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The Ultimate
Adventure
SEPTEMBER 2008
The Ultimate
Adventure started life as a stage play in 1989, touring the UK for
two months with Jon Pertwee in
the lead role as the Doctor, and then for a further four with Colin Baker.
Now it’s back, in audio form, as the first in Big Finish’s series of stage
play reconstructions. These really aren’t something for the casual fan,
existing to fulfil just two possible fan needs - those who saw the plays
performed get the reassurance of nostalgia; and those who missed out get a
chance to experience a production that they never thought they’d have.
I was only five when
The
Ultimate Adventure,
the latest of the three plays, was performed,
and my
only experience of Doctor Who back
then was limited to the
occasional dose of
Sylvester McCoy, barely
remembered now.
As a fully-fledged fan, the
opportunity to get a
hold of this ‘lost story’ is
irresistible, but only
a die-hard fan could really
enjoy it.
Terrence Dicks reworks his
original script to
become more audio-friendly, but only partially
succeeds. Far too often, exposition takes over,
with many exchanges
sounding something like: “Look at that over there! I’ll describe it for
you
at length...” Much of the play’s appeal must
lay with its
visuals, and hearing about flying aliens
and sword fights just isn’t the
same as seeing
it. A bar-room brawl that was clearly put in for
Pertwee’s Doctor would be hard
to make work
for Baker’s in any event, and
so when relying
totally on sound, it’s an
inevitable failure.
Which is a shame, because the
sound design
on this release is excellent.
Nicholas Briggs
once again does himself proud,
opening the
play with some very impressive
Dalek voices,
and brings back his deep and
spiteful Dalek
Emperor in the closing scenes.
The Cybermen,
back in their sonorous 1980s
style, but a little
more coherent, are also
effective. The sound
effects are uniformly
impressive, and the music
generally works well.
Somewhat less effective are
the songs. While the producers’ descriptions of the production as a musical are
stretching it a little, the songs do make The Ultimate Adventure stand out
amongst Doctor Who productions. The first, Crystal’s Strange Attractor,
manages to be both a typical musical-style number, and the most shockingly
1980s-sounding number in history. It’s more 1980s than the 1980s.
Business is Business, sung by Madame Delilah, is more effective, with
some really quite clever lyrics. The love song duet that marks the second half is
simply bland. However, the singers here possess good voices, and the
inclusion of songs gives a real feel for how the play might have been like
on its original theatrical run. I feel an actual musical version of Doctor Who
could work well, given some genuinely good musical content.
The plot is slight: the Doctor
is called to England by Margaret
Thatcher (!), and ordered to
prevent any harm coming to an
American delegate whose
presence is vital to the success
an upcoming peace conference.
The Doctor fails, a bunch of
nasty space mercenaries and
Cybermen abduct him, leading
him and his two latest
companions on a merry goose chase across the galaxy until they eventually
sort it all out and share
a happy ending.
The most effective part of all
this is the concept of the Daleks
and Cybermen joining forces in
order to destroy the Earth - a
fan-pleasing idea to rival all
others. However, in practice, the idea is wasted. Such an alliance should
be hugely powerful, but all they can think of to do is kidnap a dignitary,
which will, for some unfathomable reason, start World War III. It’s all
pretty flimsy, nothing but an excuse for some ornate and colourful
theatrics, which probably worked fine originally, but doesn’t distract
from the shortcomings on audio.
Performances are varied. Noel
Sullivan (of Hear’Say, I hear) plays Jason, an exiled French
aristocrat, who the Doctor arrives with at the start of the play, having
previously rescued him from revolutionary France. Jason provides a welcome
dash of romance and charisma to the TARDIS, and is well portrayed
throughout. Crystal, on the other hand, is far less effective. An
up-and-coming pop singer who stows away in classic companion style, she’s
very annoying. How much of this is down to Dicks’ writing of the
character, and how much to Claire Huckle’s screechy performance, I’m not
sure. The TARDIS crew also swells to include Zog, a terribly furry Denebian who
communicates in tweets and whistles, who is entirely pointless and also
quite irritating.
Above: The original cast of
The Ultimate Adventure: Graeme Smith, Jon Pertwee and Rebeca
Thornhill
On the other hand, Nadine Cox
impresses as Madame Delilah,
mistress of the Bar Galactica and
the queen of
the mercenaries. Her
boisterous singing and shameless
flirting with the
Doctor remind me
of the character of Bianca in
The Wormery; sadly
though, that story took a similar setting and made it work far, far
better. David Banks is the only actor other than Colin Baker that returns
to his role in the original play. Here he is Karl, another mercenary, and
gives a pretty average performance.
It’s Colin Baker who
ultimately saves the
production, working with the flimsiest of material
to give an earnest
performance as the Doctor. Despite having to occasionally make some
bizarre noises as he attempts to reproduce some alien languages, he
retains his authority throughout the play. He has some good lines, a few groanful puns, and gets to bandy about some fun concepts. I do love the
idea of the TARDIS’ EDS being so badly damaged that it starts working in
reverse, and places the crew in the situation of maximum danger!
This release also makes full
use of Big Finish’s extras policy, giving us several DVD-style
documentaries about the production. Remembering The Ultimate Adventure
is the best,
as Baker, Banks and Dicks
all recall their work on the original
play. We learn a good deal about how it came about, get some insights into Pertwee’s performance, and hear more about
Banks’ short turn as the
Doctor when Jon Pertwee was ill. The interviews help put the production in
perspective. In Conversation is a fun bit of nostalgia, as Nicholas Briggs
and Peter Ware recall how they each enjoyed the play back in the day; Remaking
The Ultimate Adventure gives insights into the production process, while
Making the Music focuses on the songs by Steven Ediss.
All in all, The Ultimate
Adventure is all it sets out to be - a fun bit of panto that
shouldn’t be taken too seriously. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to
experience it, and yes, I did enjoy
it - however, it’s unlikely I’ll bother
listening to it again! |