Starring Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Sarah Mowat, Maggie Stables, Mark Gatiss, Michael Wade, Anthony Keetch, John Wadmore, Colin McIntyre, Andrew Fetts, Nicholas Pegg & Nicholas Briggs
Written and Directed by Nicholas Briggs
Gallifrey is in a state of crisis, facing destruction at the hands of an overwhelming enemy. And the Doctor is involved, in three different incarnations - each caught up in a deadly adventure, scattered across time and space. The web of time is threatened - and someone wants the Doctor dead.
The three incarnations of the Doctor must join together to set time back on the right track - but in doing so, will they unleash a still greater threat?
The very first Big Finish audio is something of an unusual anomaly. Having a multi-Doctor story is certainly an exciting way to start, and while there are some flaws with this story, it certainly delivers an enjoyable, fun, Doctor Who story that really proves how well Doctor Who can work on audio. Up till the point when this story was released, there had been a few attempts at audio plays, but this, and the rest of the Big Finish line must be considered the strongest ever.
It's clear that Nick Briggs knows what he's doing, and all that experience on the Audio Visuals plays has certainly paid off. This certainly feels like a four part Doctor Who TV story, just one without any visuals, and, back in 1999, this would have been the story's greatest strength. While the novels and comics were good, they didn't mimick the original format of the programme, nor did they feature any of the regular actors that make there parts so interesting. The story itself plays with the highest stakes, putting the story very firmly on the universal scale, which, for the very first Big Finish audio, might have been a mistake. While it doesn't keep itself too contained, the end of the story does seem to come as an anti-climax. In fact, this story is strongest when it's not dealing with the high stakes, particularly the second episode. The plot is very strong, on it's own, but when it juggling the Gallifrey elements, it doesn't work as well. Once more, the second episode juggles the two elements perfectly, striking the right balance between the plot on Gallifrey and The Doctor's storyline. Episode 1 introduces the Gallifrey element at the beginning, and then forgets about it until part way through episode 2, while episode 3 doesn't give enough time to it's individual story, because it's too busy dealing with the invasion unfolding on Gallifrey. The final episode tries to take the scale of the story down, but considering the point that the story has reached, it should be a grandstanding conclusion. Instead it's more like a steady end of story episode for a mid season story, which doesn't quite fit the story that's being told in the prevoius three episodes. The odd inbalance of the various episodes and the various Doctors means that this is a tale that doesn't quite gel together as strongly as it should, but that still doesn't mean it's not a fun, enjoyable adventure.
Due to the limited time in each time zone, we don't get characters quite as deep as we normally would, however that's not to say that there not interesting. Episode 2 is where we get the most interest, with the crew of the German U-Boat not painted as stereotypical bad guys, but rather they're ordinary human beings, with lives and opinions. Certainly, a steriotype label could be attached, but it less hard to argue that there strong characters, unlike the characters in the first episode. Certainly Sancroff is interesting, particularly in his viewpoints and stance, but Ruthley doesn't have much to recommend in the 'creating 'real' characters' stakes. She's simply a bundle of cliche after cliche. Episode 3 and 4's supporting characters are sadly underdeveloped, mostly because the plot really kicks into gear here. In all honesty, I barely remember any of them. That's not to say that there badly acted, because all of them are at least fairly good, but particular praise must go to Mark Gatiss as Schwieger. Each of The Doctors also manages to remain distinct, Peter Davison and Colin Baker, in particular, sound very close to how they were on screen. Sylvester McCoy, however sounds very unsure, and doesn't seem to quite know how to pitch his performance in relation to the script. At times, he's almost working against what the script and the atmosphere is trying to achive. And a final shout out to Sarah Mowat, who, even more than any of the others, really convinces, and makes different, her triple 'pseudo-companion' roles and as the main villain in the final episode. It's no order that Briggs snapped her up for Dalek Empire in the lead role. Briggs' direction is very good, making the material come to life. His work in the music and sound design is also exemplary, creating the worlds he's working with very well, and then underscoring the unfolding drama. At times, I was remained of some of Dudley Simpson's work on the programme, which is never a bad thing.
The Sirens Of Time is a story with it's faults, but that doesn't mean it's ever a bad thing. It's a really good multi Doctor story: not up there with The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors, The Day Of The Doctor or even The Two Doctors, but it's still an enjoyable adventure with plenty to recommend it. It may be a humble beginning for Big Finish, but it makes plenty of promises for it's future.
TARDIS Rating - 7/10
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