Starring Colin Baker, Maggie Stables, Nicholas Pegg, Anah Ruddin, Jo Castleton & Barnaby Edwards
Written by Jacqueline Rayner
Directed by Gary Russell
Tracking a nexus point in time, the Doctor meets Dr Evelyn Smythe, a history lecturer whose own history seems to be rapidly vanishing.
The Doctor must travel back to Tudor times to stabilise the nexus and save Evelyn's life. But there he meets the Queen of England - and must use all his skills of diplomacy to avoid ending up on the headman's block...
It has to be said that, despite some very good stories previously, The Marian Conspiracy is the very first story from Big Finish that really is something special. Colin Baker was The Doctor that Big Finish needed to rehabilitate the most, and The Marian Conspiracy is the story that really begins this. I imagine that many doubters will have been turned by this one release towards supporting Colin Baker's Doctor, especially thanks to Maggie Stables' Evelyn Smythe, who is one of the greatest additions to Big Finish in there now sixteen year history.
This was also the story that reintroduced the 'pure historical' (despite it being influenced by a piece of technobabble) after it's last use in Black Orchid in 1982. Big Finish have very much reinvented the format, however, and given it a new lease on life. It still most definatly has the tropes that we consider when thinking about this format, however it also is much pacier than most of those stories that typified the William Hartnell era and it is also incredibly moralistic. There are long discussions throughout this story about the morals of certain characters and whether Mary is ever justified in what she is doing. The only story that proberbly came close to this level of detail is The Massacre Of St Bartholomew's Eve, but this certainly creates some very realistic viewpoints. Often one has to sacrifice either dramatic moments or realistic ideologies to make something work, but here, Jacqueline Rayner manages to juggle both to get the best drama possible, but also give us realistic views. And to choose a period as controversial as this, but also handle it as respectfully as this is an achievement. There is no clear 'this is the good side and this is the bad side', but a mix of blurred lines and characters who are very easily swayed by the stronger side, as the best drama should. Francis DeNoir is the perfect example of this, someone who's very happy to support the removal of Mary, but only is everything is aligned in his way. When it's clear that Reverend Thomas' plot will fail, he severs all ties with them. That's the story's real message - that people with things to loose will never support your cause unless you've got a maximum chance of winning. But for all this story's dark elements and it's reinvention of a popular format, it is the character of Evelyn that has had the most lasting impact. In a way, she's like Big Finish's Sarah Jane. She's somebody who's ever so popular with the Big Finish community, and from her very first scene, Maggie Stables' brilliantly cuts through Colin Baker's bluster, and brings something very different to the role of the companion. At times, I've found her character to be just verring a little too much on the side of just being rude, but here, she's wonderfully written for, with some wonderful material to keep her occupied. I particularly like her introduction to the TARDIS in episode 1, where she thinks that it just looks a bit, well, rubbish. It's worth the price tag alone for that priceless moment, one which is almost as strong as the 'smaller on the outside' moment from The Snowmen.
And Maggie Stables makes a lot of Evelyn too, really running with the material that she's been given. And she works really well with Colin Baker, striking up a really strong connection really quickly. It's not all the time that you realise that you've got something really special by the end of a companion's (or Doctor's in certain cases) introductory story. And Colin himself is brilliant. Freed from his tight git TV personna, Colin really has a chance to run with the material he's been given, especially in the intimate scene with Jo Castleton's Sarah. His description of the evil he has caused in the name of truth and justice has to be one of Colin's strongest ever performances. And Anah Ruddin is a brilliant counterpoint to Colin, someone who is so single minded and determined that she is right, that she cannot see what her actions are leading her to. It's powerful, and yet sympathetic, despite her somewhat fiery temper. The rest of the cast are very good too (mind you, Barnaby Edwards once more wows us with his cod accents), especially Jez Fielder and Sean Jackson as a couple of very ordinary Protestants, who just wish to be able to be themselves in a sociaty that doesn't allow them to be. And it's nice that, while most of the characters here end up in a sticky situation, these two manage to have a happy ending. Gary Russell gets the right beats out of his actors, and he's well aided by Alistair Lock's cinematic music score and emmersive sound design. It really shows that Big Finish, even in it's early days, was working with talented professions.
The Marian Conspiracy is an early triumph for Big Finish, with it's really strong acting, writing and direction. Aside from a slightly tacked on subplot about the alteration of history and Barnaby Edwards' not entirely convincing French accent, this is the perfect story for Big Finish to rehabilitate The sixth Doctor with. It's still today an excellent example of Doctor Who at Big Finish, and one of the best companion introductory stories in Who's 50 year history.
TARDIS Rating - 9/10
Comments
Post a Comment