The punctuation is a bit wrong in the title “Classic Doctors, New Monsters Volume 01” is the title but it should be punctuated differently in my opinion, but I will come back to this a bit later on.
This is the first really overt mixture of “old Who”and “new Who” that Big finish have done – and why not (to quote Barry Norman) – when The Doctor meets The Weeping Angels, The Sycorax and the Judoon in the TV series when he is in his Tenth (or Eleventh depending on how you class John Hurt) incarnation he is aware of them and has definitely had encounters with them previously – and this box set tells part of that story. We have Five with the Weeping Angels, Six with the Judoon, Seven with the Sycorax and Eight with the new series incarnation of the Sontarans, complete with “Sontar -HAH!” chants, but even though the stories feature new monsters, the stories really do retain a classic era feeling, the Davison era story feels Davison, the Colin story really only could be a Colin story, the writers are respectful to the Doctor’s they are writing for whilst obviously relishing the new toys they have been given to play with. They fit into their respective eras like they have always been there – well time CAN be rewritten you know 🙂
So four very different stories all showcasing the strengths of their respective era’s and we begin with Doctor number Five…..
1.1 Fallen Angels by Phil Mulryne
I will now commit sacrilege. I was never that fussed on “Blink”. There, I have said it. I just didn’t see the fuss was all about. Moving statues, all that “timey-wimey” nonsense and not much of The Doctor – really not my cup of Earl Grey. So I wasn’t really looking forward to this one that much. How wrong can a man be??? Very wrong as it turns out as this one is a definite copper bottomed classic. Up there with THE classics of the classic era, this story can hold its head up high. Peter Davison is fast becoming my Doctor of choice in the Big Finish range – I never really got him on TV, but this years run of main range stories have really showcased his talents and Fallen Angels carries on this welcome trend. Now then. Weeping Angels, a VERY visual monster. Well….. yes. How could they work on audio?? They shouldn’t but they really do, this is a roller coaster ride. From the pre-credits sequence to the workshop of Michelangelo (Matthew Kelly) to the Sistine Chapel, to the catacombs beneath the Vatican, the pace never really lets up. The plot involves a secret priesthood named “The Cult of the three Angels” worshipping the Weeping Angels and using Michelangelo to “rescue” them from blocks of marble that they have become encased in. It also has a rather clever “timey-wimey” plot involving honeymooning couple Joel (Sacha Dhawan) & Gabby (Diane Morgan) being zapped back in time to 1500’s Italy. It also has a very clever in joke for fans of Blink towards the end that had me laughing out loud. A fantastic opening story.
1.2 Judoon in Chains by Simon Barnard and Paul Morris
Judoon, monosyllabic, authoritarian, literal creatures. Not a poetic bone in their body or so you would think. Old Sixie has always been the most verbose and poetic of the Doctor’s, so who better to feature in a tale of Courtroom grandstanding, victorian carnival’s and a very special Judoon who has found his sensitive side? The Judoon in question is Captain Kybo (Nicholas Briggs) and we meet him on trial in Victorian England for desertion from his regiment with his advocate none other than The Sixth Doctor, and he has a story to tell…..
Told as a Dickensian nightmare and with a slight feeling of David Lynch’s “The Elephant Man” we see victorian values at their most abhorrent as Kybo is taken in by Circus owner Jonathan Jaggers Esq (Trevor Cooper) and used as an attraction in a freak show. Kybo really is the most interesting Judoon, his translator is broken yet he learns english, he writes poetry, he sees things in shades of grey rather than black and white and is an incredibly sympathetic character brought to life beautifully by Nick Briggs. The story also sees a conspiracy and cover up by a greedy corporation and a new beginning for a platoon of enlightened Judoon.
1.3 Harvest of the Sycorax by James Goss
Where the first two stories are set in the past, this one is in the far far future. And it is a very bleak future. The populace are controlled by designer viruses and designer mood enhancing chemicals. We meet the hero of the story Zanzibar Hashtag (Nisha Nayar) on a space station that has been invaded by The Sycorax, there is a vault on the station and The Sycorax will seemingly stop at nothing to get it open. Into this chaos arrives the chaotic Seventh Doctor, and then things really start to get interesting. The Sycorax are using blood control to make the denizens of the station do their will, but this time they have managed to procure some Time-Lord blood and are able to control The Doctor. This is the most light hearted story of the group, in fact i cannot really place where in Seven’s time line this occurs, he is not as manipulative as his later person abut not as comedic as his season 24 persona. It also has a very very funny lead Sycorax played by Giles Watling who reminds me very much of Tim the Enchanter in Monty Python’s Holy Grail film, he gives hysterical speeches in a clipped high pitched voice, he also informs is that Sycorax “rock” quite often. A bit of an oddball of a story, but there really is nothing wrong with that.
1.4 The Sontaran Ordeal by Andrew Smith
And this brings us almost up to date. Many many years after his TV Movie appearance, Eight is involved in the early stages of the Time War, railing against the Time Lords and what they have become he arrives on the planet Drakkis – a planet devastated when the Time War entered real time and scarred it backwards and forwards in time forever.
