The Divergent Universe arc
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Big Finish The Divergent Universe arc |
| Released | 2003-4 |
| Synopsis: The Doctor finds himself in a universe where time has no meaning. |
A Review by Richard Radcliffe 6/3/05
A review of this Alternative Universe arc, a series that has taken up 9 of the last 14 releases (that's too many for 1 Dr/1 arc):
Zagreus - all over the place runaround with atrocious parts (McCoy with talking animals) and wonderful parts (Rev Davison) 7/10
Scherzo - limited environ allows Shearman's dialogue to shine. Still limiting though. 7/10
Creed of the Kromon - standard DW fare. Loved the 1st episode, the rest a jolly romp through insect city. 7/10
Natural History of Fear - didn't get it on first listen. Adored it on second. Challengingly very good. 8/10
Twilight Kingdom - not too many memorable scenes here, but quite straightforward story told pretty well. 7/10
Faith Stealer - the low point of the Big Finish range, give me an alternative to this any day. 5/10
The Last - Effective post-nuclear-attack story, spoilt by copout ending. 7/10
Caerdroia - Surreal tale of mazes and cuckoo clocks. I loved it - my personal highpoint of the series. 8/10
The Next Life - simple romp to end the series. Wonderful guest appearances with great interplay all round. 7/10
I can't help but feel that this arc will be slammed in the future (it's started already). Was this the time when the normally reliable Big Finish got it wrong? I'm not willing to go that far on the attack, but certainly the stories overall were less enjoyable and more lacklustre than their predecessors. The future? Standalone stories of previous Doctors (McGann included) - that's what Big Finish has excelled at (look at the 6th Dr/Evelyn stories - standalon, yet rewarding the regular listener as the characters grow together).
I'm confident great Doctor Who will result more often than not with this approach - because Big Finish has produced brilliant Who far more consistently than any other medium - in spite of this Alternative Universe blip.