The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

'That is the Forge's brief. To examine, utilise, and master the technology we have here.'

This review contains significant spoilers!

For their third Big Finish Doctor Who script, Project: Lazarus, writers Cavan Scott and Mark Wright revisit some of the most interesting characters of their debut story Project: Twilight (2001). There, the brutal yet morally ambiguous, vampire hunter Nimrod was very much a supporting character, a haunting presence lurking in the shadows, waiting for the moment to strike during the final episode. Given the strength of Stephen Chance's performance in the role combined with the intriguing background to the character, Project: Twilight convinced a lot of listeners that Nimrod was worthy of further exploration as was the mysterious organisation he operated on behalf of, the Forge. But Twilight also produced another character whose open-ended fate commanded interest and that was Cassie, a down of her luck northern lass, appealingly played by Rosie Cavaliero, who found herself blackmailed into spying upon the vampire owners of the casino she worked. It was her tragic fate to succumb to the Twilight virus and become the monster she feared, but unlike contemporary series, Cassie's transformation into a vampire didn't turn her into a crazed, evil killer intent on hunting down humans for prey, and it was this idea that she had chosen to turn away from her now inborn instinct to hunt and kill by reason of her own morality that made her a character who was interesting enough to want to see her story continued.

Despite the return of these two characters, Project: Lazarus isn't really a sequel to Project: Twilight in the strictest sense of the word, but more an expansion and evolution of some of the concepts within - specifically the Forge, which provides the setting for the bulk of the story and their activities are the focal point for Scott and Wright's investigation. As well as this, Lazarus also has the distinction of being the first story to feature two different Doctors since the inaugural audio release The Sirens Of Time back in 1999. The writing team conjure up perhaps the most novel way of achieving this seen in a performed medium by splitting the story equally between the Sixth and the Seventh Doctor, although it's not quite as simple as it sounds. Using the first half to tell one story and the second to tell a separate one that examines some unseen consequence isn't a new technique to Doctor Who as 1966's William Hartnell plodder The Ark shows. Like that story, Lazarus is essentially two stories with the later Seventh Doctor one being an examination of the implications of aspects of the earlier Sixth Doctor adventure.

It could only be the formidable team of the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn Smythe who take the lead in the first story, given the way that she related and bonded to Cassie in the earlier adventure. Lazarus opens deep in Norway where Cassie was left by the Doctor to skulk in the darkness until he returned with a cure for her condition, and it appears that she is being hunted down by Vidar Magnussen's Professor Harket. It's a suitably atmospheric opening thanks to the sound design which emphasises the starkness of the land and gives a strong impression of the hunter stalking his prey through quick editing between the two perspectives. As the Doctor and Evelyn are brought in, little concession is made to those who haven't heard the earlier story as he suddenly announces he's found the cure and they're off to find where they left her. This is the first of many troublesome points about the development of the plot as the TARDIS conveniently refuses to lock onto Cassie in the timezone they left her and the Doctor is reluctant to push to find the right date. There's no explanation as to why the TARDIS chose to act strangely, bar Evelyn's apologetic and unconvincing excuse that 'the TARDIS got confused' reasoning, which makes the leap forward two years seem little more than a contrivance to justify the subsequent character progression. It's understandable why Scott and Wright did this (if the Doctor and Evelyn had turned up ten minutes after they left Cassie there would be no story!) but it isn't handled well, particularly when contrasted to the credible way that the Seventh Doctor becomes involved later.

After the arrival of the Doctor shows that Harket is not hunting Cassie after all, but something very alien in origin, the narrative reasons for their late arrival become clear as in the intervening years Cassie has become resentful and embittered at her perceived abandonment by the Doctor. Her instincts as a vampire are emphasised well, as she can smell the blood of death nearby showing her differences without being blatant about it. The consequent discovery of a frozen body, who seems to have died horribly, is a confirmation for Harket that the creatures he is hunting, the Huldran, are close by. Unfortunately this leads to some of the most bloated descriptive dialogue seen in a Big Finish play for some considerable time as the Doctor and company examine the body and the strange blue slime around it in lurid detail.

Soon after this, the Forge is introduced through an incoming message which indicates that their agent, Artemis, has confirmed contact with Lazarus. As this obviously relates to what has already been played out, there are only two plausible possibilities as to who Lazarus is (the Doctor or the Huldran) which means that one of the two new characters introduced so far must be Artemis. Having already cast suspicion on Harket during the opening scenes only to find him totally innocent of hunting Cassie, it seems incredulous that he is the one sending encoded communications to the Forge, leaving only the aggrieved vampire as the logical candidate. This realisation deflates much of the tension from what's left of the episode as it becomes a question of waiting for Cassie's new allegiances to be exposed, but when she does show what flag she's flying it is in a shocking manner. Almost all of Project: Twilight's brutal and uncompromising violence was committed by unsympathetic characters such as Reggie as Amelia, so it comes as a jolt to hear Cassie dispatch Harket in a sickening display of cruelty although it does have the effect of showing just how far her priorities have changed. Harket's death comes perilously close to being gratuitous violence but it's there to show that by being left alone for so long she's had to resort to her demonic desire to kill in order to survive however she can.

