Thin Ice
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Big Finish Productions Thin Ice |
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| Written by | Marc Platt |  |
| Format | Compact Disc | |
| Released | 2011 |
| Starring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred |
| Synopsis: Moscow 1967. The Doctor and Ace have arrived behind the Iron Curtain, and the Soviet Union is seeking a new weapon that will give it mastery in the Cold War. What is the secret of the Martian relics? As the legendary War Lord Sezhyr returns to life, the Doctor is faced with some of his oldest and deadliest enemies. The fate of Earth --- and the future of Ace --- are now intertwined... |
Do Ice Warriors Eat Fish Fingers? by Jacob Licklider 31/5/23
Having the feature of the second season of the Lost Stories be Season 27 was the next logical step after doing the original Season 23. Seasons 25 and 26 are a definite improvement and in the excellent "Endgame" documentary shows what the stories would have originally been for Season 27. The premiere would again be written by Ben Aaronovitch in cooperation with Andrew Cartmel with Earth Aid, a Star Trek parody involving the Metatraxi, a warrior race created by the two for a possible Doctor Who stageplay. It would continue with Marc Platt's Ice Time, which would see the departure of Ace to enter the Academy on Gallifrey. Raine Cunningham, a safecracker, would be introduced as a new companion in Crime of the Century, to be written by Andrew Cartmel. The finale for the season would have been either Night Thoughts by Edward Young or Illegal Alien by Mike Tucker and Robert Perry. When adapting this original season, however, Big Finish started by getting rid of the original finale and replacing it with Earth Aid, moving Ice Time and Crime of the Century up in the running, changing Ice Time to Thin Ice and filling the gap left by Andrew Cartmel's original idea for the novel Warlock with Animal.
Marc Platt adapts his own script for Thin Ice, so most of the original plot of the story remains intact. The Doctor and Ace land in Moscow in 1967 where the Russians are working with a British smuggler called Markus Creevey retrieving a Martian helmet of one of their greatest warriors. There is also another Ice Warrior conspiracy, a romance between Creevey and a Russian Lieutenant who is carrying his child, and Ace being appraised by Time Lords to see if she is fit to join the Academy on Gallifrey while the Doctor is in charge of watching from the sidelines. Platt's plot is adapted into audio with several ideas changed to tone down things that would have brought up the Cartmel Master Plan, which does make the plot suffer in several places. It really feels a bit all over the place with some threads that seem very much like they were going to be much deeper on television with more visual cues. It is still a very good story plotwise overall, even if some key moments are shifted and cut out. The biggest change of course is the ending where Ace does not actually leave and decides to stay with the Doctor, and many call this a problem. I would agree if it wasn't for the fact that she eventually does go to Gallifrey.
The acting hinges on Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, and they pull it off marvelously. The Doctor is nervous about going through with his master plan as the events of The Curse of Fenric has changed their relationship. He doesn't want to manipulate her and is even afraid that Ace may die in this situation. While he tries his hardest to be out in the background, his interfering nature comes back in, as here he doesn't have a master plan. He is not in control, which causes him to act out of character for the most part. Sophie Aldred has to have the rest of her character arc completed here for the most part. She is again betrayed by the Doctor, as here she feels like she's been manipulated, which the Time Lords actually test her by revealing her presence. Ace still shows that she has the makings of a Time Lord, as she is the one to take the active role here in the story, and it is still a slight disappointment when this does not end in her leaving, although the Time Lords would have passed her.
The supporting characters are also really interesting. The biggest supporting characters are Markus Creevey and Raina Kerenskaya, played by Ricky Groves and Beth Chalmers. Creeveey and Raina are lovers who barely have time to see each other. The story actually gives them a Romeo and Juliet story, as Raina actually puts on the helmet of Sezhyr and is possessed. She does make it out alive but changed, as she gives birth prematurely, and the Doctor has to deliver the baby. John Albasiny plays Felnikov, a major for the Soviet Union, who is the villain along with Sezhyr, and it is interesting that the story really keeps to a human villain. His gang of bikers is really cringeworthy, as they have Ice Warrior style helmets because reasons. Finally Nicholas Briggs is Hhessh, an Ice Lord who likes fish fingers and has a good relationship with Ace. They both admire each other as leaders, which is an interesting dynamic to be sure.
To summarize, Thin Ice is a great way to open up the Lost Season 27. The adaptation sees Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred give some of their best performances as their characters complete an arc. There are several problems mainly due to the adaptation, as the story would have worked better if actually made for television, but it is still something that should be listened to. 75/100