Gods and Monsters
I always have a problem with brilliant stories. They are really difficult to review, simply because everything that makes them brilliant is something I avoid to not give spoilers away. Gods and
Monsters is no exception. Listed as the end of the trilogy, end of the Seventh Doctor’s 20 odd-year
spanning plot, and the return of Fenric, it was always going to be something special. To write my review properly, and give the story full justice, I am not going to hold back on spoilers, so, if you haven’t heard it or don’t want to be spoiled, then look away now.
The Curse of Fenric was only the second Classic Doctor Who story I ever watched. I forced my sister and Mum through all 4 episodes, until they were bored rigid and I was screaming with 8 year old excitement. So, naturally, it holds a special place in my life, and it’s a brilliant story to boot. That Nordic God and his Haemovore servants have deserved a revisit for years, and Big Finish have finally treated us. But, it was no mean task. For it to be a success, it needed to be completely different from the original, while having a nice homage to it.
Mike Maddox (Legend of the Cybermen) and Alan Barnes (Orbis, among others) promised us a story which would bring together plot strands from stories almost 20 years old. With the Doctor stuck in a trap set years before by an old enemy and it’s up to Ace, Hex, Sally and Lysandra to save him. After two Doctor-lite stories, it is brilliant to hear all five characters next to each other at last. They are all given plenty to do, the largest TARDIS crew to date and not one of them is left out. While Hex and Ace fight Haemovores in Fenric’s realm, Sally and Lysandra find themselves in the far future, with a fleet of spaceships poised to obliterate the earth. This last setting was the most interesting, I wasn’t expecting such a different location to that in the blurb, but in hindsight, the story would have suffered without it. This setting is also the location for one of the most disturbing scenes to involve a companion. With the battle fleet prepared to destroy the earth, a future Sally tortures another Lysandra to give her the password to the ultimate weapon, a weapon which will destroy the Higgs Boson particle, and so will turn everything in its path to dust, including the Earth. Sally kills her one-time companion, just to find that she didn’t know that answer. Then, when she works out the pass-code, she takes her own life rather than face what she’s done. When heard playing out, it really is a disturbing and horrifying scene, and one that will haunt me for years to come. Hearing that shot, and the voice of younger Sally and Lysandra watching was, well, there aren't words to describe it properly...
As for the rest of the story, Fenric is really brilliant here; his appearance is the cliff-hanger to the opening credits, rather than any of the episodes. His Nordic background isn’t forgotten. Runes are carved into shields, and time storms become the favourite way to travel through this land, but only Fenric knows fully what is happening. Gods and Monsters really does have some brilliant twists, from finding those who are evil are really on the side of good, and vice versa, to finding Peggy Marsden (Protect and Survive) in the middle of the playing ground. This shouldn’t be surprising, as she’s in the trailer, the cast list and the photos but I had somehow missed all of those and was completely shocked by her appearance.
This tale was listed as the end of many threads, which have spanned almost two decades, the reveals may not be as heavy as the previous release, but they are there. Something’s that should have been obvious suddenly fell into my ears like a clap of thunder. Links to the TV series weren’t very big, but only when I heard this did I release how many Gods he fought on screen. Fenric, the Gods of Ragnarok, Morgaine (if you count her, which I would) and I seem to remember something from Ghost Light on top. The real impact came from the chess board in the toymaker’s realm, how could I have missed that, it was so obvious!
However, the real story is that of Hex. I spent the whole story shouting ‘why can’t Fenric see him?’ And when the answer came, it was both devastating and brilliant in one. A toy of Weyland, who saved Hex’s life at Scutari, and has since then, been playing him to his own ends. And as those final moments played, tears streamed down my face as one of the best men fell away, possibly forever. Philip Olivier plays him brilliantly, showing just how far he has come since The Harvest, and just how great a man he was. He shall be missed in the TARDIS.
So, Gods and Monsters is a must have, were it not for the detailed back-story that you HAVE to hear before this, I would say get it now. But, it really is worth all of them, just to hear all the threads together at last. And to have the reappearance of the Haemovores.