Cavaliero's evil turn lacks panache, and at times borders on going over the top, but from the perspective of her character she is angry and irrational towards the people who abandoned her so it makes sense for her to try and show just how 'bad' she is now and that it's all their fault for leaving her to an uncertain fate. Her only way to survive was to escape a life of scavenging was to join with Nimrod, a man who had already done terrible things to her in the past in the pursuit of his goals. His introduction at the close of the episode, signals a change in direction, as the captured Huldran is taken back to the Forge along with the Doctor and Evelyn.

Stephen Chance possesses the ability to impose himself totally on the drama with his menacing and commanding voice as Nimrod. While the effect used to modulate his voice is much smoother here than in the earlier story, it still gives him the impression of being a real power. Sadly, Nimrod is less interesting here than he was in Project: Twilight due to the fact that Scott and Wright define him much more clearly. In Twilight, he was an ambiguous figure as while he acted brutally it was directed against the vampires who themselves were engaged in nefarious activities of torturing and killing. This gave Nimrod a moral authority over the vampires, but it wasn't until the very end of the story that you knew where he ultimately stood. In this second appearances, though he's painted much more clear-cut as the villain from the outset particularly since his arrogance is directed towards the Doctor in his scheme to control and exploit alien technology.

Once the drama shifts to the Forge, where its subterranean nature is very successfully realised by Gareth Jenkins' sound design, the pace of this first story picks up considerably as the unhurried approach of episode one is dropped in favour of a frantic race towards the end, albeit at the expense of any real plot development. While we discover more about the Forge itself and how successful they have been at acquiring alien samples for their archive, there's no sense of scale of the facility so, despite some post production work to imply a greater number in the background at times, the impression is that the Forge is run by three people and a computer.

Project: Lazarus

Nimrod's plan for the Doctor, when revealed, is monstrous in the extreme and it soon shows the aptness of the title of the story. Despite the fact that Nimrod justifies his actions in the name of scientific progress, you can sense he is feeding off the idea of watching an individual die over and over again until he has the secrets of what he wants. The result of this is a particularly disturbing scene where the Doctor is tortured until he is on the brink of regeneration…

While this is going on, Cassie has reluctantly taken Evelyn to find some refreshment as the journey from Norway to Dartmoor has taken its toll upon her. This gives Scott and Wright the chance to examine the changes to Cassie's character by putting her with the person who grew to know her best in Project: Twilight through her motherly bond. Cassie is a much harder and resentful person here, viewing her life in two phases - viewing herself as weak for letting anyone walk all over her until she became Artemis who she is adamant is stronger than that. Cavaliero finds a good level of conviction in these scenes as she diverts Evelyn's attention away from questions about Cassie's son by taunting her over the fact that she has been concealing from the Doctor her weak heart. Cavaliero balances out her cynicism and malice for her jibes to cut deep into Evelyn and there is the sense that Cassie's intent is a way to get back at her over the abandonment. While the revelation of her frailty is an interesting character development for Evelyn, it doesn't make much sense in context as given the things she's experienced in her time in the TARDIS, including exposure to the Cybermen conversion process in Real Time (which this story surely takes place after given Nimrod's reference to the Doctor's changed coat as seen on one of the story's two covers), then these heart problems should perhaps have been seen before for them to be plausible.

Cassie is a very tragic figure and these scenes with Evelyn form the catalyst for her redemption, but the problem with this is the way that her change of perspective is brought about doesn't convince. Nimrod sees Artemis as his natural successor as she has already become the Forge's primary European field agent, taking his place, so she has become subsumed within the organisation to the extent that Nimrod is secure enough to trust her with this responsibility. To allow her that much power, he must be secure in his belief that she will not turn or break the conditioning she has been exposed to yet Evelyn is able to get through her knowledge of Cassie's son Tommy remarkably easy. Evelyn is a perceptive woman, and given her past relationship with Cassie it isn't unreasonable to believe she could communicate with the real Cassie, but the quickness that this develops here pushes credibility to the point where it snaps. To make this more believable, it needed to play out over an extended period of time and the speed at which Cassie switches sides again undermines the impact of what is to come because it is based upon a tenuous premise. This is merely symptomatic of the inherent problem with Project: Lazarus in that two part stories do not have sufficient time to develop fully, meaning they can come across as insubstantial and unsatisfying which is certainly true of the first half of this story.

