Test of Nerve (2002)

The third instalment of this short lived (relatively) series is the best so far because it seems like the best structured. It’s been ten years or so since this story was released and several months since I listened to the previous adventure but my impression of those stories is that they were ok but didn’t feel like Sarah Jane Smith was the main character. In the first story, the series was trying to find its feet and the second one was better but seemed at times like a confusing adventure. This adventure sees a potential nerve gas being released into the public. The story is a race against time and with a limited number of options for Sarah Jane, the series had the problem of how was it going to get out of the corner that the put itself into following the previous two adventures.

It’s quite sad listening to these stories with Elisabeth no longer with us but in this story I feel like she’s given a story that suits her character and is closer to what would become the Sarah Jane Adventures. Sladen gives a strong performance where SJ conflicts with Josh and Nat and at times this reminded me of the Doctor’s relationships with his companions. The sort of danger that the Doctor was putting his companions in is mirrored in these stories except this time its SJ putting people in danger.  As the ‘companions’ in this story, both Josh and Natalie enjoy their fair share of the story I think the death of Claudia might be something that the producers regret because I thought that the character was a nice little yet subtle plot device. It doesn’t mean that her death wasn’t sad but I think it’s just one of those things that could have been saved for another time maybe.

As the villain of the piece, Harris was a very effective one and quite a nasty bag of washing as my mom would say. He seemed to carry himself very well as Robin Bowerman pulled it off with a fair amount of ease. The death of Carver was quite a grim one, especially for Big Finish. The idea of someone jumping in front of a train is something that I find uncomfortable because the thought is so sad. It was clear that the character was going to die in some way, I just wish that it had been something else. I didn’t realise this but the character of John Carver was played by the one and only the late Roy Skelton. That just makes the character even better, there was something about the character that stayed just ahead of wasteful. It was clear that the character was a puppet as the early scenes made the character look unstable and not capable of pulling off such an ambitious plan.

The ending is the perfect way to end this strong release. We have the return of Miss Winters who previously appeared in the 1974 adventure ‘Robot’. It promises that the Ghost Town will be just as good. Whereas the previous two stories were clearly to designed to move introduce the new characters and introduce Sarah Jane Smith to a new(ish) audience, this story was the unofficial start to the series and raced away with a solid story, solid characters and a thoroughly enjoyable release.

Enemy of the Daleks (2009)

Enemy of the Daleks is the second story of three in this mini series to feature the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex. Following on from the very entertaining Magic Mousetrap we encounter the Daleks for their first adventure in the main range since Brotherhood of the Daleks back in October 2008. This story is written by David Bishop who makes his debut in the Doctor Who range having written stories for Judge Dredd and Sapphire and Steel. Another point to make is that this is Hex’s first encounter with the Daleks in his five year stint with the show.

For some reason Hex seems to be annoyed that neither the Doctor or Ace mentioned the Daleks at any point of their travels. It seems to me a redundant point because unless you need to know about them then why should you be told. I can’t believe that its taken this long for him to meet the most popular monsters in Doctor Who history. He met the Cybermen in his very first adventure so what took them so long? Hex seems to step up a gear in this story. He doesn’t become the normal Hex by staying in the background and actually stands up for himself. I thought that the characters were all well written as they all showed the weariness of the Dalek War taking its toll on all of them especially Stokes who has encountered them before when she was a child. As the story progresses we get to see Stokes become more and more unbalanced which helps add to the tension of the situation. The secret of what Professor Shimura has been doing was very creative and gives meaning to the title of the story. It was only after the Kiseibya starting screaming for metal that I got the thinking that they were created to destroy the Daleks. In this story we got the classic confrontation between the Doctor and Shimura which helped elevate the character of Shimura from a crazed scientist to almost Davros status. Even the Doctor commented on that in their big scene.

The ending to episode one was a really good cliffhanger. The idea that the Doctor is in a situation where he has to make sure that an atrocity actually happens is totally bizarre. It mirrors the early plot point in the 2006 story No Mans Land where the Doctor and co had to investigate something that had already. Again we are in the position that we don’t know what going to happen but the Doctor does which is a really fun place to be. The Daleks take a back seat throughout the early parts of this story. This enables the characters and the plot to really shine, as the Kisebya get stronger and stronger they target the Daleks not because they have been told to but because they don’t see the Daleks as a true threat but just as lunch. The creation of the Kisebya was another great idea from Big Finish. Their purpose was well used. It took a while for me to work out how they develop. They get injected into muscle or meat and then they feed off that when they are born, soon afterwards they start to feed off metal thus making them more dangerous than the Daleks. With everything going on it isn’t until Part Four that we discover what the atrocity that is supposed to happen and that is an entire race being wiped out and the Doctor being the one to do it. There was a brief moment when Hex questions his time with the Doctor and Ace. This mirrors the mood that Erimem was in towards her last few adventures. I wonder whether this marks the end of Hex’s time in the show. The mood is certainly very down at the end of Part Four, with Hex feeling inept at not being able to help. It was Lieutenant Beth Stokes who had the biggest emotional journey. She starts off as the brave lieutenant and then just breaks down and at one point is willing to sacrifice her life to destroy the Daleks. This is quite a sad moment but you feel that it would be the end of her suffering.

Sylvester McCoy was truly superb in this story. He never put a foot wrong throughout this story and had some memorable scenes with Professor Shimura. Sophie Aldred is very good in this story she becomes the soldier of the group and that is when Aldred really shines. Philip Olivier puts in his strongest performance. Despite the quite ridiculous whine about not being told about the Daleks before they arrive on Bliss he really shone for me. Kate Ashfield who has appeared in such films as Shaun of the Dead stars in this as Lieutenant Beth Stokes who is an emotional mess but to start off with she is a determined woman. It was only a matter before she crumbled under the mental stress that comes with what had happened to her when she was younger. Bindya Solanki makes her second appearance in this series, she previously appeared in the 2005 story The Juggernauts. She plays Sergeant Tahira Khan who actually should really be in charge because she stands and fights when Stokes flees. I found the character to be a nice strong character that served the purpose. I thought the most entertaining character in this story was the character of Professor Toshio Shumura. The guy playing the role was Eiji Kusuhara was very good as the Davros like character. He was great when he started off trying to hide something from Stokes. His sacrifice at the end was totally unexpected but actually made sense because he created the Kiseibya and would do anything to ensure their survival. At no point does he seem remorseful at what he has created and the potential damage that he could cause. He seems genuinely dedicated to destroying the Daleks but anything else is fair game. Jeremy James also put in some good performances as Sistermatic (the robot), the Kiseibya, the male patient and the voice. All the voices were well done but it was the Kiseibya that was the best.

David Bishop has written a brilliant story. All the characters in this story mixed in with each other so well that it’s difficult to imagine the story working without even one of them. The plot never got weak at any point throughout this story. Ken Bentley did another superb job as directing, the pace was non stop and shows why he is such a great director.

I didn’t think that they could get any better than The Magic Mousetrap but they have managed it with this story. Also I think that this is the best Dalek story since Terror Firma in 2005. The last two Dalek stories have been a bit to complicated and in the case of Renaissance of the Daleks even felt a bit flat and empty. There was nothing that I didn’t like about this story and felt that this is the top story of 2009 so far.