Doctor Who Presents… Doom Coalition
Gustaff Behr takes a look at what can we expect from Big Finish’s newly announced Eighth Doctor audio series.
Right on the heels of their latest announcement that they’ve received the rights to make Doctor Who on audio until 2020
Well, accordingly, one of the most prominent elements of this new box set series is the inclusion to make these Doom Coalition stories a jumping on point for new Big Finish fans. This has always been a problem which I believe this newest box set could fix.
Fans who want to get into Big Finish always want to jump to the front of the pack and sink their teeth into the newest goodies, which sometimes spoil things for them as the thing with Big Finish, there is usually a huge build-up in a lot of the arcs they do, especially considering the Eighth Doctor. As much as you hate it, it’s Mary, Charley, C’rizz, Lucy, Molly and finally comes Liv Chenka. That’s how his journey goes. There are over 80 stories of backlog before we get to that Dark Eyes treat and a lot of fans don’t want to recap that far back. It’s expensive and a lot of the time it feels like being given the crumbs while the rest of the fans get to enjoy the actual pizza. One is fresh and new, the other is old. Imagining Doom Coalition as something like Series 1, 5 or 8 which are all jumping on points for new Who fans will definitely inspire more people to try Big Finish.
“I couldn’t help noticing. Just then… Another personality emerged. Was that Seven? Ten?”
As for the announced storyline, it is nothing to sneeze at. You can be forgiven for reading the above and thinking that maybe Doctors 7 or 10 might in some magical, the hell with the BBC/Big Finish licensing way show up. In actuality, the above seems to refer to the villain the Doctor will be facing this time.
“The Eleven, a Time Lord who retains each one of his personalities every time he regenerates. We meet him in his Eleventh incarnation where he’s now an insane sociopath. Captured by the Seventh Doctor and placed in confinement on Gallifrey, the Eleven has been contained for many years. But now he has escaped…”
Now how imaginative is that? Imagine having 11 different voices in your head, each distinctively different from one another in both thought process and moral pragmatics, constantly telling you what to do or how to do it? It’s no wonder the Eleven is insane. This back-story is definitely the foundation for a great, three-(or shall we say eleven) dimensional character.
Another interesting note that fans have already started hoping for is the inclusion of the Seventh Doctor in the series. If such an inclusion would be granted, it would have to be a cameo appearance showing the Seventh Doctor apprehending the Eleven or perhaps feature a Klein’s Story like episode dealing with the events in question. Either of these would go over really well with fans I think. This might also be closer to fact than fiction, if only because Big Finish specified which incarnation of the Doctor captured the Eleven. Think about it. They could’ve just mentioned that the Doctor captured him ‘a couple of regenerations ago’ or ‘a long time ago’, but they went out of their way to single out Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor.
This series also introduces a new companion in Helen Sinclair (played by Hattie Morahan) who is described as someone from the 1960s, and inspired by Doctor Who’s first producer Verity Lambert. Helen is a mix of Barbara Wright, Sarah Jane Smith and Tegan Jovanka which seems to point to a very feminist character (makes sense if she’s from the 60s). Her interactions with the Doctor might parallel his banter with Lucie Miller. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Liv Chenka is also back, but if you’ve read my previous reviews, you’ll know that I’m not sold on this character. Dark Eyes 4 improved her personality somewhat, but there is still a lingering sense of ‘what exactly do the writers want to do with her?’. After her back story had been dealt with, Liv seemed to just be there, not really doing much else except falling into every trap the Master and others set for her. Hopefully, like Molly Sullivan, Liv Chenka is not around for the whole box set series.
Since this story involves Gallifrey, one has to wonder ‘Who is president?’ The casting doesn’t list Juliet Landau as Romana X (I prefer X over III or Trey), nor does it list Don Warrington or Timothy Dalton (hey, a guy can hope) as Rassilon. Either of these might be a surprise for later or point to a standalone adventure not featuring other Time Lords except the Eleven.
Big Finish have been edging closer and closer towards the Time War by creating the bridging ‘War’ incarnation of the Master in Alex MacQueen and even dealt with overwriting timelines and Dalek/Time Lord conflicts. This trend can only continue so can we expect some Time War related incident involving the Eleven? We know he escapes, but not what his plans are? Revenge? Pain and suffering?
Whatever the case may be, the Eleven is definitely a new kind of Time Lord that will, from the little we know of him (or them), be sure to entertain Big Finish fans, while at the same time attracting new ones. Doom Coalition kicks off in October 2015 when the Eighth Doctor returns to his ancestral home planet and meets up with the king of personality disorders the Eleven!
