The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

'We've got to go back. Back to Cambridge, 1979...'

On paper, the idea of remaking Shada is an intriguing prospect. Originally intended to close Tom Baker's penultimate season as the Doctor, the story was eventually abandoned due to industrial action despite filming having commenced both on location and in the studio, leaving it with a mystique as the unfinished story. Despite a video release in the early 1990's, which used narration from Baker to fill in the substantial missing scenes there's always been a sense that it wasn't enough to convey the story properly. Throw in the fact that it's written by the late Douglas Adams, who subsequently found fame with The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy after his Doctor Who work and you can see why the prospect of recording a new version for the latest of BBCi and Big Finish's webcasts would be appealing. And because Adams was a writer who loved language and wordplay, his script was very dialogue heavy which meant that the reliance on character based drama would ensure that his story was more readily transferable to the audio medium than a story with a heavy visual aspect to it.

But despite all of these reasons for the production, there were a lot of inherent dangers in remaking Shada for a modern audience. While the fact that it was intended as a 'webcast' meant that it could potentially reach a larger audience than a regular Big Finish release because of the fact anyone can watch it through the Internet, the fact that the storyline and existing footage have both been in the public domain for a long time means that a good percentage of the target audience will be familiar enough with the story so that comparisons between the two versions are inevitable in terms of how the original cast compares with the 2003 line up as well as the changes made to the script to tailor it audio. Also, with the story being broadcast episodically over six weeks there wasn't the traditional 'what's going to happen next' incentive to tune in for the next instalment as some of the audience will know precisely what will unfold. This last point is perhaps less of an issue than it could be because it is the same situation as any new production of a classic play - just because you know what happens in King Lear, it doesn't mean you don't necessarily want to see a new production of it.

And that's the best way to think of the Big Finish version of Shada. It's a new version of an existing story and that's certainly the thinking behind this adaptation, at least in production terms as story-wise there are some additional elements to put this version into context of the Eighth Doctor's chronology. Of course, none of these scenes written into the revision of the script by producer Gary Russell would be necessary had Tom Baker been willing to reprise his role as the Doctor, but his refusal is the listener's gain as Paul McGann takes centre stage as his altogether more laid back Doctor is brought in. Russell skilfully pens an introductory scene which effectively shows why this new version is taking place, tying it in with the fact that footage from the original was used in the twentieth anniversary special The Five Doctors in 1983, without being too heavy handed about this. While you could argue that this prologue wasn't necessary, it does much more than just put Shada into context as it introduces and establishes the dynamics of the relationship between the Doctor and Romana, consequently giving consideration to those who may not be as familiar with them or their history together.

Adams was the script editor for Doctor Who during season 17 and tried to bring an approach which demonstrated the type of wit and sophistication which his own writing showed. This sometimes worked, noticeably with City Of Death, but often failed due to poor production standards of the day which combined with the excessively theatrical acting and the often inadequate plotting of the stories to make it seem as if Doctor Who had become a send up of itself. From the existing material of Shada it seemed as though it wouldn't fall into this category, despite some lacklustre production and poor plotting, because the script showed Adams' wit perfectly through sparkling dialogue and colourful characters which are brought out again in the Big Finish version. In adapting the script, Russell keeps the vast majority of it as Adams wrote it, adding extra dialogue only to clarify scenes that were intended originally to rely on its visuals to convey the progression of the story. While Shada 2003 does have animation, Russell is aware that it is likely to find a home on audio CD eventually, like Real Time, and so doesn't try to rely on the animations telling the story rather than the dialogue. This awareness sometimes feels intrusive when watching the webcast because the occasion line does seem extraneous in this context, but when listening only to the audio stream it works without difficulty. All the addition material fits in well, complimenting the original to provide a satisfying experience, the most significant changes come at the conclusion of episode five and episode six, where Russell gives the Krags greater importance so that they are used in the denouement in a far more meaningful way than in the original version.

The main problem with the new Shada is the same as with the original and that is the way in which the plot develops. Sticking with the original six episode structure, this is actually the first time that Big Finish has produced a story in this fashion to the same length as the television series. While they've released stories with equivalent (and longer) running times than this version, they've always been in the standard four parts. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with the six part structure but the problem with Shada is that the pacing is far too slow with plot elements spread so thinly throughout these episodes that the whole story feels overlong and very drawn out.

