Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *
Cast: Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson, Sarah Sutton, Stephen Thorne, Nancy Carroll, Pip Torrens, Jessica Claire, Brian Protheroe, Mark Field.
It is perhaps fitting that some of the older foes from the classic series of Doctor Who make their way into the Big Finish roster, especially as the parent television programmes gears up for what is fast becoming a very special 50th anniversary but some monsters and villains having been used once during the 70s and 80s should be left where the memory of their time on screen can be quietly and easily forgotten and the relation to the programme left to slivers of reminiscence when the mood descends. Such is the fate of the latest release Eldrad Must Die!
Elrad unfortunately is one of those villains, a megalomaniac who destroyed his own planet because the people wouldn’t install him as ruler, that should have been left far behind in the dim and distant past. Writer Marc Platt certainly does his upmost with the script but the overall feel of the 2 hour audio drama is one that sadly lacks any type of love, compassion or thrill in the chase. It is not Marc’s fault as his writing for Doctor Who audio has been very good and his work on The Butcher of Brisbane was superb, there is just something unedifying, something intangible about the episode that leaves a small amount of regret in the mouth. It could be seen in part as an Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a well used device but one that occasionally becomes too well worn and burnt out.
It is to the guest stars of the story that the listener must place their faith to carry this tale forward and in Pip Torrens as school mate of Turlough’s Charlie Gibbs, there is an actor built for the task at hand. The further back story that he gives to Mark Strickson’s character of Turlough and the delivery is intense, creepy and yet full of Doctor Who magnificence, a real gem of a moment between the two actors. It is just a shame that the normally well used Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka is unfortunately reduced to being a chauffeur chasing after an errant boy on the run or even acting once more as Turlough’s pseudo mother. For one of the strongest characters to have ever been developed in the whole Doctor Who canon to be reduced to what amounts to a bit part is a bit of a let-down.
After the excitement of the last three releases of 2013, Eldrad Must Die! lacks the high standards that had been set and will always be set by the team behind Big Finish.
Eldrad Must Die! Is available to buy from Worlds Apart on Lime Street.
Ian D. Hall