The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

"To the inhabitants of the Clutch, to the Galyari people, I am a bad memory..."

Perception is an interesting concept as depending on the point of view possessed by persons involved in an incident, their interpretation of the events in question can vary immensely. In Doctor Who the point of view is almost always from the Doctor's side and those he fights for, but for Simon A. Forwards' first Big Finish audio play, The Sandman, he has chosen to examine the consequences of the Doctor's actions from the point of view of those that the Doctor opposes and the result is quite thought provoking. By examining both the cause and the effect of the Doctor's actions, Forward paints his tale in much greyer shades of colour than a typical story, and this effects the listener by making them question existing assumptions and expectations based on their previous knowledge about the nature of exactly what the Doctor does.

The Sandman revolves around the Doctor and Evelyn's visit to the Clutch, a rag-tag fleet of homeless ships migrating across the galaxy and is home to the Galyari, a race of lizard-like beings whom the Doctor knows of old. They know the Doctor too, for that is another name that the mythical figure the Sandman adopts, as he preys upon the Galyari, leaving death and destruction in his wake. The idea that the Doctor and the Sandman are the same is introduced very cleverly in an almost offhand manner, which is quite disconcerting given the depth of fear that the Galyari are shown to hold him in.

Making the Doctor "darker" is nothing new in itself with the television series attempting this on several occasions with Tom Baker during The Invasion Of Time and Colin Baker during the Mindwarp sections of The Trial Of A Time Lord, and the emphasis of the Doctor's darker motives being a mainstay of the original novels, especially the New Adventures. Here Forward brings the more sinister side of the Sixth Doctor out slyly with his change in attitude coming swiftly and unexpectedly, but thanks to the quality of Colin Baker's performance it's totally believable. Forward slips clues as to the reasons behind the Doctor's change of attitude into place, but he deflects attention away from them so the mystery of the Sandman can endure.

The Clutch itself is an interesting notion and an ambitious setting for the tale. While it is very difficult to convey the sight of the Clutch without the use of exposition, Forward's dialogue comes across quite naturally and acts informatively without resorting to overtly describing it, helping to create a vivid image. Once the Doctor and Evelyn are onboard, then it's down to the sound design to convey the alien qualities of the Clutch and Gareth Jenkins' work certainly contributes to giving the sense of this foreboding environment which provides a refreshing change from those stories featuring Earth or Earth like settings.

There does seem to be a dearth of new alien species in the audios at times, which is understandable given that human characters can often be more effective on the whole in the medium, so the addition of the Galyari to the pantheon of Doctor Who monsters is welcome. Their modulated voices are quite raucous and thanks to the enthusiasm of the cast putting their all into these parts, they come across as being very credibly alien.

Colin Baker's performance in this story should be sufficient to silence those who claim that Big Finish's Sixth Doctor stories have watered down his character too much, as he demonstrates the more strident and tenacious side of his character with a very convincing performance, harking back to the bravado he showed during his time on television. During the build up of the story as the Doctor starts to take a more erratic and aggressive stance against the Galyari, the change between the more mellow Sixth Doctor and the advent of the dark fires that burn within him is startling, particularly in the flashback scenes to his first meeting with the Galyari, so much so that Evelyn's concern is palpable. With plenty of loud and dramatic scenes to play, there is a temptation on Baker's part to overplay these but he restrains himself well and avoids this and keeping his performance precise.

Unfortunately Maggie Stables' Evelyn doesn't come off very well here. Her performance is as good as ever, it just seems that she becomes rather redundant to the plot for much of the time, relegated to making reflective comments on the proceedings rather than actively playing an important part. While this means she is there to ask the questions that the listener is thinking, her lack of purpose cannot help but disappoint given how good both the character and the actress are.

The two main guest stars for The Sandman are Anneke Wills and Ian Hogg, both of whom previously appeared in Doctor Who on television. Wills, of course, played Polly, companion to both the First and Second Doctors during the sixties and her return to Doctor Who here is very strong. As Director Nrosha of the Galyari, her performance is light years away from Polly. She is hard, embittered by her experience and motivated by hate for the Sandman who took her children from her and she is utterly persuasive as Nrosha. Ian Hogg featured as the villainous Josiah Samuel Smith in the final story to be recorded for the original television series, Ghost Light, and here he is employed as General Voshkar. While his performance is as good as an you would expect from such an accomplished actor as him, it's a little disappointing that his involvement within the story is as limited as it is.

Of the remaining cast, Mark Donovan stands out as Orchestrator Shol who is entrusted with the safe running of the Clutch, and the quiet dignity he injects into his performance contrast nicely with the hardness of Wills' Nrosha. Robin Bowerman applies an unusual accent in his performance as Mordecan, a Star Gypsy, which takes a little while to get used to, but he makes the character sufficiently ambiguous to conceal suspicions about his role in the events of the story until later. Mark Wharton and Stephanie Colburn both put in good performances, although the latter is hindered by the voice effects used to create Nintaru, which while they succeed at making the character seem mild-mannered and timid, are more than a little irritating and grate quickly.

Russell Stone's score is suitably dark and ominous which matches the mood of the play perfectly; effectively building up the drama without overwhelming it, and this is most noticeable during the flashback sequence in the second episode where it adds real colour to the scene. Gareth Jenkins' sound design also succeeds well here with it adding a rich vein of texture to the drama by creating an ambience fitting for the type of setting The Sandman features and ensuring that the story's monsters are sufficiently alien in the manner they sound to make them credible.

The Sandman is an odd, but satisfying story. Featuring a fascinating central concept, Forward's script builds around this well to create intrigue and mystery that in the end is tied up neatly as the threads of the story are concluded and the full perspective is revealed. With yet another superb performance by Colin Baker and good performances from the supporting cast, The Sandman provides solid entertainment value.