While it goes without saying that Cassie's attitude change comes just in time for her to save the Doctor, it heralds the best scenes in the first Project: Lazarus story. For a story that has been so obvious in its development, the scenes detailing the Doctor and Evelyn's escape and the consequences pack a real emotional punch, as Cassie's tragic life reaches its end. It's fitting that Cavaliero gets her best moments in this story here, as she shows power in her emotional reaction to what she has become and her intense desire to make amends. The conviction she shows here shows what a waste her underwritten role here has been because it has failed to capitalise on the potential in bringing her back as these final scenes ably demonstrate. As there is only a superficial depth given to Cassie's characterisation here, much of the emotional impact of her demise comes from the listener's knowledge of who she was in Project: Twilight and as a result, if you haven't heard that, these scenes are likely to be less powerful.

Episode two closes with the best scenes of this first half of Lazarus as it portrays a very moving and very real reaction by the Doctor and Evelyn to the news of their friend's death. It's becoming a recurring theme for people Evelyn meets and becomes attached to in her travels to suffer horrible deaths (indeed dealing with grief in this manner was one of the main themes of her last appearance in Doctor Who And The Pirates) but this is perhaps the first time we get to hear it played out in all its raw intensity in the immediate aftermath. Evelyn's assertion that "you can't always make everything better with a cup of cocoa and a slice of cake" shows her growth as a character since her inception as a companion, and her unashamed display of anguish contrasts the Doctor's attitude of trying to move on brilliantly. The conflict between them with Evelyn's anger at his lack of expressive remorse is an interesting way to leave these two characters because it adds a touch of uncertainty about where they can go from here and whether their relationship will ever be the same again, an idea which is emphasised further in the second half of the story) and both Colin Baker and Maggie Stables perform superbly in conveying this through the fervour of their display.

The Sixth Doctor's half of Project: Lazarus is too predictable and comes off as being unsatisfying because what little plot there is isn't developed sufficiently and as a result much of it comes across as being contrived. When it does gather pace in its final moments, this phase of the story is disappointingly over before it really began. But with the start of episode three, there is a change in Doctor, theme music and most importantly a significant upturn in the quality of the storyline. These later episodes succeed in building upon a couple of seemingly insignificant details from the first half of the drama and by examining their implications and their consequences.

The utter contrast between Keff McCulloch's arrangement of the Doctor Who theme and Beethoven's 'Moonlight' Sonata is an incredibly effective way of immediately changing the drama's tone, showing that this is essentially a different - but ultimately linked - story to the one that concluded in the preceding episode. The sombre tones as the Seventh Doctor indulges his musical side (and no, it's not played on the spoons!) reflect his current mood as this story is set close to the 1996 Television Movie where the Doctor was a melancholy and contemplative character, rather than the more manipulative individual seen in the later stories of season 26 and the New Adventures. The Doctor's companionless state does unfortunately bring with it the annoying tendency to have him talking to himself, or ostensibly the TARDIS, which is a necessary evil when he's the only character about, but it still feels slightly stilted and unnatural - if Big Finish are going to continue to feature this version of the Seventh Doctor in future stories, and there's no reason not to given his best performances of late have either been in this or the earlier madcap season 24 style, then he really does need someone with him to bounce the dialogue off. All the other Big Finish Doctors' have benefited from new blood in their companions and the Seventh seems left out!

This half is set several years after the Doctor and Evelyn's tragic trip to the Forge and sees the Seventh Doctor surprised to be returning there after detecting it as the focus for a disturbance within the vortex .Scott and Wright show how different some of the Forge characters are now as they are under pressure from a force of invaders to their base, and the fact that these characters seem different too helps to emphasise the passage of time whilst demonstrating the danger they, and by implication, the Doctor is facing too.

The Doctor's initial meeting with Nimrod shows the difference between him and his previous incarnation, as he is much less forgiving of Nimrod's past demeanours and is uninterested in trading pleasantries. The structure of the story, with the use of the different themes in particular, helps to conceal the story's biggest surprise which is the presence of the Sixth Doctor in the Seventh Doctor's half. Scott and Wright show some subtly and good use of the audio medium to keep his identity secret until they are ready, by having him feature initially in the presence of Doctor Crumpton, so while Nimrod refers to a Doctor, it's easy to infer he's talking about her.

Despite some very authentic banter between these two Doctors upon their first meeting, it soon becomes clear that there is something amiss as the combination of hearing Colin Baker playing a Doctor who is often less assured than usual and some obvious dialogue, such as the Seventh Doctor saying that he has no memory of ever working for the Forge with Nimrod, tends to put the listener on alert to the fact that not everything is what is seems. By laying down the clues here about the truth behind the Sixth Doctor's presence at the Forge, Scott and Wright tip their hands too early and it closes down the other opportunities for what the reason really is too soon, regardless of claims that the Seventh Doctor could be from an aberrant timeline which just ring hollow.

