Saviour

Every life saved is a victory against the Daleks.

The War Doctor

Synopsis

The truth of how events on Tharius were set in motion is revealed. On a mission to destroy a Dalek Harvester vessel, the War Doctor discovers a new breed of Dalek.

Whatever action he takes next, we have seen the consequences – and they are devastating for everyone.

Review

Whilst it falls third in the box set, Saviour is in fact the first story chronologically, showing how the Doctor, Veklin and Case got to Tharius in the first place. I think that it is an interesting idea to play around with how to present a story, especially in the context of the Time War, however, I’m not sure it does this story any favours.

I certainly found that Saviour had a lot of interesting ideas and concepts, and Jonathan Morris does a good job of creating a compelling story whilst the audience know where the narrative is ultimately going. There are some really good ideas about how the Time War bleeds into reality, as demonstrated by how Rondig and Mo got caught up in it from rather innocuous events – albeit raiding a Drahvin ship – and how terrifying it would be to suddenly find yourself surrounded by a Dalek fleet. Whilst it is a bit predictable that Mo and Rondig have been used as a Dalek trap, I genuinely enjoyed this element of the story and where their ship the Narwhal is transformed into a Dalek harvester works really well. Where Veklin realises that those two characters are telling her exactly the same story about how they ended up caught up in the Time War is an effective reveal and you can almost feel Veklin’s hearts sink. The reveal that this is all a trap even works well when you realise that the Doctor knew all along that it was a trap but still went ahead and sprung it.

Whilst I enjoyed this story, part of the problem with it is that there is no kind of tension or surprise about the fates of any of the characters in this story. Having already listened to Consequences, it is no surprise that Albert, Mo and Rondig do not make it out of the events of this story. I think that this does rob the story of nuance and stakes, and it is difficult to root for any of these characters as a result, especially Albert, who is travelling with the War Doctor at the beginning of this story. This character is an interesting one, as the character has been rescued by the War Doctor from Gallipoli in World War One, and I wonder whether or not we will see Big Finish use the character again as it felt as though he was rather thrown away here. It would be unfair to lay all the problems with this story at Saviour‘s door, as it is certainly not Jonathan Morris’ fault that the production team has placed this story here. It feels as though this was quite a late-in-the-day decision, and certainly in the Behind the Scenes section, they are referring to Destroyer as being story three. Given that the only bits that needed inserting to make this story work as a prequel were framing dialogue from Jonathon Carley and Ajjaz Awad, this would seem like a simple fix. There doesn’t seem to be any other reason for telling the story in this way.

Jonathon Carley continues to shine in the role of the War Doctor, and it continues to be one of the most consistent soundalike impressions in the Big Finish stable. To say that there were moments where I honestly believed that I was listening to John Hurt would be an understatement, as there were long stints where I was listening to these stories and forgot that I was only listening to a very good impression. It is a credit to the work done by Jonathon Carley and director Louise Jameson as to how seamless this is. Despite his assertions to the contrary, the Doctor is still sentimental and attached to those who travel with him, as Case and Albert remain on his radar throughout the story. This is a Doctor who continues to believe that everyone is worth saving where possible, travelling with two individuals who are the sole survivors of terrible attacks.

We also see how the Doctor and Veklin found Case, who is a part-converted berserker class cyborg. Her partial conversion does allow her to wreak havoc on Dalek systems, at various points, including making the Daleks believe that there are twelve Doctors onboard the harvester and getting him through the ship undetected. This leads to Case confronting the War Doctor about those he is choosing to travel with him, as both she and Albert are those who are useful to him, which is a really powerful scene and it is performed really nicely by Ajjaz Awad and Jonathon Carley. Case is an interesting companion, and the Doctor highlights that she could be the ultimate anti-Dalek weapon. This feels as though it is something different to other Doctor-companion relationships in the past, as whilst the Doctor has taken on companions like Leela or Ace as projects, here he seems to see them as a means to an end.

Verdict: There are a lot of good ideas and moments in Saviour, which make it an enjoyable story, but it is impacted by its position in the box set. 8/10

Cast: Jonathon Carley (The War Doctor), Case (Ajjaz Awad), Beth Chalmers (Commander Veklin), Timothy Hofmeier (Lance Corporal Albert Brown), Stephen Frost (Rondig/Robotic Pod), Janet Prince (Mo) & Nicholas Briggs (The Daleks).

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Director: Louise Richardson

Composer: Howard Carter

Release Date: 8th December 2021

Best Quote

For more War Doctor reviews, click here.