The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

The second Paul McGann audio drama sees the return of one of the Doctor's greatest foes - the Cybermen. Based on an old Audio Visual script, Nicholas Briggs revises and updates his past work for the new McGann season. The result is an undoubted success.

In the far future humanity is battling the androids of the Orion system. Far away from the action though the Doctor and Charley arrive looking for someone who can help cure Ramsey, the Vortisaur from Storm Warning that they brought on board the TARDIS. They soon find themselves on a derelict star destroyer which hides a terrible secret and the presence of an old enemy.

The plot of Sword of Orion follows a traditional route of Cybermen stories and limits their appearance to the later episodes. The negative aspect of this is that the first two episodes feel like a build up to the first appearance of the Cybermen as their presence is expected and in audio cannot be a surprise as they are right there on the cover. But by holding the Cybermen back for the later episodes it does build up the suspense and heightens the tension of the drama.

The character of the Doctor here is superb. Nick Briggs has said in the Doctor Who Magazine that he believed that the Doctor has a general character and that individual characteristics are up to the actor involved. That may not necessarily be true, but his characterisation of the Eighth Doctor here works well because Paul McGann brings his Doctor back to life vividly. His relationship with Charley continues to build up into one of the best partnerships in the audio series and it really does sound like they are having fun travelling together. The repartee between Paul McGann and India Fisher is a gain a highlight of the audio as it makes the Doctor and companion seem much more believable.

Fisher herself is impressive again. Although given that Charley is supposed to be from England in 1930 she doesn't really show her amazement at actually being in the future and at the things that she sees there, which is slightly disappointing.

The guest cast is good once more. Big Finish again use some of their 'in-house' actors, which although problematic in the sense that the voices are familiar as characters from other plays, works because they always give good performances. Particularly noteworthy in this production are Helen Goldwyn, Hylton Collins, Michelle Livingstone and Bruce Montague, although they're all good.

The Cybermen themselves are hard to render on audio as so much of their menace came from their physical presence rather than just the way they sounded. Briggs succeeds in making them menacing by ensuring that their emotionless comes through. The production effect used for the Cybermen voices is very convincing. It's slightly different to that used in the late Eighties on television but it works to create really convincing Cybermen. Their presence is emphasised by loud footsteps that convey their bulk and size. Briggs himself plays the Cyberleader here and produces a good performance which conveys the power of the Cybermen well. Although it would have been good to have had David Banks reprise his role as the Cyberleader, Briggs proves a more than worthwhile replacement.

The production on Sword Of Orion is, as you would expect now from Big Finish, excellent. Nick Briggs, as well as writing this, directs it, appears as a Cyberman, and composes the music, and for this he should be commended. The production feels very atmospheric and the haunting music really accentuates this feeling by being very menacing and foreboding.

As the second part of the McGann 'season 27' Sword Of Orion is a great success. Its script is well written and succeeds in creating a good story for the Eighth Doctor. Paul McGann is again superb as the Doctor and really shows how good an actor he is here, and if he had been given the chance what an excellent Doctor he would have made on television. The excellent production creates possibly the most atmospheric piece of drama that Big Finish have so far produced with the claustrophobic confines of the star destroyer being realised exceptionally well. The Cybermen's return is superbly handled and makes for a highly enjoyable story.