The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

"Do not think that life gives you a right to abuse the dead..."

It is fitting that in Doctor Who's fortieth anniversary year, Big Finish continue to provide their listeners with a steady blend of experimental and, for want of a better word, more traditional stories. Austen Atkinson's Nekromanteia falls into the latter category as a lot of the plot elements are familiar but it does possess an individual atmosphere in terms of style and tone which give this a unique ambience amongst the forty odd audio releases to date.

In order to contrast the numerous Earth bound stories that Big Finish have done with the Fifth Doctor, the brief, according to the production notes contained in the CD booklet with this story, was for a "Blake's 7 style outer space romp" and Atkinson takes this to heart in the creation of Nekromanteia which revolves around a number of certain interested parties' hunt for the secret to the Temple of Shara on the planet Talderun, which is guarded zealously by a worshipping Cult of harpies, led by the mad witch Jal Dor Kal. The Doctor, Peri and Erimem find themselves drawn inescapably there - to the region of Nekromanteia where a trap looms…

Atkinson introduces a lot of elements into his story quite early on with the leader of the Cult of Shara, Jal Dor Kal, sending her witches off to fight in against Harlon's fleet, the corporate politics behind the attack on Talderun and the Doctor's trip to the Garazone Bazaar (previously heard in Sword Of Orion and Dalek Empire: The Human Factor) with Peri and Erimem. After this breathless beginning, it does settle down quite quickly to focus on the events occurring on Talderun, where the real focus - the hunt for the relic (no, it's not another handbag) that powers the Temple of Shara - awaits.

This type of story is fairly unusual amongst performed Doctor Who adventures, and the influence of Blake's 7 is telling in that the cast consists almost entirely of unsympathetic mercenary-like characters who are all busy double-crossing each other so that no one is who they appear to be. The problem with this is that without a strong plot driving the drama forward for these characters to work within, this can leave the listener very indifferent towards them and as the plot of Nekromanteia stutters into action, and never really hits its stride fully, the combination of these factors works against the effectiveness of the drama.

Atkinson structures the story well with developments proceeding logically, but he's also careful not to spell everything out too clearly for the listener, inviting them to make their own conclusions about certain aspects of the drama which means it is a story that benefits from attentive listening. This does sometimes lead to the explanations for the events occurring seeming slightly muddled, particularly towards the end, but it all makes sense by the end. In terms of tone, Nekromanteia is quite dark in that its characters are often brutal and conduct themselves accordingly. Aside from an amusing interlude with a dodgy Pakhar in the opening episode, much of the story's humour comes from Peri, who is portrayed in a very sassy manner and she uses this as a way to offset the troubles she's facing but it does lead to some memorable lines which Nicola Bryant delivers with conviction.

While Big Finish's Doctor Who adventures retain the four part story format of the television series, the role of the traditional cliffhanger has changed. No longer is it necessarily used as a means of drawing the audience back for the next instalment in a weeks time as if you've bought the CD, you'll be able to continue immediately. Rather than just putting the main characters into a moment of danger, as the television series often did, they are often used now as moments of revelation to advance the plot further. With Nekromanteia, Atkinson shows how the old fashioned method of high danger can still be effective with his stunning point of drama that concludes the second episode here. There are shades of the cliffhanger to the first episode of The Caves Of Androzani, but while that turned out to be misdirection, here we have the real thing and Atkinson doesn't shy away from the power of the drama he creates by undermining it with a cop-out way of resolving the situation, but instead uses the cliffhanger to take Nekromanteia into more surreal territory whilst still advancing the plot simultaneously.

Despite some strong characterisations of the regulars, the central problem with Nekromanteia is that it fails to engage. The ideas and concepts behind it are interesting but a lot of them - particularly the corrupt corporate angle - are underdeveloped at the expense of the main plot. As most of the supporting characters are unsympathetic and either amoral or barking mad, it becomes difficult to care about what happens to them in the course of the drama. The most intriguing of Atkinson's characters is Shara himself, and he doesn't appear until the second half of the play. Without this connection, there is a curious sense of detachment running through the story which makes it difficult to get fully involved with what Atkinson was trying to achieve.

Atkinson's characterisation of the Doctor is good, with the determination to look after his companions at any cost, which was a trait that ultimately culminated in his own sacrifice to save Peri's life, brought to the forefront here on several occasions. Of particular interest, is the Doctor's reaction to the unexpected place he finds himself at during the third episode, and the confusion this invests in him is well brought out.

His relationship with both Peri and Erimem is again a highlight of the story with the lightness of it - the fun, jovial atmosphere of travellers who like each other - evident during the opening episode, but Atkinson's script goes further than this by examining how he really feels about them. There is a wonderfully touching moment towards the end when the Doctor is preparing to forfeit himself so that the universe may survive, and he bids farewell to Peri and then asks Erimem to look after her for him. This says a lot about the level of trust he places in his latest companion, in that he recognises that she can take care of her friend, despite being younger, and that he knows and trusts her that she'll do the right thing.