The story is broken down into three main sections which essentially take up two episodes each. Firstly, the Cambridge based sections introduce the characters and create an air of mystery as to what Skagra is up to, while the next block follows Skagra's attempts to locate Shada while the Doctor endeavours to discover what he's up to with the final third dealing with the conclusion on the Time Lords' prison planet. The two episodes per segment of plot gives Shada a rather tidy structure, but because of the way the plot is split between these episodes it results in an extremely slow progression. The first two episodes are particularly guilty of this because while the first episode establishes and introduces the story's elements well, the second episode barely advances the plot further at all and this gives the impression that there's no urgency to the story, which is something that is also true of the middle episodes also. While this results in some memorable scenes because of the way the script is written and the characters performed, it's difficult to care about what is actually happening in the bigger picture. Interestingly, the script recognises by the fourth episode the lack of development because the Doctor sums up what he doesn't know by saying clearly "We don't know where Skagra has taken Romana, we don't know why he wants the book, we don't know what he's going to do …" and the listener is in the same position, which after over an hour and a half of drama isn't a good state of affairs.

Most Doctor Who stories follow the same structural pattern of developing the plot over four stages, usually confined to an individual episode in the four part structure, with the first introducing the story, the second advancing the problem, the third building to a climax with the fourth resolving the matter. Shada does fit this structure too, but uses two episodes for both the first and second phases which make the whole story feel unnecessarily prolonged. While the audience knows what Skagra is up to in pursuit of his goal, they don't know the important question of why or what it is he wants until the last hour of the production. Without having any insight into Skagra's schemes, it is fairly frustrating because he could be a stock rogue character because there is no context for his villainy. Given how the changes to the script were largely minimal, it is unlikely that any thought was given to restructuring the story down into four parts, but had this have been done it would certainly have improved the pacing problems and perhaps made for a more satisfying story. Despite the troubles the first four episodes have, the final two go someway to making up for this with a rousing conclusion which is filled with effective drama.

Possibly the biggest obstacle to the new production was the role of the Doctor. Each one has their own separate character and while all his incarnations share common features, they are essentially distinct from one another so it wouldn't be as simple as just placing a different Doctor into Shada and hoping to get away with it. Of the four Doctors Big Finish has used in their regular series, Paul McGann always stands out because of the energetic and passionate performances he delivers. Given that he is also the 'current' Doctor, it seemed only logical that he should be the one to step into this story.

McGann is a very different type of actor to Tom Baker and this shows in his performance here, but the amazing thing is that the script really suits McGann's style. While Baker was overtly bombastic, McGann is smooth and brings the charm of the dialogue out with his compelling display. His restrained and laid back approach to the Doctor is a real pleasure to hear and helps to draw out the quality of the dialogue with aplomb. Despite the fact that most of the Doctor's lines weren't written for him, McGann succeeds amicably in making the role his own here, helped no end by the warm repartee he holds with Lalla Ward which was shown in Neverland which is even more pronounced here. Some of the changes instigated in the adaptation to the dialogue are to make it more tailored to the Eighth Doctor which helps to emphasise the compassion of his character, but thanks to the ease and quality of McGann it's difficult not to believe this part was written specially for him. Lalla Ward is the only returning member of the original production, reprising her role as Romana, now Lord President of the Time Lords, and it is a delight to hear her again. Ever the consummate performer she brings back the playfulness she possessed in abundance in 1979 mixed in with her own maturity which emphasises that this is an older and wiser Romana than before, as her position warrants.

In casting the story, director Nicholas Pegg, who seems to make a habit of gathering fantastic casts together for his previous Big Finish directed stories, outdoes himself by takes the same approach of keeping it new with an impressive all-star cast which on the whole delivers brilliantly.

James Fox excels as the eccentric Professor Chronotis who has summoned the Doctor to Cambridge because of the book he 'borrowed' from the Panoptican Archive. Fox is particularly adept at endearing Chronotis to the listener through the conviction of his performance but he also manages to convey the mysterious undertones which foreshadow the eventual revelation regarding his true identity. He succeeds in emphasising the seemingly harmless nature of the Professor by using a lightness in his performance which suits the script perfectly and helps to give a great level of banter between him, the Doctor and Romana during their scenes together.

