The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

'Zagreus waits at the end of the world, for Zagreus is the end of the world. His time is the end of time, and his moment time's undoing…'

Neverland. For almost a year and a half, that name has been uttered with a mixture of trepidation and anticipation. When Alan Barnes' second Doctor Who script was announced as the final story of Big Finish's second season of Eighth Doctor audios, it was heralded in their publicity as bringing this run of adventures to a close 'on an explosive high' and promising that 'nothing will ever be the same again'. Given the quality of the Eighth Doctor stories that have preceded it, and the growing sense these audios are building towards something big, expectations for Neverland grew immensely, perhaps unreasonably so.

Now the story is here and in release, the essential question is whether it lives up to its promised appeal or was the advance publicity merely hyperbole?

The fundamental problem with long running story arcs is that no matter how good the build up is, if the story fails to end in a satisfactory manner the whole thing becomes tainted with the failure of its finale. There is always the possibility that the anticipation of the climax will be better than the actual thing itself and given the incredibly high quality of the previous five McGann stories of this year, Neverland had a great deal to live up to. But it delivers, spectacularly so.

One of the most immediately noticeable things about Neverland is how Barnes' script attempts to remind the listener of what has gone before. A quite exquisitely executed scene demonstrating how the Matrix, repository of all known knowledge, is crumbling due to the pressure of the strained Web of Time puts the prior stories of the Eighth Doctor immediately to mind and acts as a frame to the story now unfolding. But by using these events to add colour to its own story, rather than dwell on the past, Barnes makes sure that Neverland starts to forge its own story almost immediately.

It has become clear over the course of the McGann audios that something has effected time itself, and Neverland reveals the source of this interference. It is fitting that Alan Barnes, who wrote Storm Warning introducing Charley, should be chosen to resolve this storyline as the true implications of Charley's survival of the R101 are revealed and explored in a most unexpected fashion. Her survival has paved the way for the Web of Time's collapse and it seems the only means to survive lie in a universe time forgot, in the Neverland, a wasteland haunted by those that cannot exist. Barnes' script introduces some fascinating ideas during the course of his story, particularly the idea of a universe of anti-time, which is now infecting the real one with disastrous consequences. And the explanation for those that dwell within this realm is most unforeseen.

Even the method of presentation for Neverland shows that it is special, with it consisting of two feature length episodes rather than the standard four per story. This actually works very well with the story flowing smoothly throughout both its episodes without the need to interrupt its development with an artificially engineered cliffhanger rammed in halfway through. With a plot that ebbs and flows throughout its strands of storyline, it becomes very easy to be consumed totally by the drama and both episodes fly by. Like its counterpart finale of 2001's McGann audios, Minuet In Hell, Neverland weighs in at just under two and a half hours in duration but thanks to the constantly twisting and turning script developing constantly over its running time, this isn't a hindrance at all.

One of the most consistent factors of this season of Eighth Doctor stories has been the performance of Paul McGann and India Fisher, and therefore it's no surprise that both of them have pulled out all the stops for Neverland with both delivering arguably their best performances so far. McGann takes it beyond the enthusiastic, life-loving Doctor he usually delivers showing great passion as he faces up to and takes responsibility for his actions. Several scenes in particular stand out greatly most notably towards the end where both he and Fisher are exceptional where both convey the sense that a real depth of feeling exists between these two friends that given the nature of the scene the result is incredibly powerful, and one of the best character scenes to feature in any Doctor Who production. McGann also is outstanding during the closing moments of the play, but to say why would spoil things…

To compensate for what happens to Charley throughout this story, Fisher raises her performance to another level full of powerful emotion so that it endures. In particular the scene mentioned above, where McGann shines well, is Fisher's finest moment in Doctor Who so far as she puts so much emotion into the scene that it is a genuinely moving moment. She also gets a chance to expand on the role she played - briefly - at the conclusion of Seasons Of Fear and, as that showed, Fisher is equally adept at playing a villainess as she is as the Edwardian Adventuress.

Neverland also sees Lalla Ward reprise her role again as President Romana once more and, as you would expect, her performance is as dignified and measured as ever, making her presence in the story a delight. Don Warrington plays his part well, although given how good an actor he is it is perhaps a shame that he is not involved more than he is, but given whom he is playing, keeping him in the background is probably for the best. The identity of his character is unexpected, although in hindsight his appearance in Seasons Of Fear did contain a major clue towards this but he is certainly an eminently suitable choice for the role, and hopefully he will return again one day. Anthony Keetch makes his third appearance in a Big Finish audio as Co-ordinator Vansell, and again he portrays this enigmatic character well, and portrays Vansell's more sinister side skillfully. Barnes' script and Keetch's acting combine well to demonstrate Vansell's motivations well conveying the sense that he'll take any means necessary to achieve his goals whatever the cost.

The remaining cast perform adequately in their secondary roles to the main players. Peter Trapani and Holly King (both of whom featured in very different roles in the earlier Seventh Doctor play The Shadow Of The Scourge) form a likeable enough team in Kurst and Levith, although King's character seemed at times a little underdeveloped. The trio of Nicola Boyce, Lee Moone and Mark McDonnell all return again for the third release in a row, and perform well although McDonnell's distinctive presence is largely unrecognisable due to effects used to modulate his voice.

From the moment Neverland it has an atmosphere that gives the listener a sense that something significant and ominous is taking place. Much of this can be attributed to the behind the scenes work of Alistair Lock and Nicholas Briggs, who as two of Big Finish's most proficient technicians combine with their work on the sound design and score respectively. Lock's sound design helps to create a real ethereal feel in the scenes set within the anti-time universe which Briggs' unobtrusive, but effective, score compliments perfectly adding an extra layer to the drama.

As much as Neverland resolves from the previous Eighth Doctor audios, it poses new questions and in a cliffhanger destined to be a source of much speculation in itself for a very long time to come, sets events in motions for a new and different direction. It does so with great flair and skill, ensuring that the final images of the play will haunt the mind of the listener for a long time to come as they ponder the full ramifications of the story.

Neverland is both well written and well executed, with the result exceedingly enjoyable. Despite the high profile guest stars, it is the performance of the regulars, Paul McGann and India Fisher, which capture the attention supremely as they prove once more why they are one of the best Doctor / companion teams to ever feature in Doctor Who. Given the unreasonable level of expectation this story has gained since it was announced, it was unlikely to satisfy that but it comes very close. With some wonderfully memorable character scenes, Neverland draws the Eighth Doctor's adventures for this year to a close magnificently. And as it seems we will not hear McGann again as the Doctor until Big Finish's 40th Anniversary story in November 2003, it will be a long wait until we discover what happens next. But as Big Finish seem to have everything planned out well in advance; the wait looks like it will be worth it.