Possibly the most successful aspect of Nekromanteia is the way in which Atkinson handles both Peri and Erimem as he highlights the differences between their outlooks wonderfully and so the listener can compare and contrast how these two characters that have developed such a bond together can see things so radically different to each other.

During the scenes at the Garazone Bazaar, Erimem demonstrates the enthusiasm for knowledge and taking delight in things that are simply different to what she has experienced previously she showed during The Church And The Crown. A good example of this is just the idea that she is no longer on Earth, which she describes simply as being "fantastic" as there are no other words needed to convey her amazement at this, which is typical of her character as she is straight to the point and unpretentious enough to know that this is in itself enough. Her reference to the Pakhars present at the Bazaar as the "rodent people" is just an emphasis of that as she is used to speaking her mind without being checked by concepts such as political correctness (something on which the Doctor has to correct her) but it's also effective in reminding the listener of her Egyptian origins. The way that Atkinson lets her background shape her viewpoint ensures that she remains consistently characterised and allows Erimem to try and reconcile things into her narrower field of experience.

During the first two episodes, Peri gets a little bit sidetracked which is always an inherent danger in Doctor Who when there are multiple companions and more than one subplot for them is needed, but her rescue by Yal Rom from the preparations of the Cult to sacrifice her as an offering to Shara begins an interesting association between them, as she sees traits in him which are also found in the Doctor, namely a thirst for knowledge, and given what happens to the Doctor at the end of the second episode, the sense of trust she develops for Rom - the need to rely on him for a way out - is very strongly conveyed.

This ultimately leads to one of the best scenes in the whole of the drama where the listener witnesses the reactions of both the Doctors' companions to the witches revenge upon Rom for the violation and desecration of their Temple. While Peri is horrified by the acts of mutilation that the witches carry out on him, Erimem takes it all in her stride as she recognises their right to retaliation and this is a key scene for showing how their different experiences shape their reactions. Violence and torture is part of Erimem's world yet to Peri it is anathema and this highlights the fact that the young Egyptian is a realist, able to confront evil head on, while her American friend is very much the romantic, and despite everything she has seen with the Doctor still hasn't developed immunity towards death and brutality.

This is also perhaps the first story where Erimem really becomes the victim of the evil that humanity can wield, as she suffers at the hands of Command Harlon for acting as the Doctor's decoy so he could elude his captors. While never made explicitly clear, it is implied that Harlon severely brutalises her and if it wasn't for the fact that she herself was a trained warrior and able to "give as good as she got" in fighting back, then he had much worse plans for her. Facing this, gives Erimem a harder edge than has perhaps been seen before and she reacts by being initially dismissive of the seemingly innocuous Rom but when she discovers what they believe has happened to the Doctor, her instincts take over and she takes charge of the situation. She underplays her own suffering as "misfortune" which is indicative of her whole character as she is prepared to put others before herself fully as she was trained to do for her role as Pharaoh to the people of Egypt, which is also demonstrated well through the story with the level of affection she shows for her pet cat, Antranak.

Atkinson's own characters are a curious group of diverse individuals, ranging from those sketched very much in grey shades who remain unpredictable and those who are far too clear-cut to be effective.

Halron is the commander of the fleet of ships that go into battle with the witches during the opening moments of the play, and these set him up seemingly as a man who is determined to do the right thing at any cost as his concern for the safety of his men against overwhelming odds seems to indicate. But he's more complex than that as his actions in his mission for Wendle Marr shows. He and Lt. Cochrane form a double act for most of the story and their characters contrast nicely with Harlon being the experienced officer who gives the impression of having seen and done everything before, while Cochrane is much more impressionable and idealistic. Atkinson wrong foots the listener with the way that Harlon develops because just when it is expected that he has a certain standard of behaviour through his own code of morals, he brutally beats young Erimem in return for her helping the Doctor evade him. This really highlights his true allegiance - he is loyal to those that are directly under his command and that is it. Those who he reports to himself or anyone else, Harlon will happily deceive or victimise in order to get his own way unless they have some kind of hold over him.

Wendle Marr is the main representative of the element of the story dealing with the Corporation. He's interested in acquiring the relic from Talderun in order to complete the Alpha Project, which he has invested everything he has into completing. Marr is the epitome of the conniving businessman who will break whoever he has to, in order to secure his position and his goals. He'll sink to new depths of depravity to make sure his schemes are fulfilled. As with Harlon, Marr spends most of his screen time with another character, in this case his aide Tallis, who certainly gives the impression of being very efficient and loyal to him that it seems only right that there are hidden depths to her persona.

