Guilt (2006)

The final part of I,Davros is written by Scott Alan Woodard who like Lance Parkin has written a really story for the main range involving Davros. For Woodard it was The Juggernauts (2005). This is perhaps the most important story of the series as it has to deliver the big pay-off that’s been building over the previous three stories. It also has to link up pretty well to the events of Genesis of the Daleks. The Davros that we have in this story is pretty much the Davros that we meet in Genesis. Guilt is a perfectly dark episode and pushes the grimness to as far as it possibly could. Such a grim scene included the child protection plan which leads to the children been taken out of their homes. There is also where Nyder comes into Davros’ mad schemes. It was great that they were able to get Peter Miles to reprise the role he first played in Genesis. Now normally there would be a massive finale at the end and if there wasn’t one then I would find it a massive disappointment but there wasn’t one really in this story and its sensible not to have because there is a story yet to be told.

Terry Molloy is simply brilliant. His version of Davros is slightly more deranged to Michael Wisher’s version. Every time that Molloy has played Davros it has been one of the highlights of the story. His Davros is totally engaging. Peter Miles is also very good in this story. It’s difficult to try and reprise a role that you played once over 30 years ago and when you have to play it again it has to be at years 10 years before the first time you played the character. Miles does that very well and sounds just as sinister as he did before.

As a stand alone story it’s the best of the four. As part of the storyline of Davros is also did its job. These four episodes have given Davros a back story that has been screaming out to be told. Its difficult to get four writers to work together and create a history of a deranged creator. But all four writers did a perfect job. For anyone who wants to know about what made Davros the way he is.

The Juggernauts (2005)

The Juggernauts sees a three familiar classic Doctor Who elements return. This story is the first to feature the 6th Doctor and Mel since the One Doctor back in December 2001. Mel has not been the most well loved companion in Doctor Who history partly because she was just annoying. Since she made her debut for Big Finish the character of Mel has undergone something of a renaissance. Her good form continues in this story. This story has been written by Scott Alan Woodard who makes his first contribution to the range. Another return to the series is that of Davros. Genius creator of the Daleks, no character created in the Doctor Who has the magical madness that this one armed blind madman has. Davros has a habit of infiltrating his way into societies. The Juggernauts sees the 6th Doctor and Mel separated during to an incident on board a medical spaceship and after Mel gets into an escape pod she loses complete contact with the Doctor and tries to begin a new life on a colony on the planet Lethe. Soon she joins a team lead by Dr Vaso and when the Doctor lands and finds Mel he is shocked to discover that Dr Vaso is in fact Davros.

Another thing about this story that I liked was it was the first adventure since Remembrance of the Daleks back in 1988 that Davros and the Daleks featured in the same story. Also what Scott Alan Woodard had to do was as well as have the Doctor, Mel, Davros and the Daleks was to find a use for the Mechanoids who have only appeared once in Doctor Who history and that was back in 1965 in the William Hartnell story The Chase. They are massive things that don’t really have much of a purpose apart from getting in the way but in this story they served a purpose in terms of plot and emotionally. To be honest, apart from pleasing long time fans I don’t really see why they would be included. That said I did find them strangely useful.

What I like about this story is that the characters are so well written and there is such a good pace to it. The idea that Davros is using the inhabitants as Mechanoids was a stroke of genius and was a nice emotional plot twist that helped elevate Davros’ evil plans to a whole new level. Also the fact that Mel has basically started a new life on this planet and has adapted to the environment that she has found herself in shows a new side to the character that was never shown on TV.

Acting wise this story was very good. Colin Baker was also on top form and his relationship with Mel is not as childish or light hearted as it does in this story. It was interesting where the Doctor tried to convince Mel that the person she thought was Dr Vaso was in fact the evil genius who created the Daleks. He has a relationship with Mel that just never came out during their short time on TV. Bonnie Langford who despite all the critiscm that she has received for the role has come back to Doctor Who and played the Mel that should have appeared on TV. This is her best story to date because she actually spent most of the story doing what her character was originally meant to be good at, being a smart-aleck with computers.

Of the guest stars it is Terry Molloy who is the best. His version of Davros is absolutely fantastic and it worked on TV and also works on audio. When he was Dr Vaso it was also good because it shows that Molloy isn’t just good at playing evil genius’ but can play nice characters. His version of Davros wipes out David Gooderson who played it in Destiny of the Daleks back in 1979. Other roles in this story worked really well and helped create a good atmosphere that made it seem like it was a really nice place to live or at least be based at. Also there should be some credit to Nicholas Briggs who did the voices for the Daleks and for the Mechanoids. Other people of worth include Bindya Solanki who perhaps is most well known for appearing in the BBC soap Eastenders. Here she plays Sonali who is a nice likeable character. Klaus White plays Geoff who is another character who is well written, he forms a… feeling for Mel. Peter Forbes plays Kryson. Forbes has starred in Big Finish plays before. He played Dan Curver in the third series of Dalek Empire back in 2004. I quite liked the character Kryson. Other characters include Paul Grunert who played Brauer and Julia Houghton who played Loewen. Bother characters contributed well and were well written and well acted characters.

