Doctor Who Club of Australia

[Theta Sigma]

Finally started listening to the Big Finish audio story Terror Firma via the Davros Collection DVD set.

Terror Firma was originally released in August 2005 featuring the Eighth Doctor, Charley and C'rizz.

Just two months after Ninth Doctor Chris Eccleston made his swansong with a showdown with the Daleks in the current TV series, his predecessor Eighth Doctor Paul McGann returned to Big Finish listeners for the first time since he was formally replaced as the Doctor with this adventure but unlike the recent TV adventure at the time, the Eighth Doctor gets to encounter Davros as well (hence Terror Firma being included in the Davros Collection). For Davros this takes place after the character's last TV appearance in Remembrance of the Daleks.

As well as Terry Molloy playing Davros (as he did in the TV series during the 1980s as well as the audio stories Davros & The Juggernauts) the guest cast includes Julia Deakin (from the TV series Spaced*), Lee Ingleby and Lizzie Hopley as the Griffin family. As usual Nick Briggs provide the voice of the Daleks as he also does in the TV series.

Also Terror Firma was voted by Doctor Who Magazine readers as their favourite of the 2005 Doctor Who audio plays.

The story was written by Joseph Lidster who recently did work for the current Doctor Who universe including the prologue for the 2007 episode 42 and the Torchwood episode A Day In The Death.

So far I have finished the first episode:
Although Terror Firma is technically Paul McGann's first adventure as a Past Doctor this feels more like a coda to his tenure as the current Doctor especially this almost picks up from the cliffhanger of the previous Eighth Doctor Big Finish story The Next Life.
This has been somewhat of a weird episode to begin with especially with the revelation of the location of the Daleks' new home world and what Davros tells the Doctor at the end.

*Ms Deakin's Spaced co-stars Simon Pegg and Jessica Hyne have made guest stints in the current TV series.

[Theta Sigma]

Part 2:
The intrigue about the Griffin family continues which leads to a very bizarre cliffhanger.

[Theta Sigma]

Part 3:
Good flashbacks to the Eighth Doctor's life before Charley and C'rizz.
So glad that Harriet did not seem care-free about the situation as first appeared.
What a good cliffhanger revealing who the French Resistance are.

[Theta Sigma]

Part 4:
Not a bad conclusion. I honestly admit that due to the story being voted the favourite of DWM readers of the 2005 audio plays that I expected to find it a lot better.

Unfortunately overall I am only found it to be a passable story.

I also feel that given this was included on the Davros Collection DVD set and the story was a lot about C'rizz's character, people who are listening to Big Finish for the first time as a result of getting the Davros Collection may not understand C'rizz's character without having to listen to his previous stories.
Hence they will probably feel somewhat bewildered with the story's ending.

If it is any consolation to Mr Lidster I did find his Torchwood episode A Day In The Death to be a way better script than Terror Firma.