Monsters is no exception. Listed as the end of the trilogy, end of the Seventh Doctor’s 20 odd-year
spanning plot, and the return of Fenric, it was always going to be something special. To write my review properly, and give the story full justice, I am not going to hold back on spoilers, so, if you haven’t heard it or don’t want to be spoiled, then look away now.
The Curse of Fenric was only the second Classic Doctor Who story I ever watched. I forced my sister and Mum through all 4 episodes, until they were bored rigid and I was screaming with 8 year old excitement. So, naturally, it holds a special place in my life, and it’s a brilliant story to boot. That Nordic God and his Haemovore servants have deserved a revisit for years, and Big Finish have finally treated us. But, it was no mean task. For it to be a success, it needed to be completely different from the original, while having a nice homage to it.
Mike Maddox (Legend of the Cybermen) and Alan Barnes (Orbis, among others) promised us a story which would bring together plot strands from stories almost 20 years old. With the Doctor stuck in a trap set years before by an old enemy and it’s up to Ace, Hex, Sally and Lysandra to save him. After two Doctor-lite stories, it is brilliant to hear all five characters next to each other at last. They are all given plenty to do, the largest TARDIS crew to date and not one of them is left out. While Hex and Ace fight Haemovores in Fenric’s realm, Sally and Lysandra find themselves in the far future, with a fleet of spaceships poised to obliterate the earth. This last setting was the most interesting, I wasn’t expecting such a different location to that in the blurb, but in hindsight, the story would have suffered without it. This setting is also the location for one of the most disturbing scenes to involve a companion. With the battle fleet prepared to destroy the earth, a future Sally tortures another Lysandra to give her the password to the ultimate weapon, a weapon which will destroy the Higgs Boson particle, and so will turn everything in its path to dust, including the Earth. Sally kills her one-time companion, just to find that she didn’t know that answer. Then, when she works out the pass-code, she takes her own life rather than face what she’s done. When heard playing out, it really is a disturbing and horrifying scene, and one that will haunt me for years to come. Hearing that shot, and the voice of younger Sally and Lysandra watching was, well, there aren't words to describe it properly...
As for the rest of the story, Fenric is really brilliant here; his appearance is the cliff-hanger to the opening credits, rather than any of the episodes. His Nordic background isn’t forgotten. Runes are carved into shields, and time storms become the favourite way to travel through this land, but only Fenric knows fully what is happening. Gods and Monsters really does have some brilliant twists, from finding those who are evil are really on the side of good, and vice versa, to finding Peggy Marsden (Protect and Survive) in the middle of the playing ground. This shouldn’t be surprising, as she’s in the trailer, the cast list and the photos but I had somehow missed all of those and was completely shocked by her appearance.
This tale was listed as the end of many threads, which have spanned almost two decades, the reveals may not be as heavy as the previous release, but they are there. Something’s that should have been obvious suddenly fell into my ears like a clap of thunder. Links to the TV series weren’t very big, but only when I heard this did I release how many Gods he fought on screen. Fenric, the Gods of Ragnarok, Morgaine (if you count her, which I would) and I seem to remember something from Ghost Light on top. The real impact came from the chess board in the toymaker’s realm, how could I have missed that, it was so obvious!
However, the real story is that of Hex. I spent the whole story shouting ‘why can’t Fenric see him?’ And when the answer came, it was both devastating and brilliant in one. A toy of Weyland, who saved Hex’s life at Scutari, and has since then, been playing him to his own ends. And as those final moments played, tears streamed down my face as one of the best men fell away, possibly forever. Philip Olivier plays him brilliantly, showing just how far he has come since The Harvest, and just how great a man he was. He shall be missed in the TARDIS.
So, Gods and Monsters is a must have, were it not for the detailed back-story that you HAVE to hear before this, I would say get it now. But, it really is worth all of them, just to hear all the threads together at last. And to have the reappearance of the Haemovores.