Audio Review 28: Ravagers, written by Nicholas Briggs (2021)

Released: May 2021

Cast:

The Doctor – Christopher Eccleston

Nova – Camilla Beeput

Ravager – Clare Corbett

Lieutenant Farraday – Ben Lee

AI/President/Cafe Owner - Anjella MacKintosh

Audrey – Jayne McKenna

Captain Halloran – Jamie Parker

Marcus Aurelius Gallius – Dan Starkey

 

Main Production Credits

Producer – David Richardson

Script Editor – Matt Fitton

Writer – Nicholas Briggs

Director – Nicholas Briggs

Incidental Music – Howard Carter

Sound Design – Iain Meadows

Recording – Remotely

Title Music – Ron Grainer, realised by Delia Derbyshire and Murray Gold (Remixed by David Darlington)

TARDIS Sounds – Brian Hodgson and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

Executive Producers – Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery

 

BEWARE! SPOILERS BELOW!!

Story Summary:

The Doctor encounters a wave of unexplained Time Eddies across the Vortex, causing chaos and disruption throughout all of history. Tracking their initial source to a future civilisation, based on immersive video gaming, he arrives at the Sphere of Freedom. Helped by Nova, a galley chef, The Doctor discovers that the company’s CEO, Audrey is creating the Time Eddies to fight a race of aliens, intent on devouring the Universe…

Story Placement

Between The Day of the Doctor (TV Episode – War Doctor perspective) and Respond To All Calls (Big Finish Audio).

Favourite Lines

Nova: “Is he not your type?”

The Doctor: “Well I’d hate the Universe to end during our first Charganzi”.

Review:

I feel like I need to pinch myself. The return of Paul McGann to Doctor Who back in 2000, when he first joined Big Finish Audios, was a time of great celebration, although it was an achievement that always seemed possible. The arrival of Tom Baker at Big Finish in 2011, was also a great occasion, but it seemed rather inevitable, given his large dedication to both the Doctor Who fan community, and his growing interaction with spinoff productions. David Tennant was already a Big Finish alumnus, when he brought his 10^th Doctor to Big Finish in 2016. However, the news of Christopher Eccleston’s return to Doctor Who productions, with Big Finish, was a joyous surprise I had never expected, and brought me the biggest smile in months, such was my excitement at the possibilities and enjoyment to come.

Christopher Eccleston was the first Doctor, for whom I had watched a full series from, brand new, live on transmission, with the rest of the World. While, I saw Paul McGann’s appearance in the TV Movie, as live, too, and had grown up with repeats of the Classic Doctors during the 90s; this was the first time, that I had experienced Doctor Who, in the same way as people had done, in decades past, before home video started.

Doctor Who’s now iconic and unforgettable 2005 return to Television is seared onto the minds of a generation. The first of the soon to be many acclaimed series, presented a fun and accessible jumping on point, for new audiences, which quickly developed into a fast-paced thriller and intense character drama that gripped me to the end. Watching that series broadcast, was one of the most exciting Television experiences I’ve ever had. Even though, I was already 18, and through most of my formative years, it still left a huge impression on me. The sheer exhilaration of the dramatic build-up to the series finale, The Parting of the Ways, was palpable. It was virtually everything I hoped it would be, and the great memory of those times, shall stay with me forever; let alone set a high bar for subsequent series to beat.

For me, Christopher Eccleston, was a huge part of why I loved that first new series so much. His gravitas, dynamism, precise and electric performance, was full of such energy and conviction, it made those episodes so effortlessly enjoyable, and entrancing. Lead writer and showrunner, Russell T. Davies, as well as fellow acting lead, Billie Piper, also played huge parts in Doctor Who’s great success that year; but for me it was often Eccleston that made them unmissable. As a result, Christopher Eccleston will always be one of the handful of Doctors, like Jon Pertwee, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, who I grew up with, and for which I will always have special affection for.

However, leaving the role of the Doctor on screen, after one year, under unknown creative disagreements with the production team, it was clear that any revisit for the character on screen was unlikely. I won’t pry into the personal business of those involved, so I’ll move on, but in short, for a long time, it seemed like Christopher Eccleston would never, ever return to Doctor Who. So, I’m overjoyed that we finally have another chance to be blessed with Eccleston’s reappearance in the role, on audio.

Sphere of Freedom

From the first second, Christopher Eccleston’s breathless, and impassioned performance, bursts through the speakers, in an exciting introduction, that captures you instantly. It’s impossible to describe how happy I was in those first few moments, transporting me back to those heady thrills of 2005. Sphere of Freedom is everything I hoped it would be, sharing another wacky and imaginative rollercoaster ride, with Eccleston’s pragmatic and no-nonsense Ninth Doctor.

