The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

‘You’ll have to forgive me, I always find it difficult to relax somewhere so tranquil. In my experience every paradise has it’s serpents somewhere.’

With Nyssa suffering from a disease that the Doctor has absolutely no idea how to deal with, he is forced to take her to the only place in the universe that can help her. But their arrival there is part of a larger more sinister plan, which could mean the end of everything...

Lance Parkin makes his Doctor Who audio debut with Primeval, starring Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton as the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa respectively. Parkin’s novels have had a consistent excellence about them, and his first audio Doctor Who story delivers well. Primeval is a superb entry into the Big Finish Doctor Who series, and continues the trend that Loups-Garoux and The Eye Of The Scorpion began which has seen a renaissance in the quality of the Fifth Doctor series and has put Peter Davison into a position where he is a genuine threat to Colin Baker’s title as the best audio Doctor.

Primeval takes the rather unusual step of throwing the listener immediately into the action, with the Doctor bringing the suffering Nyssa to those that be believes might be the only people to help her. Whilst this is a little disconcerting at first as it’s very unexpected, it helps the drama because it means that the story proper is underway instantaneously and attracts the attention of the listener. And the good thing about Primeval is that it doesn’t let up at all.

By setting Primeval on Traken, some several thousand years before its destruction in Logopolis, Parkin takes the opportunity to explore the Traken society in a way that was never really seen in the series, and the result is quite fascinating. The idea of the Traken Union, a society which existed in almost total perfection, is very intriguing and Parkin uses his story to delve into the history and to a certain extent the creation of the Union. Whilst this forms only part of Primeval’s plot, it plays a significant contributing factor to the drama’s ultimate success.

Peter Davison’s continues to excel as the Doctor, with another excellent performance. In some of his earlier stories, Davison seemed occasionally to be having a little difficulty getting back into the habit of being the Doctor, yet now he really seems to relish playing the part once more now, and this shows through his acting. Given how young when he originally played the role on television, his voice shows the most maturing in the intervening years since of the four actors reprising the role as the Doctor for Big Finish at this time, but this doesn’t matter because he is quite definitely the same Doctor, but a more effectual one, with a greater vocal presence. The fact that he’s being asked to play the Doctor slightly differently to before really seems to motivate Davison to act well, and Primeval is another very fine performance from him.

Sarah Sutton puts in a very commendable performance as Nyssa, with it being very enjoyable to listen to. Although Nyssa spends a lot of the story suffering the effects of the malady which has afflicted her, this is no repeat of what happened in the television story Kinda where she was relegated to the TARDIS for almost the entirety of the story. Although her sickness scenes are occasionally unconvincing, this is a very strong story for Nyssa and Sutton’s performance rises to the challenge that Parkin’s script gives her.

The guest cast is good. Stephen Greif is wonderfully malevolent as the sinister figure of Kwundaar, and it’s certainly one of the best and most memorable villainous turns to feature so far. Lance Parkin’s script really builds up a sense of mystery about his character, about who he is and what he really wants and this the suspense is effectively sustained throughout until the truth about him is revealed. There are some particularly powerful scenes involving him and the Doctor as they face off against each other at various points in the story, one of which is the cliffhanger to episode one of Primeval which must qualify as one of the best that Big Finish have done so far. The effects used for Kwundaar’s voice are exceptional as well, making Greif’s performance even more menacing than ever, although there was a slight downside that very occasionally it was difficult to make out what he was saying exactly with the worst example of this being at the very end of episode two.

Susan Penhaligon is the other main guest star of Primeval, but while there is nothing wrong with her performance as Shayla, it just lacks the requisite shine that would have made it memorable. As it is it’s adequate but the character’s potential never really manages to emerge. Shayla does develop the same kind of rapport with the Doctor that he did with several female characters in the television series, but even so it still doesn’t make her role within the story as good as might have been.

The rest of the cast are very good. They’re very much divided between the two settings of the story, but both sides manage good performances. Ian Hallard does well as Shayla’s assistant Sabian, and the relationship that he develops with Nyssa which at times borders on the romantic is very well handled by Parkin’s script. Much like on television, the Consuls Hyrca and Janneus are at odds with the Doctor at times, but both Marc Woolgar and Rita Davies play their roles appropriately. Billy Miller and Romy Tennant form a good double act and they carry their scenes on board the spaceship well.

The production aspect of Primeval is once more impeccable, after an unusual blip with last month’s Colditz, but given that there were problems in the CD Mastering which resulted in Primeval’s release date being pushed back, this perfection should have been anticipated. Russell Stone's score is very atmospheric, really assisting the mood of the play through appropriate music and by ensuring that it never intrudes upon the drama itself.

Primeval concludes this years Fifth Doctor offerings on a high note, with a very strong storyline, excellent performances from Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton and Stephen Greif and a well written script. Primeval is a very fine piece of drama and should definitely be considered one of the very best that Big Finish have released so far.