The content of the latest adventures for the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) are strikingly similar in their plot elements and execution to his last released adventure, The Hellwood Inheritance, released only in March this year. The proximity of these two releases from Big Finish is therefore a little unfortunate, as both concern ghosts from the future and ghosts from the past, and both releases lack a certain… ambition.
The Remains of Kaerula by Phil Mulryne starts off with a bumpy materialisation for the TARDIS and the Doctor concerned by what caused this instability. Quickly finding themselves separated as a confrontation between armed guards and hideaways who the Doctor and Leela (Louise Jameson) unexpectedly meet in the caverns the TARDIS arrived in, this is an opening two-part chapter that unfolds very, very slowly, to be more to the point that it lacks any actual incident to keep the interest.
The Doctor is taken to the surface and what seems to be a holding area for prisoners, or as he realises, refugees. Leela and K9 (John Leeson), meanwhile, are caught in the caverns after a collapse separates them from the Doctor, and have to make their way through uncertain passages and eventually a small lake with a monster to contend with, as they try to cross it. It’s all very formulaic and dull to follow; if there were a visual element, it might be of interest to watch, but on a purely audio landscape, the listeners’ imagination is defeated by the sheer clichéd nature of the plotting for the opening episode.
The structure of this story is a novel one — at least on paper, as what Mulryne is trying out is a similar narrative trick to Paul Erickson’s 1965 story, The Ark, a two-part opener, followed immediately by a two-part sequel. The problem here, though, is that his plotting is hinged on a disembodied ‘Ghost’ wreaking havoc, time-travel experiments gone wrong, and an attempted paradox that doesn’t have anything like the impact or repercussions as The Ark. Instead, what we have is a flabby premise that suffers from the lack of comprehensible stakes, any actual originality, and a set of characters and situation we are given no reason to care about… As I sit here trying to get across the plot elements, I am struggling, not so much because the story is banal, but rather that it lacks actual logic to it, and laboured under an undue weight of padding. For an idea that attempts to emulate the clever narrative device of Erickson, this story doesn’t have the same sense of stakes to it. It is never all that clear just what the danger is, and what the consequences will be.
Which brings us to Cry of the Banshee by Tim Foley. In a way, it is regrettable that the second-billed story on this release is not just superior to the above main billing, but has been limited to just two episodes. While Tim Foley’s teaming of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart with Leela doesn’t work as well as it might have in other situations and settings, we do thankfully have a somewhat stronger plot idea this time, and Jon Culshaw’s recreation of Nicholas Courtney’s performance is something to behold — like Jacob Dudman’s superb flawless recreation of Matt Smith’s Doctor, this is a treat to listen to.
The Doctor is summoned to a rain-soaked Geneva by the Brigadier to investigate the unexplained death of an important leader, apparently killed by a ghostly ‘Banshee’. The Doctor’s deduction takes the Brigadier along with him a thousand years into the future, and a spacecraft orbiting Saturn…
The theme of ghosts in these last two Tom Baker releases highlights a symptom of Big Finish’s growing creative malaise in recent years. Cry of the Banshee falls back on the overused Big Finish story trope: the derelict/empty space station which has fallen to an experiment gone wrong, and/or temporal ‘ghosts’ stalking the survivors. I recently finished such a story from the Peter Davison range – Pursuit of the Nightjar released late last year; a superb story, showing how the basic ideas of the space ship and temporal ghosts plot can still be put to excellent use. But Tim Foley’s story here isn’t really of the same quality; it struggles from some of the same muddled storytelling as The Remains/Ruins of Kaerula, and what turns out to be a very awkward and unflattering dynamic between the Brigadier and Leela. The idea of having these two characters stuck on a shuttle heading straight to Saturn was a very poor one, as the pair squabble over how to work the controls, and battle over how to change its trajectory, meaning it has all the unfortunate drama of watching two chimps trying to work out how to use a Home Entertainment System! It’s seriously misjudged ‘drama’.
And yet for all its garbled ideas and character motives, Foley’s story does give us the Fourth Doctor meeting the Brigadier one again, and some fine ending dialogue for the character as he reflects on what he’s experienced, and whether his struggles in the present day actually make any difference. It’s quite rare to hear Big Finish’s Fourth Doctor momentarily show such compassion and wisdom, but then this is the Brigadier, and at a time when their relationship has distanced, yes, but also matured greatly. Lethbridge-Stewart isn’t any part of the Doctor’s life by this point in time; yet what is interesting here is the exploration of how much the Doctor has changed since his third incarnation and exile to Earth, and where he is now, as a free and independent man. Independence, freedom: two qualities he never quite had when stranded on Earth, and forced into an alliance under the wing of the Brigadier. The character shifts brought on by time and changing circumstances are compelling to watch — and, thankfully, this story ends with an immediate recall for the Doctor, as the Brigadier once again calls on him to return and assist in another crisis.
Ambition. I used the word above. When I look to the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) range, I usually see plenty of ambition, with lots of energy from the editors and writers involved. I can say the same for Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor range – Hooklight wasn’t entirely successful perhaps, but it does show ambition and energy.
So why is it that Tom Baker’s now decade-long series from Big Finish so consistently lacks in any ambition, in real creativity behind the scenes? It has been my feeling that Tom Baker’s age may be limiting the power of his performance, but there was one particular scene in the second part of Cry of the Banshee that showed very well that he can still give power to his performance when called to. So I strongly suspect that it isn’t that Baker is struggling to find the strength, it’s more that he is struggling to find the interest. Consistent mediocre material leads to a mediocre delivery. I can tell that the man is not being stimulated by what he is being handed.
Having Tom Baker at your command should be inspiring you to promote his work, to push for the very best material, and with the very best of your editorial staff. And yet, as with The Ruins of Kaerula, the bar is never set at anything more than passable for this range. “That’ll do” is the apparent philosophy at work. And for someone who is so beloved that he has recently received an MBE from the King, this malaise and perpetual low ambition has become something that’s getting impossible to accept.
Must try harder, Big Finish. The Tom Baker range should be a flagship range — celebrated, not endured…