Yal Rom, an archivist from the Museum of Earth, is on Talderun to observe and try and obtain the relic at the heart of the Energy Converter, which he believes is the remains of Shara himself. Rom is characterised very much as the neutral and unassuming observer to the events for much of the story until he meets Peri, and as he is reporting back to his base, this allows Atkinson to use a similar trick that he used in his Big Finish Tomorrow People audio The Ghosts Of Mendez where he uses a reporting character to describe the excess of the structures and buildings of the Cult. While this is blatant exposition designed to try and create an image of where the drama is taking place for the listener, Atkinson just about gets away with it because of how he does it. Perhaps the most disappointing thing about the character of Rom is that during the third episode he makes a report back to his masters which completely changes the way that the listener perceives him as it shows the lengths he's prepared to take in using people, namely Peri and Erimem, to get what he's after. While the double cross nature of this is perfectly in keeping with the story, it comes across as rather a redundant development because neither Peri - despite some suspicions of him she eventually develops - nor Erimem actually discover this and a chance for some good confrontational drama is lost and undermines Peri's reaction to Rom's death as she is grieving for someone she thought she could trust, yet who in reality was only using her.

The three regulars continue the exceptional form their last release showed. Peter Davison is excellent as the Doctor, with his performance showing the maturity he brings to the role now as well as his forceful side. Nicola Bryant possibly gets the least important role within the story of the three, but she performs well, particularly in her scene with Caroline Morris where they are facing the horror of the witches revenge on Rom. Morris herself continues to build upon her character with another exceptional performance, this time showing Erimem's battle hardened edge after she comes face to face directly with brutality without reason. These three actors have built up such a good understanding that there is a real sense of feeling to their characters' relationship which makes the lengths they are prepared to go for each other both credible and dramatically believable.

Of the guest cast, the best performance is from Simon Williams as Paul Addison, who really shines in his scenes with Davison and benefits from the surreal juxtaposition of the dead world of Talderun and the serene tranquillity of a typical cricket match. As the true nature of Williams' character is revealed, his performance becomes even more convincing as the conflicting emotions of what he's done hits him hard. Glyn Owen has a wonderful gravely and distinctive voice very appropriate for audio, and despite some uncertain moments - such as when he's making suggestive remarks about the Doctor and Peri's relationship - he imbues Harlon with a dangerous sense of honour and loyalty. It's also a credit to him how loathsome he can be when the script requires it with Harlon's brutalisation of Erimem, where the viciousness of his character is brought to the fore very convincingly. Ivor Danvers underplays Wendle Marr a lot of the time, ensuring he comes across as a very sinister figure as he manipulates people towards his own ends, but unfortunately towards the end of the story Danvers gets a bit carried away and as Marr gets more desperate, the performance veers towards that of typical villainy.

Jal Dor Kal is an important role as she is the embodiment of the witches of the Cult, but Gilly Cohen's performance is far too over the top to really make the role as effectual as it could have been. Her maniacal cackling is certainly indicative of the madness she possesses as a result of her worship of Shara, but it quickly becomes very tiresome. Nigel Fairs is good as Yal Rom, putting across his detached observations very well during the opening episodes and both Kerry Skinner and Kate Brown are convincing in their roles. Big Finish producer Gary Russell also gets a small cameo role here as the dodgy Pakhar Thesanius which provides a nice comedic moment during the first episode as he tries to help the Garazone banking systems with their safe after they lost the key…

David Darlington is on duty again with the music composition and sound design for, perhaps surprisingly, only his second full Doctor Who release but he combines these two post production elements superbly to give Nekromanteia a really individual feel to it through a rich atmosphere. Particularly impressive is how Darlington achieves convincingly some of the changes of perspective the script offers with the best example occurring in the first episode where Harlon and Cochrane are talking after landing on Talderun and suddenly they sound further away and with the added background noise cluing in the listener that we are now with someone, in the case Yal Rom, observing them before the script clarifies this through Rom's dialogue.

While undeniably atmospheric, Nekromanteia suffers from its story's detachment from the listener. Strong characterisation of the regulars cannot offset the lack of an emotionally engaging plot, despite the presence of a lot of interesting concepts. The regulars of Davison, Morris and Bryant all perform well, and despite the disappointing nature of the story, this TARDIS team still shows the vibrancy and strength of character they have demonstrated previously and the progress applied here raises their stature further. Generally, the story is well cast with the conviction displayed holding the listener's attention, although the lack of subtlety demonstrated by Gilly Cohen in her performance stands out for all the wrong reasons. On balance, Nekromanteia is a decidedly average release which would have benefited from stronger and more engaging plotting, but Atkinson demonstrates his understanding of the three regulars superbly and it is their characterisation and performances which are the most successful and memorable element of this story.