The Destroyer of Delights (2009)

2009 TOMS TARDIS AWARD WINNER

• Best Guest Star (David Troughton as The Black Guardian)

The second instalment of the Key 2 Time series sees the first full appearance of the Guardians both Black (played by David Troughton) and White (played by Jason Watkins). Now I am not a big fan of historical stories really as I think that they will tend to focus on a particular moment in history however from time to time there are stories that work really well and have me gripped from start to finish. This was Jonathan Clements first contribution to the main Doctor Who range having written Immortal Beloved (2007) and Brave New Town (2008) which were stories that could best be described as enjoyable stories that you would be quite happy to listen to again and again with Brave New Town being the stronger of those stories.

Whereas the Judgement of Isskar took a long time to get started, this story got off very quickly. The immediate resolution of the cliffhanger was well completed and was a believable conclusion. This is always a potential banana skin because expectations are so high that the writer could have written something so out of the ordinary and so bizarre that it would have been a disappointment but in this case it wasn’t. Liked the link to the Black Guardian Trilogy from 1983 and mentions of Turlough and how the Black Guardian forced him to try and kill the Doctor and the tracking device that was put in Tegan’s Tiara in the story Enlightenment. It was nice lump of nostalgia that might be confusing to new fans but for older fans like myself it was expected and Clements didn’t go overboard but just stated the bear facts. The story paints the Guardians not as the mighty and powerful figures that we have previously known them as but as weak and not at all mighty. There was a comedy feel to the way that the characters have been written. By the end of the story we get the point that they are a bickering couple that are just waiting for the Doctor the save the day, just sitting in the background waiting just like they did in the original Key to Time series. There was a slightly uncomfortable scene where Amy is slapped and wondered what the relevance of this was and whether it was suitable with this being a story that could be listened to by children. It was the only time that there was such an uncomfortable moment in this story which take a bit of the shine out of the story.

Peter Davison puts in another good performance. He had a good opening scene with the Black Guardian and also an enjoyable scene with the White Guardian. He carries to story along well buts it is his moments with the Guardians was the highlight of this story. The Guardians have always been portrayed as mighty and powerful but it was different to see them in this powerless situation. David Troughton was a superb as the Black Guardian and his performance was superb from start to finish. . His version of the Black Guardian was completely different to what Valentine Dyall portrayed between 1978 and 1983 but then this should have been and was the case. There was certainly a comedy element to the role. The idea that the Black Guardian who was playing Lord Cassim was hoarding all the gold so that he could leave that planet was quite a smart idea. Jason Watkins was also good as The White Guardian and as Legate of the Caliph though he was better as the White Guardian. He worked very well against Troughton and their rivalry was well acted out between the two. Ciara Janson was very good as Amy in this story. Amy continues to develop well showing some nice human emotions and her lack of knowing what they are and how to deal with them. Despite there being no Zara in this story for the character to bounce against she still put in a good performance. There is still a feeling that she is a more intelligent version of Erimem I do wish they had included Zara in this story in some way as it does give the impression that her character isn’t as important as we were led to believe. I think that if Zara was so important then they could have found something for her and that would have helped add to the drama in the story.

All the guest stars performed well in this story and none really stood out but then that’s probably the best thing because with everything going on it was always going to rely on the strong main characters and not really digress to lower and less important characters. I think Bryan Pilkington played a nice character in the form of Prince Omar, the character created enough of a drama for Lord Cassim to create some entertainment for us to enjoy.

Jonathan Clements has written a good story that continues the Key 2 Time story strand going well and it is a clear and simple (ish) story that as we know that the collecting of the segments isn’t going to be quite like what it was in the original series. This is probably Clements best story so far, it has everything you would want from a story and whilst it takes a while to really get into it, once you do then it totally grips you. Lisa Bowerman did a good job as Director. She has really started to develop well as a director and whilst at times the story is hit and miss she has proved herself to be a competent director and this is perhaps her best work. The story kept a consistent speed once it get into its stride and never slowed down even at the end. The twists were well done and came totally out of left field. This was an improvement on The Judgement of Isskar but to me the setting could have been changed.

The Destroyer of Delights did exactly what it was supposed to do and that is to maintain interest in the story until The Chaos Pool. It was a better story than Judgement of Isskar.

The Judgement of Isskar (2009)

The first part of the Key 2 Time is curious story that works but doesn’t quite hit the mark in terms of leaving me satisfied with the end result. The original Key 2 Time saw the fourth Doctor spend 26 episodes collecting the six segments. In this version of the Key 2 Time we have just 12 episodes, just what would or could Big Finish do that would compare with the 1978/79 adventure?

