Doctor Who - Terror Firma - Review

Terror Firma is mad. It's not one of those plays that messes with the established format, yet it manages to be one of the strangest plays Big Finish have put out. It's also jam packed with stuff. It has a real sprawling epic feel, with 101 things happening at once. Each individual idea is bizarre and compelling enough to support a story in its own right.

I can't get too far into matters without giving away too many spoilers, so I'll try and cover things in general terms. First off there's Davros. Just like the play he's mad as a box of frogs. Molloy plays up to this and the resulting performance can often be loud and lacking in subtletly, though to an extent this is what the play demands. In amongst the booming and ranting though is a surprising weakness. Davros snivels. And rather than inspiring disgust, the play is actually quite succesful in eliciting sympathy for the poor bloke.

As much as it's a play about Davros, though, it's also a play about the Doctor and particularly his companions. Poor old Charley. India Fisher does rather a good turn as the distressed girl whose happiness to be home from the divergent universe is shattered by discovering that home is now crawling with daleks. Her little breakdown at the end of part one and start of part two is tragic.

C'rizz gets more screentime than Charley, however. And it's sort of his story too (as I said, it's a jam packed plot). Now, unlike many I've always liked C'rizz. Cast a little in the Turlough mould, there's a lot of interest in a character with a darker side. And yet C'rizz isn't a bad guy. This story really plays to that, particularly in his fantastic pairing with Gemma which allows him to really delve into the darker unsettling side and to show his regret and desire to be good.

The Doctor himself is fantastic in this tale. Though it's more about the characters around him than him himself, he gets some cracking lines, particularly in his pairing with Davros. On the strength of this it's a real pity the Eighth Doctor hasn't met Davros again. McGann puts in possibly his best performance since the Chimes of Midnight; his voice is really alive and textured, avoiding the bored sound that sometimes slips in. It's not all witticisms either, he gets some real dark stuff later on.

Then there's the bizarre family of supporting characters. Julia Deakin is pure pantomime as Harriet, but the character is so over the top, it's hard to see where else she could have gone. She does get to show a bit more depth later on when fretting over Sampson.

Sampson is something of a lynchpin to the story, and perhaps could have done with an even stronger portrayal than Lee Ingelby gives him, but at the same time there's very little to actually criticise. Everything in the play is just written so large that Sampson, perhaps the most down-to-earth character (which says something about the story), can occaisionally be eclipsed by the others. He can be irritating at times when fighting with his mum, but that's a trait of the character, I think - He's something of an inversion of Gemma; not immediately likable but ultimately a good fellow, whilst she starts off amiably and becomes a bit concerning.

She's well played by Lizzie Hopley, probably the standout among an already fantastic guest cast. Gemma's character changes so much that the fear would be that she had no distinct character. Hopley's performance keeps the changes subtle, however, remaining clearly the same person on some level throughout. She also works really well alongside Westmaas, and the scenes with the pair have a great back and forth.

The other major element that really adds to the feel of the thing is the direction and editting. It's as adventurous as Joseph Lidster's story, full of bold moves that really standout. As much as I appreciate the technical aspects of production, I don't think I've ever come across another play where it adds as much as it does here.

The only place the story falls down is in trying to do too much. It overreaches, and as a result things can feel a bit confused and messy at times, and at other times a little hard too credit. It's almost a neccesary evil, though, in trying to produce something this extensive and inspired.

It's a great play full of witty lines, flash-bang direction, and big ideas. Its only flaw is in reaching too far, and I don't blame them for that at all - having the guts to try radical ideas is merit in my book. 9/10.

"The guitars, they're coming to life!"

Image property of Big Finish Productions.