While the Huldran were largely superfluous to the plot of the first half of Project: Lazarus, the Forge's actions towards their captured quarry has consequences which are shown here with their attacks upon the facility. As the Doctor sets about helping his other self to deal with this problem, Sylvester McCoy is very good at showing his Doctor's shrewdness because his delivery conveys well the fact that he's ahead of the game and is already suspicious of the veracity of what he has been told and he's seeking to confirm his reservations for himself.

While the revelation regarding the Sixth Doctor of these last episodes is telegraphed too strongly, which lessens its impact upon the listener, it does enable Baker to act in a very different manner than his character would usually and as he discovers his true nature, the listener cannot help but be moved by the poignancy of his reaction. The finale to the story seems to go on longer than it should without any real incident as the Doctor moves throughout the Forge with little hindrance, which again adds to the idea that there isn't enough realisation of the size of the staff at the facility, but as with all race-against-time elements of stories when done well, it's easy to feel the tension building particularly as the Doctor tries valiantly to escape and thanks to some clever use of ambiguous sound design, it's unclear as to whether he's made it or not, which accentuates the tension further.

Both Doctors are fairly evenly matched with Colin Baker slightly taking the edge over Sylvester McCoy due to his impressive display during the last two episodes, although he does suffer in his own half because of the Doctor's ineffectiveness during episode two. McCoy seems to enjoy his Doctor being broody and reflective and he brings this to Project: Lazarus skilfully, making his Doctor a much more forceful presence than his earlier, domineering incarnation and it is this that ensures the Seventh Doctor is more than a match for Nimrod and in this respect, it's particularly interesting to see how effective the two Doctors' approaches are in dealing with him and the Forge in their outcomes.

Maggie Stables delivers a dependably excellent performance as Evelyn, as usual, but her role disappoints slightly because she's not as actively involved in the story as this listener would have liked. The development of the character through her newly revealed condition is cautiously welcomed as it is something that will need to be explored further, but knowing this does help to end her involvement in the story on a powerful note which is emphasised strongly by the assurance of Stables' performance as she mourns the senseless loss of life.

Stephen Chance shows a more evil side to Nimrod here and while he does it superbly with his wonderfully malevolent voice being a menacing presence, the fact that the character is written in a very black and white manner rather than the appealing shades of grey that made up his first appearance mean that while it's a good performance, it's less effective in making the character stand out, which was the overriding impression he made in Project: Twilight.

Rosie Cavaliero's return provokes mixed feelings as when she's on form with her emotionally charged scenes with Evelyn and her confrontation with Nimrod she's stunningly powerful, but when she's playing the villain she veers too closely to going over the top that her shouting isn't convincing as genuine rage. While the script short-changes Cassie over the way she regains her senses and breaks away from Nimrod's influence, it does give Cavaliero the chance to send off the character magnificently. It's a pity that as this is almost certainly her last appearance in character that it wasn't a more substantial and satisfying part.

Of the rest of the cast, Vidar Magnussen makes the biggest impression as the likeable Professor Harket, dedicated to finding his mythical creature, and his demise is shocking because of this. In some respects, Magnussen is almost too good at making his character congenial as once the listener has gotten to know him, it's difficult to believe the suspicion the script tries to throw upon him. Ingrid Evans, so memorable in Sarah Jane Smith: Ghost Town, does well as Professor Crumpton in an underwritten role because she conveys persuasively the evolution of the character from a scientist obsessed with the pursuit of technological and biological advances to someone who can recognise that her work at the Forge is ethically wrong and it's compelling to hear her rediscovering her beliefs and standing up for them, despite knowing the consequences. Adam Woodroffe is convincing too as his character Frifth goes through a similar evolution in outlook as he grows to see that to Nimrod all the employees of the Forge are people to be used and discarded when they have outlived their usefulness.

Like the last Project: story, Lazarus ends in an open-ended fashion which leaves the door open for another Forge follow up, but unlike Twilight where it felt as if there was still unfinished business to conclude, the coda here seems to have been added out of expectation to enable the Forge scenario to be used again in the future. As an experimental approach to how stories featuring more than one Doctor are done, Project: Lazarus is certainly novel in utilising the two part per Doctor structure but because each is essentially their own story, it comes across as being something of a gimmick because the complexity of the plot is sacrificed in order to utilise both Doctors. The Doctor Who Magazine preview of this story implies that the original idea was to have each of the two Lazarus halves as two separate full stories which would have probably have been more satisfying because it could have added the much needed depth to both sides and reduced the impression that everything was being hurried unnecessarily. Despite being heavily flawed, Project: Lazarus is very easy to listen to but despite occasional flashes of inspiration and a good overall performance from the cast, it's all a bit too obvious and ultimately rather hollow.