Time Eddies have been a theoretical phenomenon much talked about in Doctor Who before, but rarely demonstrated. Their ability to suddenly appear into existence, and whisk you away, like temporal Tornadoes, is thrillingly realised, first by threatening the Doctor and his new friend, Nova, but also by their impact on Earth. The cultural contrast of 1^st Century Romans coming up against 1950s British soldiers, in the middle of Central London, is both visually imaginative, but clearly also a great deal of fun, as they try to understand, and outthink each other.

The Ninth Doctor is thrown into this chaos, London being a lovely echo of its presence in TV episode, Rose; and wastes no time, in his trademark succinct manner, getting down to business. As a result, the pacing is fast, and feels fairly action-packed.

Once the Doctor traces the Time Eddies to the Sphere of Freedom, that’s when Ravagers really pulls out the Ace up its sleeve – the wonderful Nova. Nicholas Briggs has given Big Finish, another in its increasing successful line of great, new Doctor Who companions. Nova has the accessibility of Rose Tyler, with the down-to-earth and relatable natures of Lucie Miller, and Liv Chenka. I love how Nova, is just looking for a better life, and isn’t automatically spellbound by the Doctor and his fantastical travels. In an all-too familiar tale, Nova is just trying to get by, exploited on a low wage, and going through the motions. The Doctor’s appearance reawakens her sense of self-worth, and she is happy to risk it all, for the hope of better days.

The fast-moving plot and dialogue make this production, feel very fresh and exciting, much like the first episodes of the TV revival itself. However, this all gradually changes, not long after the appearance of the mysterious Audrey. After endless questioning of the Doctor, it doesn’t take too long for the audience to guess that she is one of the main antagonist’s in the overall story. Unfortunately, the script holds back the reveal till far too late, in my view; partly as a result of the unusual method of framing half of the first episode, as a narrated story, which after a while stops all the momentum the narrative, had up until this point. The cliff-hanger reveal of the Time Ravager creatures, also seems to come from nowhere, and suffers from a lack of build-up in the script earlier. For the most part though, this first entry, is a fantastic opener.

Sphere of Freedom – Score: 8/10

Cataclysm

Cataclysm continues to intriguingly thicken the plot, while giving us more time to appreciate Nova, as a new companion. Nova bravely holds her own against a bunch of bloodthirsty Robots, who deem human intelligence and individual thought to be a form of corruption and pollution (a great piece of quick social commentary on political popularism).

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Nova, traverse time to try and find a way to shut down the dangerous Time Eddies threatening the Universe. However, it seems the Time Eddies fight against them, forcing the TARDIS to arrive at events in the wrong order. Despite that, it’s clear Audrey created the Time Eddies, so the Doctor finally arrives at an earlier moment in Audrey’s life, on the planet Tarleesha, desperate to try and get more information. Although, this expedition seems a fruitless run-around, it does give us a chance to see how great the new pairing of the Ninth Doctor and Nova is.

Nova proves, a smart, and pragmatic companion, who keeps the Doctor focussed on the now, while also not standing for his occasional mood swings. Nova is also very imaginative, and insightful, coming up with most of the helpful ideas, again keeping the duo focused. I also love how cutely the Doctor distracts the guard with a funny romantic note on the psychic paper. A neat idea, never attempted on the show before, bar River Song’s teases, of course.

Despite the active and complex plot mechanics, Nicholas Briggs continues to hold all the answers close to his chest. He skilfully crafts more scenarios that raise more questions; having the Doctor show up as a mysterious temporal spirit from the future, which is a really neat reversal of the narrated story device employed by Audrey in Sphere of Freedom. I also like how Audrey isn’t your typical supervillain, but a misguided scientist, later amoral business CEO; who seems to have some good intentions for her people, even if she has little care for the rest of time and space. As the scale of the story increases, so does the intrigue behind it; even if Cataclysm is mainly an entertaining romp, within a larger story, yet to be revealed.

Cataclysm – Score: 7/10

Food Fight

The much-teased conclusion brings back the momentum of the first episode; the plot jumping from place to place, barely stopping to take breath. However, some of it is quite clearly a way of putting off the final resolution, by instead dwelling in light entertaining banter from the supporting historical characters. Although, I must admit, imagining a Roman dangling out of the TARDIS, into the maelstrom of the Time-Space Vortex, is rather amusing. Nova also starts to devolve slightly at times into a Rose Tyler soundalike, but fortunately reverts to her original self once the action returns to the Sphere of Freedom.

Forward Flashbacks of the Doctor’s temporal spirit remain an excellent audio storytelling device; and really helps develop a fascinating chemistry between the Doctor and Audrey. Audrey, in fact benefits the most, with some great character development, demonstrating her aim to aid the Universe, while also made desperate, after suffering the fall of her own World, Tarleesha. It finally makes her a convincing character, and one that we can sympathise, even if, like the Doctor, she has misunderstood the true nature of the Ravagers. Our understanding of Audrey comes just in time, for a well-earned face-off between her and the Doctor.

