Dear reader, are you sick of boring plots that run from A to B with nary a deviation? Fed up with narratives being too linear in their thematic explorations? Well, then, Dark Gallifrey: The War Master may just be for you! Although, don’t let the title fool you, the eponymous antihero doesn’t actually feature in this first of three instalments.
Having heard intriguing rumours of a hidden Gallifrey, our evergreen hero Bernice Summerfield (played as always by the irrepressible Lisa Bowerman) sets off to investigate. But, as the Doctor (an alternative universe incarnation played by the magnificent David Warner) points out, some things are just not meant to be found, especially if they want to be.
We’re going back to front with this one, starting at the end as Bernice confronts a malignant entity known as the Imbomination, before things slowly reveal themselves for the dramatic ending/beginning.
The backwards narrative choice is an interesting one and thankfully, it never confuses the listener too much. The problem, really, is that the tale it weaves is quite slight, and for all the cod-angry exchanges between Bernice and the Doctor about how dangerous it all is, you never really gets the foreboding feeling you should.
The two leads, as always, are marvellous and hit every mark with the precision of such grand artistes. The Imbomination, as performed by Tariyé Peterside, is just the right kind of queasily menacing, and an honourable mention goes to voice of the TARDIS Homer Todiwala, who’s as snivelling as it’s possible to be.
As we expect from Big Finish, the music and soundscape is top-notch, rewinding as it does through the story. Sadly though, that flimsy story lets the whole piece down. A case of style over substance, let’s hope it picks up over the next parts in this saga.
