Skip to main content

 Doctor Who Unbound

Masters Of War

This continues the from Sympathy for the Devil; David Warners ‘unbound’ 3rd Doctor and the Brigadier arrive on an alien planet where the Daleks are ruling the locals.

The city it turns out is a Thal settlement on Skaro. The Daleks and Thals living together, albeit with the Daleks in occupation.Its not something we’re used to, so its in interesting spin on the idea.

The Thals have a resistance which the Doctor befriends.


David Warners Doctor is a little dry, but I’m surprised at how easily he’s ‘The Doctor’. Though he was introduced Sympathy For The Devil, there’s no need for a  ‘getting to know him’ period, but maybe its David Warner - such a great actor.


As we find out more about this Skaro we hear videos of Dalek propaganda which features Davros - played by Terry Malloy, and he does it so well. Its the second half where he actually appears in person. And we get the Doctor meets Davros for the first time (well in this universe anyway), and as we know how duplicitous he is, so. when he seems to be acting against the Daleks interests.  You do wonder what he’s up to.


Its quite an epic adventure. At around 2 hours 20 minutes, there’s certainly time for it. I suppose its on par with the Dalek Invasion of Earth. There are stages of the story where the focus shifts. There are one or two twists, and the introduction of another alien race - the Quatch. Their voices aren’t the best, a little like the Sea Devils trying to make them sound alien but not really helping the story.


I have to mention Nick Courtney, a great addition to the cast. An older Brig, and he works well in the audio with Warners Doctor.


A cracking story.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Last Days of the Powell Estate The Ninth Doctor Adventures 4.2 The Doctor and Rose find themselves in the future, 2036 , to be exact. Though, when Rose discovers that the run down, derelict building they’ve arrived at is what left of the Powell estate , she starts to worry about her mother… It feels like quite a wait since the last episode. I’m not one for binge listening, but with Chris and Billie back together, you just want more. They meet a guy doing a video about strange places who tells the Doctor and Rose about an entity dubbed ‘ Mr Fingers ’. People feel a hand on their shoulder but when they turn round no ones there, feel it twice and you’re gone. The idea would make quite a nice horror film. It has the ingredients, the empty building, the sense of something unreal, people disappearing. The fact that once there felt the hand, if they turn around next time, they’re a goner.  The entity exists both in Roses time and the future, so we get Jackie and her friend in 2006...
The Skeleton Quay                        Jago and Litefoot 6.1                                 Jago and Litefoot arrive back in their own time and are immediately accosted. The Queen needs their services. Ghosts are seen at a village lost to the sea. So if you didn’t know or had forgot, J&L spent the last series in the 1960’s. Here they are back where they belong, but we don’t get to catch up with Ellie , Sgt Quick etc. As they're off straight away. So the village of Shingle cove was washed away by the sea during a storm, but something would seem to be amiss as J&L start to see ghosts and visions of how the village was, and someone is out to stop them. Its does fall into that trope of small town by the sea, 73 yards does it, the Stuff of Legend also. Not that its necessarily a bad thing, but it sets the tone for the episode. The sea, cli...
 The Three Companions I had intended to listen to Sirens of Time Redux after Once and Future Coda, however as it still hadn’t been released I went for the next audio on my list The Companion Chronicles: The Three Companions. This originally came out as 10 minutes parts, tacked onto the Monthly range, in 20009/10. The three companions being Polly, the Brigadier and Thomas Brewster, and consists of three, 40 minute episodes. Polly writes to the Brig, wanting to find out about the Doctor, having read an article by Mrs Jo Jones that mentions him, and tells a story of when she knew the Doctor. The thing that got me into the Companion Chronicles was the Mahogany Murder’s, I had tried them before and hadn’t taken to the the narration style. With the Mahogany Murder’s, it was Jago and Litefoot meeting and each recounting their recent events. This takes a similar approach. Though they are writing/emailing to each other there are interjections, comments from the other, which is a little odd,...