Big Finish Main Range
Well, well, well. Davros is quite the ever changing fella, isn’t he? Emperor or Davros? Or just the creator of the Daleks? This is a great return to the regular universe. C’rizz, Charley, and the Doctor have their own adventures. There’s a strange ending to it all as C’rizz almost becomes the emperor of the Daleks but he doesn’t? Just hears the voices? Very odd.
Always it’s about the ghosts that C’rizz can always see with him. C'Rizz now has the sinister edge he's been missing for being a killing machine in the Divergent universe. The Daleks give in a little easily, if you ask me, but otherwise, an excellent Dalek adventure. Overall, the adventure pulls together without giving itself away. Something happens then something strange happens that makes me go “huh?” Not even sure how Gemma dies but apparently she does. Did I miss a minute or something? C’rizz kills her? Huh? That one’s just a “what the f?” because it’s really not clear at all what happens.
There isn’t as much character development here as I would like. They’re home and though we find out pretty fast about the missing companions in the Doctor’s life thanks to Davros and his manipulation of the TARDIS, we don’t really get to have Charley and C’rizz complete their moment towards the beginning. And it’s rather convenient how everything just winds up, with the Daleks, Davros/Emperor, and Samson getting his memory back… All very convenient on the timing, that. So not quite the most excellent adventure but definitely very good. Joseph Lidster’s best audio adventure still has to be the Master. As much as it’s about the Master being trapped in a situation where he can’t win, it’s also a major study in the character of the Doctor and how every time he tries to help someone, he ends up doing the opposite. The Rapture is quite good, too, because Ace gets to find a family she never knew she had. But The Reaping and The Gathering are just okay. Reviews to come on those yet!
Paul McGann, India Fisher, Conrad Westmaas, Julia Deakin, Terry Malloy (never a creepier Davros could there be!)
Writer: Joseph Lidster
Director: Gary Russell
Release: August 2005