The first thing that strikes me about the new companion Amy is how similar she is to Erimem. Throughout the story she developed well and so that similarity with Erimem was still there but not as strong as it was at the beginning. Her opening scene was very well written and was just as good as the opening scene in The Ribos Operation. I liked the explanation that was given as to where Peri was, they could have easily just placed this story in another part of the Doctor’s timeline but instead they went for the idea that she is on the planet with the Doctor and that she is merely elsewhere. Amy as a character is well written. She could be a very good long term companion as long as the producers can develop the character beyond what they did with Erimem. I liked the moment when Amy was given the choice of going with Zara or stay with the Doctor and how despite the odds she decided to stick with the Doctor and that was quite a strong moment.

This is the second story to feature Zara after her opening appearance in The Prisoner’s Dilemma. This one she was better than in the Companion Chronicles which I felt was a bit hit and miss. The interactions between Amy and Zara were always well acted and have the potential to cause some more emotional scenes in the future. Zara really showed how manipulative she can be. When she managed to convince the Ice Warriors that she could help them it had trappings of the Master and how he can convince people into doing what he wants and that shows that Zara could have potential outside of the Key 2 Time series.

Peter Davison was also very good in this story however it did seem to taking the back seat with the Amy and Zara characters leading and pushing the narrative along. Davison is a really good Doctor and it took a while for him to really get into this story but once he did he started to develop a strong relationship with Amy and another strong relationship with Zara if not for different reasons. Ciara Janson is most famous for playing Nicole Owen in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks from 2004-2007 plays Amy which is a character that hits the ground running and within minutes you feel like she has been in the show for years. The idea that she is picking character traits up from the Doctor and others is different for a companion even though there has never been a companion quite like Amy. Its good that Big Finish have managed to get someone who is from a big TV show even though she has long since left that show and wasn’t really a big name. Laura Doddington is also someone who we know will have a big impact in these three stories playing the sister of Amy Zara. The role of Zara is one that doesn’t seem to be one of the best baddies in Doctor Who history but there is enough to create enough tension in the search for the segments.

It was quite a surprise to have four of the segments found in this story. I thought that they would find two in this one and then two in Destroyer of Delights and then the final two in the Chaos Pool. I don’t think it’ll be a problem depending on what they do in those two stories. It was obvious that the Ice Warriors were going to be involved but at one point when the Ice Warriors had been left after the second segment had been found I wondered if that was it and if it was then why bother putting the Ice Warriors on the cover. Then obviously they returned and things were back to normal. The beginning of Part Three was one of the strangest moments I have ever felt listening to Doctor Who. A short monologue by Davison followed from a scene with the Ice Warriors in the aftermath of the destruction of Mars was a superb few minutes that had me gripped and it is at times like this that prove to me why Big Finish are superb at producing audio dramas. One of the things I liked about this was how much of a positive light that the Ice Warriors were put in. Whenever you mention Ice Warriors to anyone they think of bad guys which clearly isn’t the case. Isskar was a nice character who showed wisdom and knowledge and didn’t over react which was a relief. It was quite sad that the Ice Warriors decided to go with revenge against the Doctor instead of trying to rebuild Mars after the capturing of one of the segments

The shock ending of Part Four was absolutely fantastic. The closing minutes were all based around the ship being destroyed and you are focused on how the Doctor and Amy are going to get off the Ice Warriors ship and then David Troughton comes in with booming voice comes into all of it as the Black Guardian. I don’t think that I was expecting the cliffhanger for this story to grab me like it did.

Simon Guerrier has written several Doctor Who & Bernice Summerfield stories for Big Finish over the last few years and has also written some of the best stories. Home Truths which is a Companion Chronicles story was a superbly dark story and also wrote The Settling (2006) which saw the Seventh Doctor, Hex & Ace encounter Oliver Cromwell and in my opinion a fine story. Guerrier had a tough task in trying to get this story arc off and running and I whilst I don’t think its his best effort that is more to do with the requirements that were expected of him. Had it been a normal single story like The Settling or Home Truths then it would have been a Top 5 story at least. Jason Haigh-Ellery who is the Managing Director and Founder of Big Finish has contributed to Doctor Who several times of the last few years and always in the Directing position. I wonder whether its really what he wants to do as I think that due to the different elements that are running through the story its let down by the organisation. Haigh-Ellery tries to do his best however I think that in this case he doesn’t quite hit the mark.