The Mega
|
|
Big Finish Productions The Mega |
|
| Written by | Bill Strutton, adapted by Simon Guerrier |  |
| Format | Compact Disc | |
| Released | 2013 |
| Starring Katy Manning and Richard Franklin |
| Synopsis: The small European nation of Golbasto has received help from the Mega and is threatening Britain. |
Seventies or Sixties? by Matthew Kresal 4/9/19
Given its more than fifty-year history, it comes as no surprise that there would be stories written for Doctor Who on TV that never got made. From 2009 to 2013, Big Finish produced a sizable number of them as audio dramas in a range entitled Doctor Who: The Lost Stories. Serving as the finale was the sole Third Doctor entry for the series: The Mega.
Scripted by Big Finish regular Simon Guerrier from a 1970 outline by Bill Strutton, The Mega is at once something that feels like it's of the era and yet not. Featuring the Third Doctor, Jo Grant and UNIT, it certainly fits the bill of Earthbound sci-fi that was the basis for much of the era. Indeed, it's very much in the thriller mode of stories such as Inferno and The Mind of Evil, with Britain (and by extension the world) under threat from Prince Cassie, leader of the small European nation of Golbasto, which has received help from the titular alien race. Global tensions, sparks flying between the Doctor and military men, and UNIT soldiers are all on display as well, which further adds to recreating the era. Indeed, all it feels like it needs at times is for the Master to turn up!
Where The Mega feels different is in its scope. Bill Strutton, who wrote the original outline, had written The Web Planet for William Hartnell's Doctor five years before. Those who have seen that story may recall that it was perhaps the most ambitious story of the series' early years and one that was not entirely successful. In listening to The Mega, it's clear that Strutton had conceived of a story with a scope that, while Earthbound, was still grand. There are some sizable action sequences, which put even Planet of the Spiders' epic chase to shame, as well as scenes of London riots and international settings that would likely strain even the resources of the show's 21st-century incarnation. The dialogue too at times, especially when it comes to the weapon that serves as the story's main menace, feels more like something from those early years rather than the early 1970s. The result is that The Mega feels like an odd mash-up of eras, a combination of the Third Doctor characters with the ambition and dialogue of the First Doctor era.
It's something that also is apparent in the story's length. At three discs and six episodes instead of the usual two and four, respectively, The Mega is a tale epic in length as in its scope. That isn't always as a bad thing, as the two aforementioned TV stories and Lost Stories such as Farewell Great Macedon show. This story, however, suffers from its length. Once the Doctor and Jo get to Golbasto, their portions of the narrative quickly become repetitive, with a series of confrontations, escapes and returns. While Simon Guerrier does his best to liven things up with his prose and in fleshing out the outline (something he goes into more detail about in the CD booklet notes), it's something that only helps so much. In the end, The Mega is just too long.
On the plus side, it is brought to life nicely, using the enhanced audiobook format Big Finish had employed for the first two Doctors earlier in the range. The Mega was the first release to see Katy Manning and Richard Franklin returning to their roles of Jo Grant and UNIT Captain Mike Yates side by side, in addition to narration duties. While Manning can't truly recreate her voice from her twenties, she makes a good stab at both it and channeling Jon Pertwee, though you'd never mistake her for the real thing. Franklin fares better recreating his role as UNIT's longtime captain as well as channeling both the late Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier and John Levene as Sergeant Benton, though the accent on the latter goes a bit over the top at times. The supporting cast of Bo Poraj and Derek Carlyle is solid as well, with both playing multiple characters across the six episodes (and Poraj playing the leaders of opposing nations no less!). The sound design and especially the music of Richard Fox and Lauren Yason completes the story with their score capturing the feel of the era nicely. Altogether, they serve to help bring this epic if overlong tale to life.
