February 04, 2010

Creatures of Beauty (2003)

Creatures of Beauty is a story that I just didn’t warm to. I think that the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa is a wonderful combination and there have been some brilliant stories in particular Spare Parts (2002) which is why when we get stories like this I get disheartened. Nicholas Briggs is the man that has written and directed this adventure.

The story made myself (and perhaps hundreds other people) that they put the right CD in and when I uploaded it onto my iPod that the track numbers hadn’t been jumbled up. The story is set on Veln which has been wrecked by the Koteem. Most Velns cant live without a mask. The Veln’s that have some money use surgery to make themselves beautiful. The Koteem have created bodies that have Koteem essences about them but look like Velns. I found the Velns to be very sad. By that I mean that they have had been through a lot and feel that they have to change to make themselves look better.

Whilst I enjoyed certain parts of this play I found the constant state of confusion to be the reason why I didn’t warm to this story. I think any story that requires more than one listen is one that perhaps should have something that you learn each time you listen to it. I didn’t get that with this story. A lot of concentration is needed to get through this story. Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton are let down by a script that seems to clever for its own good. They perform exactly like I would expect the Doctor and Nyssa to behave but unfortunately this isnt their finest script. Jemma Churchill was good as Lady Forleon and David Daker was

Creatures of Beauty is a story that isnt a Nick Briggs classic. The plot is ok but the way that its been structured and produced is what has let it down. The fifth Doctor adventures have all been very good one way or the other. Recently I have found the stories to be some of the best that Big Finish have produced but this one stops all that in its tracks.

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