If there is a problem with this story is that Mel does very good in the first half of this story and carries it very well. What then happens is once the Doctor arrives and once Mel realises who Dr Vaso really is then her usefulness kind of falls away at the waist side. Aside from that it is a superb first story from Scott Alan Woodard. He has written a story that never gets boring at any point and that is not something that happens very often. Gary Russell also should be applauded for creating an atmosphere that varies from a spaceship to a colony without even dipping in quality.

Overall this was a really good story. The Mechanoids were a weird choice due to the fact of their solitary appearance 40 years ago but it surprised me that it worked and with the Daleks and Davros it served up to be one of the best stories of 2005. It shows that 1) Colin Baker is a superb Doctor, 2) Bonnie Langford’s renaissance as Mel continues and 3) There is a use for the Mechanoids after all.

Absolution (2007)

After four years and 13 stories C’Rizz has reached the end of the road in Doctor Who. Absolution manages to become one of the best 8th Doctor stories since Terror Firma. It manages to have excitement and a emotional ending along with a shocking ending. This story was written by Scott Alan Woodard who is making his second contribution to the series, having already penned the 2005 story The Juggernauts which was a really good story, so good that it’s surprising that it’s taken three years for Woodard to write another Doctor Who story. Following the disappointing 100th Big Finish celebration it was important for the series to get back to telling a thumping good story and as we learn it had to be that for another important reason.

The beginning of this story is set around C’Rizz as Charley comes into his room and this is very similar to the Doctor and Adric in Earthshock. A lot of this story seems to have a theme relating to Earthshock. The moment when C’Rizz dies was one of the saddest moments that I have ever known in the 101 releases of the Doctor Who range on Big Finish. A large part of that must go to the writer but also must go to the cast. Conrad Westmaas who has often been overlooked in past stories shines through in this one and you get the feeling that for the first time that he was destined to become something more than he was. The moment before he died when he was saying goodbye to Charley and the Doctor was very well delivered by Westmaas and shows what could have been done with the character had there been more stories like this.

Paul McGann was on usual fine form and it was strange to hear him without Lucie as we have just had that since the beginning of 2007. McGann’s best moment came after C’Rizz had died and he was trying to do the usual thing of smiling through an immediate situation as if someone who wasn’t important had died and it backfired spectacularly. McGann was great when he was trying to make up with Charley who had at this point become upset that the Doctor was reacting in such a jolly manner. India Fisher was also very good as Charley because she had bonded quite well since C’Rizz joined the TARDIS crew. The scenes at the beginning of Episode 1 and when C’Rizz dies were moments that the character was written for. The very last scene in the TARDIS when Charley wants to go home because she has had enough was very well written and well acted by McGann and Fisher. It is a nice lead into the December release which apparently sees Charley leave the series in The Girl Who Never Was. Robert Glenister is one of two big names in this story. He appeared in the 1984 Fifth Doctor story The Caves of Androzani and more recently has starred in the BBC drama Hustle. In this story he played Aboresh, this character was a really important and well written character than was played to the max by Glenister. Christopher Villiers also has history in Doctor Who appearing in the 1983 story The Kings Demons. In this story he plays Cacothis who again was a nice strong character. Other cast members who contributed a lot was Natalie Mendoza who plays Lolanthia. Mendoza’s biggest role is in the BBC drama Hotel Babylon. Tony Barton was very good as Straith and Geoff Breton performs well as Phelgreth.

Scott Alan Woodard has written a very good story. With C’Rizz departing it was important they he is given a good story because even if the character wasn’t the most popular one he still deserves a good send off. The plot is a very good one and suits the personal anguish that C’Rizz has had since he joined the series. Woodard has managed to do this with a very dramatic story which has a shocking ending. The directing in this story deserves a mention because it’s the pacing of this story that manages to keep you hooked. Barnaby Edwards is a very good director and it was vital for the success of this story that he stays with that style of directing. There was not a single time during this story that I got bored or lost concentration and that all adds to a great story. Absolution is a fantastic story and is a brilliant ending to the character of C’Rizz who has had some great stories such as his opener The Creed of the Kromon and Faith Stealer, The Next Life and Terror Firma. It’s clear that the writers, producers and directors took great care with this story and it’s a shame that they didn’t do more to make C’Rizz fit in because it always seemed that he was the odd one out and just didn’t quite seem to gel into the stories like most of the companions specially created for the Big Finish range.

I cant quite make my mind up where this story lies in terms of best stories because it has a lot to live up to with Nocturne and Son of the Dragon but it is definitely in the top three and possible near the top of 8th Doctor stories. The thing about 8th Doctor stories is that they can be a bit hit and miss but definitely this story is a hit. Despite the departure of a long(ish) companion it was still a top notch four part story that shows what Big Finish can do when they put everything they have into choosing the right characters, the right story, the right writer, the right director and also the right musician. I’m not much of a C’Rizz fan but I think that they could and perhaps should do a one off story (set before Absolution obviously). If you are a fan of C’Rizz then you will be really upset about his exit but even if your not you’ll still find it sad.