The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

"Landmarks are meant to be identifiable, even if you stumble across them in the most unexpected places..."

Doctor Who fans will forever remember March 2005 as the month the show returned to television as a continuing series for the first time since 1989, when the Seventh Doctor and Ace walked off into the sunset searching for "people made of smoke and cities made of song." So it's entirely appropriate that in the month of the Ninth Doctor's introduction, Big Finish catch up with Sylvester McCoy's incarnation - particularly since this is only his second appearance in the audio series for about a year and a half. Unfortunately, McCoy's Doctor has always seemed the least successful of the four Big Finish have used as he's not had the same quality of scripts afforded to his contemporaries nor the same variety of companions, usually being either stuck with one whom the producers have struggled to find an interesting new perspective upon or uncharacteristically solo.

Perhaps the lowest point came last year when the bringing forward of the final Eighth Doctor "season" reduced the Seventh Doctor to a solitary appearance during 2004, with an announced free-to-subscribers McCoy adventure eventually materialising as the Sixth Doctor led Her Final Flight. But that single outing was The Harvest, a story that wasted its ingenious premise through pedestrian plotting yet changed fundamentally the dynamic between the Doctor and Ace by adding a second companion in the likeable form of down-to-earth Thomas Hector Schofield, usually referred to as Hex. The task of building upon this promising new line up has (eventually) eventually fallen to Simon A. Forward, for whom Dreamtime is his third audio play for Big Finish following up the intriguing The Sandman and his slightly lacklustre contribution to the Bernice Summerfield series, The Bone Of Contention.

As the title suggests, Dreamtime is influenced considerably by the ideas of Aboriginal mythology, a source that proves inspired for it allows Forward to construct a story that exists in a hazy, otherworldly realm where nothing can be taken for granted. The opening scene is wonderfully scripted, delivering little explanation or context as to who the character we hear is or what he's doing whilst creating in the process an engaging mystery as to what actually happened. This is emphasised further as the Doctor, Ace and Hex all arrive in a deserted city, flying through space on an asteroid. Stark sound design creates a wearying sense of bleakness as the travellers begin to explore their surroundings. Even before they stumble across Uluru (previously known as Ayres Rock), their scenes and the scenario our heroes find themselves in feels dreamlike. Forward wisely keeps these three together up until the very end of part one when the needs of the plot require their separation, but by devoting the majority of the episode to the exploration he can remind us of the bond between the three and remind us of where these characters are at this point. The Doctor is once more tinged with mystery; Ace is the seasoned time-traveller who's enjoying the new boy's adjustment to the possibilities now open before him.

Eventually, the focus shifts towards a search for understanding and comprehension about what happened to the place, which takes the form of a spiritual and surrealistic quest for the Doctor as he enters the Dreaming and encounters a mythic figure from Aboriginal folklore. Whilst this is occurring, Hex and Ace have to cope with more earthy concerns as they discover the native Dream Commandos who battle the creatures that emerge from the Dreaming and also some visiting Galyari, looking to trade and discover the secrets behind the technology keeping the atmosphere in place onboard the asteroid. The inclusion of Forward's avian-descended creations is rather anomalous as while there's always room for worldbuilding in science fiction (particularly when it something Big Finish haven't really done outside the Excelis series) Forward's audio work is becoming synonymous with them. While his take on them here is more successful than their last appearance in the Bernice Summerfield series, taking them out of their natural environment and giving them a different perspective as we see how their selfishness motivates their desire to better themselves contrasted against their single-mindedness when placed in a situation of adversity, their presence isn't really necessary and it shows at times. The return of Galyari commander Korshal also places the development of the race in a rather confined place as while Steffan Rhodri is very good in the part, the common characters between Forward's trilogy makes the time frame the stories take place in much narrower and less wide-ranging. Most disappointingly, Forward sweeps aside any possible attempts to examine the Doctor's place in the Galyari's own legends as the Sandman from the intriguing position of his successor. How does the Seventh Doctor's detached perspective of his former self make him consider those past actions? An interesting avenue of investigation is frustratingly ignored.

What really distinguishes Dreamtime is its plot, which when broken down is actually quite shallow but for once this isn't the kiss of death that it has been for so many recent Doctor Who audio plays because of how Forward's priorities are different. Rather than script another solid but formulaic drama, he's much more interested in creating a stylistic mood piece where the dreamlike state encompasses all. It's a brave move for Forward as it certainly won't be to everyone's tastes, but with the exit of conventional plot devices (most notably the lack of a real villain) comes a mature sense of ambiguity that gives the drama depth and layers through its shades of grey. This play feels excitingly different and much of that comes from the mystical legends that Forward uses as a foundation as they feel very alien, despite originating from humanity.

Sylvester McCoy sounds as if he enjoyed himself during the recording of this story and that comes across in the way he portrays the Doctor, particularly in the early scenes with his two companions which shows a good banter developing between the three. His most effective dramatic scenes come when he's imploring Baiame to feel compassion and save those he intends not to but also the Doctor's reaction when he realises the cause behind the desolated city that occupies the asteroid. The script carries on the thinking behind Ace's presentation in The Harvest by writing the character with a much more mature touch, letting Sophie Aldred deliver a much better performance than she usually does in these plays. Not that Ace has a particularly large or important role in the drama, as Forward doesn't quite get the balance right in weighting out the three regulars' subplots with the Doctor and Hex featuring more prominently. While the Doctor should always be the most important character in a story, it's probably fair to give Hex the meatier role from the companions as he's still new and being integrated into the team. Philip Olivier continues to impress though by bringing out Hex's continual amazement at what he's seeing and there's some nice, depreciating humour about his would-be catchphrase (which really needs to be retired before his next appearance). What is perhaps most memorable about Hex's role within Dreamtime is how the script puts him into a situation where he's totally out of his depth, without the help of his two guides, and watches him deal with the uncanny. It shows both his own resourcefulness and how he has to trust his own instincts if he is going to survive.

The guest cast is generally fine with John Scholes deserving particular merit as Baiame, the spiritual All-Father of the land who is extremely convincing as the charismatic leader who has drawn many thousands of people to Uluru. The only performance that seems slightly misjudged is Josephine Mackerras as Toomey. Although her character is supposed to be alone and very frightened, the way she imbues the fear comes dangerous close to being over-the-top and something a little more restrained might have been more credible. As she's a very minor character, it's quite inconsequential to the play's overall success.

Steve Foxon's technical presentation captures the ambience of the script well, emphasising the dreamlike qualities by making everything seem slightly off balance. His evocative sound design gives the empty city a barren quality of desolation, only broken by the equally vacant howling of the wind. Equally impressive is the chaotic nightmare of the background present in the Dreaming itself which gives the sense of being everywhere and yet nowhere at the same time.

Dreamtime is rather a courageous departure stylistically from Big Finish's recent output and Forward is to be applauded for bringing some invention to his play and creating something more leftfield. Its failure to conform will certainly alienate some listeners who are after more basic adventuring from their Doctor Who, but essentially Dreamtime is an intriguing work that benefits from the twist of imagination the mythology drawn upon brings.