The role of the villain, Skagra, is taken by Andrew Sachs who injects a wonderful sense of malice into his performance which makes him seem like a villain who means business, demonstrated superbly by the way that he treats the motorist in the opening episode. Unfortunately due to the way that the script treats the unveiling of Skagra's plan, there isn't really much for Sachs to get his teeth into apart from making him sound as evil as possible and so by the end of episode two, he's indulging in the mad, maniacal laughing typical of a stock villain. During the last couple of episodes, Sachs brings out the more interesting aspects of Skagra's character by demonstrating his true agenda. Adams' script also highlights in a scene brilliantly played between Sachs and McGann how boring and repetitive he found villains whose only goal was to take over the universe (ironically a clichéd idea which BBCi's first Doctor Who webcast Death Comes To Time was still propagating over twenty years later!) and while Skagra's motivation was left ambiguous for too long, the revelation of what his actions have been in aid of is a fascinating idea and contributes to the effectiveness of the conclusion.

Sean Biggerstaff gets the most material of the remaining cast members as Chris Parsons, who accompanies the Doctor for much of the story. Biggerstaff's Scottish accent does provide a good contrast with that of McGann, as intended, but the main problem with his performance is that he sometimes seems too detached which makes it difficult for the listener to really emphasise with his character although it could be argued that he played it this way to show how hard it is for Parsons to come to terms with the fantastical aspects of the adventure he finds himself swept up into. Susannah Harker's performance as Clare Keightley is more impressive as she really sounds enthusiastic about being in the story. The brightness of her performance compensates quite well for the fact that her character is rather undeveloped and at times a little superfluous to the plot. Hannah Gordon provides the voice of Skagra's Ship and her silky tones help to bring alive the part exceptionally well.

As usual with Big Finish stories, the music and sound design are important aspects in the overall success of the production. Here, Russell Stone scores the story and as one of the most evocative of Big Finish's composers, his work here is excellent as it underlines the tone of the story brilliantly. Gareth Jenkins completes the post production and this is one of the production's great strengths. Jenkins creates some very believable and versatile soundscapes here with the scenes set in Cambridge at the start being very convincing for an outdoor setting while he also creates extremely atmospheric and distinct backgrounds for Skagra's various ships and Shada itself. Coupled with this are the impressive effects used to convey the strength of the Krags who come across as being massively powerful because of the way they are treated. The sphere that Skagra uses to drain minds is a very visual element but by using a cacophony of disparate voices together, Jenkins effectively uses the sound to suggest the image of what it is to the listener even if it's impossible to show it's actual physicality. There is only one section towards the end of the first episode where the sound design is lacking and this is where Skagra consults his Ship in order to discover more information about the Doctor, and while the animation shows what he's learning, the sound singularly fails to convey this to leaving only the background pulse of the Ship. This is fine for the webcast, but without seeing the animation, it leaves a prolonged period without any dialogue or indication of what it is that Skagra is discovering.

As with both of the previous Doctor Who webcasts, Lee Sullivan again provides the artwork although this time it is presented in Flash rather than in the RealMedia format. This change has a profound effect on the way the viewer can experience the story as the characters are more animated (although still nowhere near fully) and the detailed backgrounds have been sacrificed in favour of simpler backdrops which have the tendency to fade away into other aspects, such as the blackness of space for instance. This background shifts give the story a very surrealistic feel which is heightened by the very organic feel of much of Sullivan's art, particularly in Skagra's ships and the look of the Krags. The various depictions of the characters are largely based on how the actual actors look and Sullivan captures them well (particularly Romana) and because of the change in format, they can be slightly more emotive in showing how their expressions change. As it isn't fully animated, this is only a slight step up from the way characters were presented in previous webcasts, but it is an improvement and helps to make the process of watching the story a more fluid one.

While the Shada of 2003 is superbly produced and filled with excellent performances from its talented cast, the failings of the plot ensure that the production overall is less than the sum of its parts. Douglas Adams was a talented writer but with Shada he only showed glimpses of that talent thanks to the overstretched nature of the storyline, which shows the danger of spreading an imaginative and intriguing idea too thinly. Did we need a new production of Shada? No. Was it worth doing? On balance, yes, as it provided a chance to finally experience the story as fully as possible even if that did prove to be an uneven and ultimately unsatisfying event.