The Entropy Plague
Concluding the latest trilogy and this return to E-space is
The Entropy Plague, penned by Jonathan Morris. Coming in the wake of the great cliff-hanger
to Equilibrium, this story superbly wraps up several long standing arcs, both
with E-space and Nyssa’s family.
One of the benefits of Big Finish and the stories they tell is that it seems very easy for them to keep big surprises hidden until their release. They only need to limit the amount of information they release surrounding a story and all its secrets remain hidden, right until the downloads are released. Unfortunately, as someone who likes to enjoy the CD’s as they arrive in the post, that means I have several days of waiting around until I get to hear it, and several days avoiding all spoilers that I possibly can. However, with The Entropy Plague, a lot of it got spoiled for me just before the CD arrived, thanks to a badly named thread on the BF forums (no offence to the author of said thread, but it really did ruin my enjoyment, hence this rant). And so, to avoid myself ruining the story for others, I specify this:
Spoilers ahead, if you wish to avoid them, don’t scroll past the image below!
One of the benefits of Big Finish and the stories they tell is that it seems very easy for them to keep big surprises hidden until their release. They only need to limit the amount of information they release surrounding a story and all its secrets remain hidden, right until the downloads are released. Unfortunately, as someone who likes to enjoy the CD’s as they arrive in the post, that means I have several days of waiting around until I get to hear it, and several days avoiding all spoilers that I possibly can. However, with The Entropy Plague, a lot of it got spoiled for me just before the CD arrived, thanks to a badly named thread on the BF forums (no offence to the author of said thread, but it really did ruin my enjoyment, hence this rant). And so, to avoid myself ruining the story for others, I specify this:
Spoilers ahead, if you wish to avoid them, don’t scroll past the image below!
Still here? Okay, I will start with the slightly less shocking moment of the story: the return of Adric (i.e. Nyssa’s son). No information about this was actually released with all the press statements, even the cast list on the website doesn’t include his name. You may be thinking how can he return, with our regulars trapped in another universe? It all involves a genius bit of writing by Morris. This story ends up being closer to a companion chronicle than a typical monthly range, with each regular recounting the main plot for one episode. It’s a nice change of pace, and certainly makes this story more memorable than recent others. It is also a plot style that doesn’t feel forced, as some of the CC’s became as they repeated this style regularly.
Adric’s return also gives the listener a slight premonition of what is going to happen. Right from the moment the Doctor steps out the TARDIS, we all know something big has happened, and as the episodes play out, and we are drip fed more information, the outcome becomes clear. I would have liked to have worked this out for myself, Morris was really cunning in the way he wrote it, and guessing (and even second guessing) his plan made the story that bit more engrossing. However, as I said before, this was one spoiler I was really annoyed at reading, and so I you won’t find me writing it here. All I will say is that the ending does feel natural, the right time for it to happen, and is played very well.
As for the main E-space plot, that thread by itself wouldn’t have been much on its own. Without the aforementioned sections, it would have made for an entirely forgettable plot. However, its weaving into the other sections actually make it very interesting. Examining a universe which only has hours to live has never, to my knowledge, been done in quite this way. The lengths Pallister is willing to go to save the few people he can, including himself, seem extreme, but actually thinking about it, how far would anyone go in that situation. Normally, I might say a story is fun, or exiting, but I think it’s rare for me to find a story so interesting and thought provoking, that I actually look at how myself in a different way. Whether that was Morris’s intention or not, it really worked well for me.
The only real disappointment for me was the monsters, the Sandmen. Given their prominence on the cover and the way they are described in the blurb, you would be forgiven for thinking that they are the main enemy. They really aren’t. In fact, they are only in two or three scenes, seemingly on there to fulfil the ‘monster of the week’ tick box to sell CD’s.
The main threat here is endings, and the story delivers. The E-space trilogy really did improve as it continued, and quickly became the strongest Fifth Doctor trilogies in a long time. Whether or not we get another story set directly after this remains to be seen, but it would be nice to explore the Doctor and his companions after the outcome of this. In all, this is a very good story; certainly the best the main range has offered Davison in a long time.