Released: January 2003
Range: The Main Range
Range Number: 40
Starring Colin Baker, Maggie Stables, Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres, Kai Simmons, Steven Elder, Jack Galagher, Georgina Carter & Nicholas Briggs
Written by Robert Shearman
Directed by Nicholas Briggs & Robert Shearman
Hurrah! The deadly Daleks are back! Yes, those loveable tinpot tyrants have another plan to invade our world. Maybe this time because they want to drill to the Earth's core. Or maybe because they just feel like it.
And when those pesky pepperpots are in town, there is one thing you can be sure of. There will be non-stop high octane mayhem in store. And plenty of exterminations!
But never fear. The Doctor is on hand to sort them out. Defender of the Earth, saviour of us all. With his beautiful assistant, Evelyn Smythe, by his side, he will fight once again to uphold the beliefs of the English Empire. All hail the glorious English Empire!
Now that sounds like a jubilee worth celebrating, does it not?
Twelve years ago, Jubilee was released to critical acclaim, and, since then, it has become fondly remembered as one of the very best Big Finish audios. However, in my opinion, I believe that Jubilee isn't the classic that everyone believes it to be. Oh yes, it is a good story, but that's it. Not a fantastic story, not an exceptional story, not a classic, just good. That's it. To be honest, I originally believed that this was one of the weakest Big Finish stories, but since then, I have been able to appreciate the social commentary that underpins the whole story. However, I still can't see why people rant and rave about this, because I don't think it's all that great.
The story itself does plod along a little, with whole subplots that don't seem to go anywhere. For example, the 'toy Daleks' are never really expanded upon, and only really appear in a few scenes that don't really add anything to the plot. It adds to the social commentary underpinning the whole story, but it doesn't really affect the storyline. And the social commentary ends up becoming the storyline, which is a shame because the story can't work without a story. In the end, it just becomes a lot of comment on the nature of history. Interesting stuff, certainly, but without a story to attach it to, it feels utterly redundant. For example, nothing much really happens in the first three episodes, and, with it's rather dry subject matter, it doesn't really go anywhere. However, Rob Shearman's social commentary is excellent, with plenty to keep the audience interested in the story. The idea of turning Dalekmania into a parody of what happened to the Nazis after World War II is a facinating one, especially since, in a way, that mania was born out of the same mania that it's parodying here. However, all that doesn't mean anything, simply because the story isn't that engaging. When people rant and rave about the complexity of this story, I groan at these comments, because I don't feel like they hold much weight with regards to Jubilee. The Holy Terror - yes. The Chimes Of Midnight - yes. Even Dalek - yes. But Jubilee doesn't really have the same complexity as Shearman's other scripts. It is complex, but not in the way that you'd expect. For example, the alternative timeline storyline isn't very well explained, and it's simply unresolved by the end. The explanation is flimsy, and frankly all over the place, meaning that the end of the story never really comes together. It's a shame, because there are some very good ideas within it.
The characters don't really help in this one either, because, aside from the Doctor, Evelyn and the damaged Dalek, none of them are actually that interesting. Rochester and his wife, Miriam, are some of the most uninteresting characters in any Big Finish play. I didn't care for them in the slightest. But wasn't it to show how much like Daleks they had become? I here you ask. Prehaps, but the overexagerated dialogue didn't help. The subtleties were rather lost on me unfortunately. I just couldn't feel any sympathy for either character. I also felt that Lamb and Farrow, the two guard characters were so one note that I wasn't interested in the fates of either of them. They just seemed to fill a part of he story, and helped it to move along for three episodes until the climax. Really, only the Doctor, Evelyn and the Dalek prisoner are interesting, especially the Dalek/Evelyn relationship. One of the wonderful ideas lost in Dalek was that the Dalek forms a connection with Evelyn, but it can never explains what that is. Now, with two hours to play with, rather than 45 minutes, this idea flourishes, and becomes the most important part of the story. This inexplicable bond is actually quite mysterious, and I think that it's testiment to Big Finish that they chose not to spell it out to the listener. Is it feeling, or is it just protecting the first person who didn't want to kill it in quite some time? That's the true cruix of the matter. And, credit where it's due, those scenes are enlivened by the performances of both Maggie Stables and Nicholas Briggs. Both really run with what they've been given, and are allowed some of the better moments in the play. Colin Baker also gets some really good material, especially as the Doctor in the alternative timeline, with his legs hacked off and trapped in the Tower of London. In a way, it's interesting to compare the captive Doctor with the captive Dalek. But as for the rest of the actors, they either are restricted by the material or simply act completely wooden. I pity Martin Jarvis, because his last role in Doctor Who (the Governor in 1985's Vengeance On Varos) was so interesting, yet here his character is completely uninteresting. His other half, Rosalind Ayres has the same problem - great actress, poor material. It forces the pair of them to engage in hammy acting, something that they don't really deserve. Kai Simmons and Steven Elder, however, sound obviously very wooden in their parts. I really didn't feel interested in them at all. Nick's direction and soundscapes are also good, but not great. He's very good at producing 'meat-and-potatoes' style Who, and here, everything is as it should be, but it isn't very exceptional. Never the less, he does keep it on the right side of mediocre.
I don't like being critical of people's opinions, but I feel I should. I can't see why Jubilee has such a reputation, because I don't feel it is the classic the fan base has built it up to be. There are interesting moments and ideas and some excellent performances from our leads and Nick Briggs. However, Jubilee has too much else wrong with it for it to be anything other than distinctly average.
Rating - 5/10
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