Interestingly enough, the Doctor’s arrogance is just as misguided as Audrey’s; tearing apart Audrey’s technology on the Sphere of Freedom, only to completely misjudge the overall situation. Once the Doctor has been swallowed up by a surprise Time Eddy, he finds himself, face to face with the much talked about Ravagers. I must confess, after the build-up, the truth behind them as primal creatures, that just live off the fear pheromones generated from their own emotions, feels somewhat underwhelming. In some ways, it’s an interesting metaphorical social commentary on people, who only live off the thrill from the virtual technology – TV, Computers, Phones, Gaming, Virtual Reality. In this instance, it just feels a bit contrived that the power of the Ravagers is conflated to threaten the whole Universe and Space/Time at once, rather than perhaps purely on a planetary level, which potentially may have been more effective. There are only so many times that Universe level threats can be banded about, before it starts feeling a bit blasé.

Food Fight resolves the impending doom of Space/Time, by having the Doctor, cross his own time stream again, but this time, to rewrite most of the entire events of Ravagers from scratch. The primal Ravagers are sated, amusingly, by essentially creative editing, allowing Audrey to keep them at bay, with a regular dose of Virtual Reality media, or to put it another way – ‘piped in’ Television. So, while the Ravagers are glued into their gogglebox, the Doctor gets friendly reacquainted with Nova, who has to get to know the Time Traveller all over again, after the previous timeline was erased. As solutions go, its far from the worst – a casual lowkey conclusion to an entertaining two-hour adventure.

Food Fight – Score: 7/10

Overall, Ravagers proves to be a very fun romp, across the Timelines. Just like The Chase, the entertainment is more about the journey, than the destination. A diverse range of character types and locations, help give the adventure, both great scopes, but also plenty of amusing and dynamic scenes, really helping to sell Ravagers as a fresh-sounding, and immersive reintroduction to the World of the Ninth Doctor, and boy what a reintroduction.

Christopher Eccleston is undoubtedly the star of the production, and I have already enthused greatly about his performance, but it is so magical, I feel I could listen or watch him perform anything. Having said that, many of his co-stars also do a great turn in their performances, particularly Camilla Beeput as Nova, who brilliantly articulates her strength of character, but also her brutal honesty, successfully giving Nova, a relatable and strong voice, fairly well-matched to Chris Eccleston’s Doctor. Jayne McKenna is good as the amoral Audrey too, portraying more nuanced menace as a villain, while gradually softening her to the point, where the audience feels sorry for the character, trying so hard to save the Universe. Of the supporting actors, Dan Starkey stands out, cast in a role that plays to his comedic strengths, as the brutish, and constantly bemused Roman Centurion, Marcus Aurelius Gallius. Starkey gets a lot of the funniest moments, even if his character has very standard historical character “out of time” dialogue.

The production of Ravagers is equally as impressive as the performances. I confess, I haven’t listened to many present-day Big Finish audios, because I’ve largely been picking out audios at random to listen to, from across the various years of their amazing output. So Ravagers was probably only the third recent release over the last 12 months I had heard, and the first thing that blew me away with this release, was the immersive sound design of Iain Meadows. The explosions, sci-fi and TARDIS effects, instantly transport you out of the real world, and into a new one, really sparking the imagination. The increasingly superlative Howard Carter, also scores another home run, with a soundtrack that is reminiscent of 90s Sci-fi, Spy-fi, but also creates a wonderful new theme, in a similar sound to Murray Gold’s Westminster Bridge from Series One of the TV revival. Nicholas Briggs’ regularly fine-tuned direction, also shows, as no performance is wasted, and the whole production feels so seamless and full of action.

Some fans may feel disappointed that this isn’t a deeper examination of the Time War, battle-scarred, and traumatised Ninth Doctor, often portrayed on Television. However, in defence of Big Finish that was only ever one side of the Doctor’s personality, and writer Russell T. Davies, I feel, explored it deeply and intensely throughout his time on Doctor Who. They often forget about the Ninth Doctor’s fun, life-loving, and excitable side, that often welcomed him into people’s living rooms. Ravagers features more of this aspect to the Ninth Doctor, and to me it makes perfect sense. The Time War and Time Lords are hinted at, but at this point, the Doctor is in denial, and throwing himself into his new travels, before he’s yet to come to terms with those events, during the later years of the incarnation depicted in the TV series.

Tonally, Ravagers provides just the reintroduction for the Ninth Doctor that we needed. Not an overcomplex puzzler, or a sudden dive into a tense emotional drama that we already have several examples of, but a fun ride around Time and Space, with a few great characters along the way. The bigger ideas, dramas and story arcs, can all wait for later stories. Ravagers watch word is clearly to be accessible to all, and great entertainment in all weathers. In that, Ravagers succeeds in spades. Just like The Chase, it whisks us around the cosmos, and across history, in a whirlwind of action, thrills, and diverting time jumps; but equally just The Chase, its not really offering enough substance, to in the end, be much more than that. Simply a great showcase of its star, to remind us how much we still love, the fantastic Christopher Eccleston.

Overall Score: 7/10