of Eighth Doctor audios, with Briggs both writing and directing, and the result is something very interesting indeed. In the authors notes for this story he states that he had two aims in mind for this story, to make it scary and a story that could only work on audio. He accomplishes the former admirably, with Embrace The Darkness containing some of the most disturbing imagery yet in audio Doctor Who, and with regard to the latter aim, his script largely succeeds at this as well, with many of the scenes being difficult to convey as successfully via other mediums as they are here via audio.

Those listeners hoping for any kind of follow up to the closing moments of Seasons Of Fear with this story will be disappointed, as the bigger picture is put (largely) into the background as the mystery around the Cimmerian System is laid open and explored. Briggs' script sets up his story superbly well, with both the opening sections involving the regular and guest characters setting the scenes perfectly. The scenes with the Doctor and Charley create a genuine sense of mystery about why the Cimmerian sun disappeared in the manner which it did, and the significance of the events they witness there only becomes clear as the story progresses. Likewise the opening moments of the story, featuring the crew of the scientific base is very effective as an introduction to the story. It draws us into these three disparate characters lives as they set about their mission on Cimmeria IV and hits them with this crisis which plunges them into total darkness and the story proper.

The horror of the story is created very much through the script and the sound design for the story playing off the imagination of the listener. With much of the story set in total darkness, it removes the characters ability to tell the listener of the horror they face which has blighted some of Big Finish's previous attempts at audio horror in Doctor Who, most notably with The Land Of The Dead where the monsters of the story required a great deal of descriptive dialogue spoken by the characters which diminished most of the dramatic effect. This is something Embrace The Darkness doesn't have to concern itself with as the horror of the story is conveyed through sound effects which at times puts the listener into the same position as the characters present and makes for a powerful and profound effect. In fact the cliffhanger to episode one uses these ideas so well that it's a truly jaw dropping moment when the realisation of what has happened to the characters hits home.

The plot has a very good progression to it as well. The first episode establishes the settings perfectly, and has just the right of mystery to draw the listener into the drama perfectly to leave them hanging on for the next episode, and the various revelations and twists and turns about the nature of what's happening on Cimmeria IV are all revealed at just the right moments, thus keeping both the suspense and the intrigue running constantly and ensuring that all four episodes are very entertaining in different ways. The way the story resolved itself was a little odd, and more than a little unexpected. This isn't really a criticism though as it does provide satisfactory closure to the story.

The cast is excellent. The ease with which Paul McGann plays the role of the Doctor each release is quite incredible with yet another excellent performance here. This shows one of the benefits of having his stories all recorded closely together as it gives his performances a level of consistency which the other Doctors don't necessarily have due to the way their stories are recorded. McGann particularly shines at the commencement of the fourth episode where he demonstrates a more responsible side of the Eighth Doctor than is often heard, and the devotion that the Doctor's act inspires in Charley is quite touching and shows the depth of their friendship perfectly.

Speaking of Charley, India Fisher delights as usual in her role as the self styled Edwardian Adventuress, who, while not getting quite as much of an active role as some of the recent stories, performs her role with the style and grace that we've come to expect from her. A couple of moments stand out about her performance in this story, firstly she plays her part in the excellent cliffhanger to episode one with perfection, putting just the amount of shock and disbelief into her performance to make her reaction seem more real somehow. There's also a wonderful scene where she has grown tired of Orllensa's constant cynicism and sniping and Charley shows her the more fiery side of her nature in taking her to task over this.

While small, the guest cast is nevertheless impressive. The opening scene involving the three main guest characters of Orllensa, Haliard and Ferras really conveys the sense that these characters know each other well and all possess respect and like the others. This gives the three of them an emotional bond which is often absent in these types of situation in Doctor Who previously. Mark McDonnell, now best known for his starring role as Alby Brook in Big Finish's Dalek Empire series (although rather paradoxically his performance here was recorded some time before that series, yet released much later!), performs well as Haliard, and he is particularly convincing when his character has been influenced to his detriment by the events of what happens to him. Haliard isn't exactly a proto-type Alby, but on McDonnell's performance here, it isn't difficult to see why he was cast in the later role as he demonstrates the same kind of dry humour and laid back attitudes which made Alby Brook such a memorable character.

Nicola Boyce's Orllensa was a strange character. Her performance was good, although it did take a moment or three to get used to the accent she deploys, but where it's a bit odd is in the characterisation. Initially she comes across as being just another one of the crew (even though she's technically the boss) but after what happens, she becomes a rather cold, sarcastic cynic for the majority of the story. Undergoing what she does in the story is bound to be traumatic, but this change in character didn't quite ring true, unless the sinking into herself against the others (particularly the outsiders of the Doctor and Charley) was her reaction to the events that befell her, and an attempt not to face up to the realities of what's happened. Also at times, it seems to be hinted that there's more to Orllensa than there appears, yet this isn't really addressed.

Lee Moone's Ferras is a little forgettable though, mainly due to the fact that the character doesn't really get any memorable scenes in the way that Orllensa and Haliard do, and not Moone's performance which is fine.

With the first episode of the story set predominantly on board a (near) deserted spaceship, the atmosphere there is initially a little reminiscent of Briggs' previous Eighth Doctor story Sword Of Orion, but one of the elements which makes this particular episode memorable is the character of the ROSM (or Rescue Operational Security Module to its computer friends) who frequently thwarts the Doctor's attempts to learn more about where he's found himself. Ian Brooker plays this character perfectly, with the effects used to make him into ROSM working superbly well.

Embrace The Darkness also breaks a tradition when it comes to Nicholas Briggs' stories as usually as well as writing the script and directing the drama, Briggs' composes both the music and creates the sound design for his stories but with his work on the Dalek Empire series preventing that for this story, these roles fall to Jim Mortimore and the result is very good indeed. While the music might lack the dynamism of his previous Big Finish score for Project: Twilight, it compliments the story of Embrace The Darkness perfectly, lending an ethereal atmosphere to much of the drama and emphasising the horror of the story wonderfully. The sound design adds much to the process of hearing the story as it makes it more of an experience because it is so atmospheric. With it being a story designed specifically only for audio, the importance of the sound design becomes paramount, and Mortimore's work helps to bring the listener into the darkness of the story and experience what's happening. The only minor complaints I'd make against this was in the effects used to create the voices of the Cimmerians, and the occasional raucous effect which seems unnecessary. While the Cimmerian voices are very effective at conveying the strangeness of these creatures, at times it became a little difficult to make out what they were actually saying clearly. But these are minor issues in what's essentially excellent work.

Embrace The Darkness begins stylishly, and over the course of its two hour running time provides plenty of intrigue and entertainment, but what it will be best remembered for is the disturbing nature of the imagery it inspires in the mind of the listener which is truly the stuff that nightmares are made from...