Add to this mix an exiled Sontaran called Jask (Dan Starkey of “Hello Girl” fame), a Paladin named Sarana Teel (Jossette Simon) and a story that goes right to the heart of the Sontaran concept of honour and what it means to Jask. These are very much New Series Sontarans, complete with chants and the inflections of speech that their TV counterparts have, in fact General Stenk is played by Christopher Ryan (of “Mike the Cool Person” fame) who played a similar role on TV. At its heart this really is a story about honour and duty and doing the right thing for the right reasons whatever the consequences. It also goes some way with its denouement to explain why Eight became sick of the time war and what it was doing to him, how he couldn’t help people because of the perception of Time Lords, and why he needed to die and become the War Doctor. A story of hope and also a story of despair.
At the beginning of this review, a very long time ago, I commented on punctuation – “Classic Doctors, New Monsters Volume 01” may be grammatically correct and also the name of the box set, I prefer this “Classic – Doctors! New Monsters!” because that REALLY does what it says on the tin. Its a classic (especially the first two stories) it features Doctors and New Monsters AND it enhances the characteristics of these monsters adding new layers to the mythos of the creatures whilst remaining completely rooted in each Doctor’s era. A Blinking, Stomping, Rocking, “HAH” – Ing classic set 10/10.
Written By Ed Watkinson
Synopsis
This title was released in July 2016. It will be exclusively available to buy from the BF website until September 30th 2016, and on general sale after this date.
A brand new boxset of four adventures, featuring monsters from the new series of Doctor Who!
1.1 Fallen Angels by Phil Mulryne
2015: When sightseers Joel and Gabby Finch encounter a strange man in Edwardian cricketing garb in the Sistine Chapel, their honeymoon suddenly takes a terrifying turn.
1511: Michelangelo is commissioned to create some very special sculptures by a mysterious sect. But as he carves, angels seem to emerge fully-formed from the rock. Almost as if they are alive…
From Michelangelo’s workshop to the catacombs of Rome, the Fifth Doctor must keep his wits about him and his eyes wide open as he confronts the Weeping Angels.
1.2 Judoon in Chains by Simon Barnard and Paul Morris
The Sixth Doctor is no stranger to courtroom drama, but faces a very different challenge when he prepares to defend a most unusual Judoon.
After an environmental clearance mission goes wrong, Captain Kybo of the Nineteenth Judoon Interplantary Force is stranded in Victorian England, bound in chains, an exhibit in a circus show. But he has allies: Eliza Jenkins – known to audiences as ‘Thomasina Thumb’ – and the larger-than-life ‘clown’ in the colourful coat.
Uncovering a trail of injustice and corruption, the Doctor and Kybo soon find themselves on trial for their lives…
1.3 Harvest of the Sycorax by James Goss
In the far future, humanity has a remedy for everything. Whatever the problem, Pharma Corps has the answer and a designer disease tailored to every human’s blood-type. Zanzibar Hashtag has no need to be sad, scared, stressed, or depressed ever again.
That is, until vicious aliens arrive on her space station intent on opening its Vault. What will it mean for the human race if the Sycorax take control of what’s inside?
And when the Seventh Doctor arrives on the scene, can he convince Zanzibar to care about her life long enough to help him?
1.4 The Sontaran Ordeal by Andrew Smith
An instant of the Time War brings centuries of conflict to the planet Drakkis, and the Eighth Doctor is there to witness the terrible results.
A Sontaran fleet, desperate to join the epic conflict, follows in its wake to take advantage of the fallout. But when Commander Jask is beamed down to the ravaged surface, there is more to his arrival than first appears.
Soon, an unlikely champion joins forces with the Time Lord to fight for the future of her world, and together they must face the Sontaran Ordeal…
Written By: Phil Mulryne, Simon Barnard, Paul Morris, James Goss, Andrew Smith
Directed By: Barnaby Edwards
Cast
Fallen Angels
Peter Davison (The Doctor) Sacha Dhawan (Joel Finch), Diane Morgan (Gabby Finch), Matthew Kelly (Michelangelo), Joe Jameson (Piero), Dan Starkey (Priest). Other parts played by members of the cast.
Judoon in Chains
Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicholas Briggs (Captain Kybo), Kiruna Stamell (Eliza Jenkins), Trevor Cooper (Jonathan Jaggers Esq), Tony Millan (Justice Burrows/Jonty), Sabina Franklyn (Herculania) Nicholas Pegg (Business Owner). Other parts played by members of the cast.
Harvest of the Sycorax
Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Nisha Nayar (Zanzibar), Jonathan Firth (Cadwallader), Rebecca Callard (Shadrak), Giles Watling (The Sycorax Chief)
The Sontaran Ordeal
Paul McGann (The Doctor), Josette Simon (Sarana Teel), Dan Starkey (Jask),Christopher Ryan (General Stenk/Flitch), Sean Connolly (Tag Menkin/Ensign Stipe).
Producer David Richardson
Script Editor Matt Fitton
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs