The special release for Subscribers has become a regular thing now. It’s a way for Big Finish to say Thankyou to the fans that spend a lot of money for these releases. Usually these stories are different in terms of structure because whereas regular releases are four part stories totally 100 minutes or so with these there is no cliffhanger and the story is just under and hour so there is little time to pad out plots or characters and there would only be about 25 minutes to tell the story. Over the last few years we have had Cryptobiosis, Her Final Flight and the Daleks. Last year saw the Daleks get the special treatment and this year we are treated to a former alien that last appeared 42 years ago. Of all the monsters to bring back to a modern day audience that appeared in the early days of Doctor Who, Big Finish decided to bring back The Zarbi. Not quite sure what the logic was behind it but The Zarbi appeared in the William Hartnell story The Web Planet in 1965. The thing that I doubted whether the Zarbi would work on audio. The advantage that this audio has over the 1960’s version is that you can create a different landscape to what was produced on a minute budget. Return to the Web Planet is written by Daniel O’Mahony who as far as I am aware is making his debut for the Big Finish/Doctor Who range.
Unfortunately I don’t like The Web Planet even though I do appreciate the risk that the production team took in making it. The advantage of listening to this on audio is that you can imagine a green and pleasant land. We don’t have to cringe our way through unfortunate costumes and sets. I think that the budget limited what could be done and as a result we have six episodes that move so slow that time feels like its standing still. 2 hours and half hours seems like such a long time when you don’t know what is going on.
Peter Davison is very good as The Doctor. His relationship with Nyssa is a strong and well developed as usual. Davison has a nice style in the way that he plays the Doctor. When he is given the right sort of script, Davison can show why is perhaps the best Doctor of the 1980’s. Occasionally though Davison does have to struggle to show his stuff but not in this case. Sarah Sutton continues to perform very well as Nyssa. In my opinion she is the best companion for the Fifth Doctor. She is my favourite companion because she is on the Doctor’s level in terms of intelligence and also she doesn’t scream at the slightest unnerving thing. Sutton always worked better with Davison’s Doctor as opposed to Tom Baker’s Doctor and the best time for Nyssa was when she was the only companion.
I found the guest cast to be top stuff. Sam Kelly is great as Acheron and his voice sounds very much like the Menotra. This isn’t Kelly’s first foray into Doctor Who. He previously appeared in The Holy Terror. What I liked about Kelly’s performance was how he sounded like a character that we could put some interest in. Matthew Noble was very good in this story as Yanesh, the character was a well written one for Noble and he played it with the sort of innocence that you would expect from a primitive planet compared to ours. Claire Wyatt also put in a good performance as the Speaker. Julie Buckfield is a name that might sound familiar and that is because she is the sister of Claire Buckfield. Whilst Claire has been given good solid characters Julie unfortunately wasn’t. In this story she plays Hedyla, the character was likeable but ultimately the way the character was written in the story didn’t really seem to serve a purpose which is a shame. She was only there really to give Acheron someone to interact with at the beginning. The idea that the Speaker was once human but has become involved with the Zarbi was a really interesting story plot and helped the story. The moment where Yanesh and the Speaker merge together was a nice moment but it wasn’t really given the emotional tone it deserved.
The characters were generally well written and well acted. The music and sound effects helped add to create the planet Vortis. With the production values of the imagination I find myself hoping that they don’t wait 42 years before returning. Daniel O’Mahony has written a story that is a simple enough story with characters that have enough about them to have us interested in them. It’s clear from the very beginning that he must have a fondness for them because he has managed to get the feeling of Vortis along with the Zarbi down to a tee. Barnaby Edwards did a very good job as the director. He allowed the characters just enough time to show what they are about. He kept the pace going at a nice pace and made it an entertaining story. I don’t often credit the music/sound designers very often in reviews because they tend to blend into the background. It’s often However was David Darlington did was create a great impression in my mind. The sound effects used was some of the best that I have heard in a Big Finish play for quite sometime.
Overall this is a very good release. Much improved in terms of satisfaction over Return of the Daleks. Considering that it was free for me because I subscribe but I ask myself with this release Would I pay for it? And the answer in this case would be YES. I found the story an enjoyable 50 minutes and it’s a story that I strongly recommend to anyone who wants encounter a monster from the classic series. Well done Big Finish and Thankyou. Here’s hoping that they choose a monster that would come a fans mind to bring back to challenge their and mine thoughts of them.
Unfortunately I don’t like The Web Planet even though I do appreciate the risk that the production team took in making it. The advantage of listening to this on audio is that you can imagine a green and pleasant land. We don’t have to cringe our way through unfortunate costumes and sets. I think that the budget limited what could be done and as a result we have six episodes that move so slow that time feels like its standing still. 2 hours and half hours seems like such a long time when you don’t know what is going on.
Peter Davison is very good as The Doctor. His relationship with Nyssa is a strong and well developed as usual. Davison has a nice style in the way that he plays the Doctor. When he is given the right sort of script, Davison can show why is perhaps the best Doctor of the 1980’s. Occasionally though Davison does have to struggle to show his stuff but not in this case. Sarah Sutton continues to perform very well as Nyssa. In my opinion she is the best companion for the Fifth Doctor. She is my favourite companion because she is on the Doctor’s level in terms of intelligence and also she doesn’t scream at the slightest unnerving thing. Sutton always worked better with Davison’s Doctor as opposed to Tom Baker’s Doctor and the best time for Nyssa was when she was the only companion.
I found the guest cast to be top stuff. Sam Kelly is great as Acheron and his voice sounds very much like the Menotra. This isn’t Kelly’s first foray into Doctor Who. He previously appeared in The Holy Terror. What I liked about Kelly’s performance was how he sounded like a character that we could put some interest in. Matthew Noble was very good in this story as Yanesh, the character was a well written one for Noble and he played it with the sort of innocence that you would expect from a primitive planet compared to ours. Claire Wyatt also put in a good performance as the Speaker. Julie Buckfield is a name that might sound familiar and that is because she is the sister of Claire Buckfield. Whilst Claire has been given good solid characters Julie unfortunately wasn’t. In this story she plays Hedyla, the character was likeable but ultimately the way the character was written in the story didn’t really seem to serve a purpose which is a shame. She was only there really to give Acheron someone to interact with at the beginning. The idea that the Speaker was once human but has become involved with the Zarbi was a really interesting story plot and helped the story. The moment where Yanesh and the Speaker merge together was a nice moment but it wasn’t really given the emotional tone it deserved.
The characters were generally well written and well acted. The music and sound effects helped add to create the planet Vortis. With the production values of the imagination I find myself hoping that they don’t wait 42 years before returning. Daniel O’Mahony has written a story that is a simple enough story with characters that have enough about them to have us interested in them. It’s clear from the very beginning that he must have a fondness for them because he has managed to get the feeling of Vortis along with the Zarbi down to a tee. Barnaby Edwards did a very good job as the director. He allowed the characters just enough time to show what they are about. He kept the pace going at a nice pace and made it an entertaining story. I don’t often credit the music/sound designers very often in reviews because they tend to blend into the background. It’s often However was David Darlington did was create a great impression in my mind. The sound effects used was some of the best that I have heard in a Big Finish play for quite sometime.
Overall this is a very good release. Much improved in terms of satisfaction over Return of the Daleks. Considering that it was free for me because I subscribe but I ask myself with this release Would I pay for it? And the answer in this case would be YES. I found the story an enjoyable 50 minutes and it’s a story that I strongly recommend to anyone who wants encounter a monster from the classic series. Well done Big Finish and Thankyou. Here’s hoping that they choose a monster that would come a fans mind to bring back to challenge their and mine thoughts of them.
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