The Mega is many things. As the concluding tale of the Lost Stories range, it was the culmination of a series that explored the good, the bad and the ugly of unmade TV Who adventures. As a Third Doctor story, it's overly long but has its points of interest. In a way, it's a shame it was made before Tim Trealor has assumed the Third Doctor mantle and Jon Culshaw took on the Brigadier. Because if there's one thing that might have made this even better, it would be making it full-cast. As it stands, however, it's an intriguing curiosity that's weighed down by being too long for its own good but one that fans of the era will likely enjoy.
The West Must Disarm by Jacob Licklider 25/3/26
Closing the Lost Stories range is the only viable option for a Third Doctor Lost Story. The Mega had enough material to be adapted and enough of the original cast happens to still be living, so regardless of quality it had to be produced. It was written originally by Bill Strutton but, unlike The Web Planet, provides commentary on the then-escalating Cold War as it involves aliens who wish to see the western world disarm, the governments disbanded and Prince Cassie of Austria put in charge of the world until it can be totally united. It's a really good piece of political commentary shrouded in a six-episode traditional Third Doctor story with UNIT, a peace conference, an alien menace who disguises itself as wanting to help and plenty of gadgets for the Doctor to enjoy. Even the Master turns out to be behind the menace, even if the tragic passing of Roger Delgado makes it impossible for him to appear outside of getting a few mentions in the story. It's really just a fun story and a good look at the political climate of the past, the Jon Pertwee era of the show, and nothing more.
Like many Jon Pertwee stories, the latter half of the story does drag on to a spectacular finale, but that barely takes away from a lot of philosophical discussion the story goes for. The Doctor of course is on the side of the Mega, played by the wonderful Derek Carlyle in the fact that he wishes to avoid war, but their methods of killing those who oppose them is something that he opposes. Carlyle plays the Mega as a hive mind, but also gives them their own individual personalities that can be distinguished in very subtle ways. This makes the tone of the story feel similar to that of a spy movie as the Doctor flees to Austria and almost double-crosses UNIT, before it's revealed to be a clever trick to get Prince Cassie to trust him and Jo. The Doctor is played as James Bond in this story, and it is a part that really only works for the Third Doctor. The story may be rough, but Strutton and Guerrier understand how to write for this incarnation of the Doctor. The six-part story is very easy to listen to, as the characterization of everyone is strong. Katy Manning takes the job of playing Jo Grant and the Doctor. Now Manning is a brilliant actress, almost too good for 1970s Doctor Who, and that allows her to recapture the magic of Jo. Through Manning's narration and performance, you get lost in the era, and her Jon Pertwee is interesting. Now it is obviously an impersonation, but as Manning has deep admiration for her former co-star and worked with him for three whole years, she's got his mannerisms down pat. It doesn't sound like Pertwee, it feels like a performance Pertwee would be giving. The interviews at the end of the story offer some great insight into the decisions Katy Manning made in performing this story, which helps with the ambiance.
Richard Franklin has the more difficult job, as he is playing three characters. Sadly, he is the weaker link in the story as while his Mike Yates and Brigadier Lethebridge-Stewart are both great, his imitation of John Levene as Benton really is quite a bad imitation. It might be because of John Levene's meek and stern performances as the Sergeant, but it isn't really something that is able to be replicated in the audio drama. Franklin, however, is giving it his all in this story as he has to play through just as many, if not more, emotional scenes as Katy Manning. Bo Poraj also plays quite a few characters, ranging from the villain Prince Cassie, a man going down the road to hell paved with good intentions, to the moustache-twirling General Wiley, and even the murdered Prime Minister, who all have distinct voices and personalities. Poraj is a great performer in this story and almost tops the likes of Katy Manning.
To summarize, The Mega is a fitting end to the Lost Stories range. While it goes back to the style of the Companion Chronicles instead of the incumbent Early Adventures, Katy Manning and Richard Franklin are great in their roles, and the two actors brought in for the supporting cast are great as well. The biggest flaw is the pacing, which makes Episodes Four, Five and Six extremely difficult to get through, although there are some great scenes to bring me back into a listening mode. 80/100