The Battle of Giant’s Causeway

Celts don’t run, they fight. We’re about to see the Sontaran-Rutan War up close and they’ll be right in the thick of it.

The Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans has been going on for milennia. And is likely to continue for millenia more.

A terrible conflict with no care for comsequences or collateral damage. Billions have died with no end in sight. Its reach can encompass ancient Ireland and a forest world far in the future.

A temporal tidal wave leads the Doctor, Charley and C’rizz to the Giant’s Causeway, Ireland 55BC, where the TARDIS drains of power and they encounter Sontarans who believe they’re Roman Legionnaires. What has caused this and what is the strange secret in the rocks?

Review

The Sontaran-Rutan war is something that has fascinated me since the first time I saw Horror of Fang Rock and the Rutans are a foe that I wish had been brought back. So, when Big Finish announced a series of audio stories about that conflict, it was an easy purchase. This series features stories starring the Eighth, Third, Sixth and War Doctors and can be listened to in release or chronological order.

The Giant’s Causeway seems to be quite a sensible location for a Doctor Who story to take place, as it is made up of mostly hexagonal shaped rocks and having legendary roots, as stories have it that it represents the site of a fight between a Scottish and Irish giant. Lizzie Hopley’s story does not go about explaining how the UNESCO heritage site has formed, but does make an interesting use of location that is the heart of this story. Equally, the idea of Sontarans dressed in the armour of Roman soldiers is something else that really appeals to me, having been obsessed with Roman history and the Asterix comic books from a young age. Lizzie Hopley sows the seeds of a mystery concerning the Sontarans and the Rutans, especially as the Sontarans have no memory of who they are.

I see we have a new soothsayer. Excellent! I drowned the last one in the bath.

Commander Caecilius Crassius Procullus

It’s almost odd that, having had a long period of time without releasing any stories with C’rizz, he is separated from the Doctor and Charley for a lot of this stories’ run time. It is an advantage of having a three-person TARDIS team that it allows the Doctor and one companion to progress one part of the narrative, whilst the lone companion progresses another, and for a story where one of the Eighth Doctor’s early companions has to make an impression on the impressionable Sontarans, Charley does make more sense in this role than in C’rizz’s, who has to be susceptible to Valmoira’s stories of having children in Causeway and playing on his more naive side to be brought to the TARDIS.

This is a really strong story for Charley, especially as her personality makes an impression on Salutio as he gains more knowledge. India Fisher does capture her character’s disdain for the warfare-loving Sontarans. Given C’rizz’s naivety, it feels as though this is relatively early on in this trio’s time back in the normal universe, and you can almost feel as Charley’s comfort on being back on home turf, if not home time at the start of this story. The Eighth Doctor, whilst played well by McGann, as ever, does have relatively little of note to do until the ending, but he does really well with what he is given and nails the finale. His dynamic with John Banks’ Salutio is also a highlight of this story as they bounce off each other really nicely.

Verdict: The Battle of Giant’s Causeway sets the tone for this new set of stories, capturing the unusual nature of the Sontaran-Rutan war. 8/10

Cast: Paul McGann (The Doctor), India Fisher (Charley Pollard), Conrad Westmaas (C’rizz), John Banks (General Ignatius Antias Salutio), Dan Starkey (Commander Caecilius Crassus Procullus), Amanda Hurwitz (Valmoira) & Michelle Fox (Noorie).

Writer: Lizzie Hopley

Director: Ken Bentley

Music: Joe Kraemer

Sound Design: David Roocroft

Release Date: 10th January 2024

Behind the Scenes

• The first appearance of C’rizz in a Big Finish since Absolution, an absence of 17 years.

Cast Notes

• John Banks has played a number of voice roles for Big Finish, and has previously played Sontarans in The First Sontarans, Heroes of Sontar and Terror of the Sontarans.
• Dan Starkey has also played multiple vocal roles for Big Finish, but is best known for his role as Commander Strax in the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctor’s eras, as well as playing Sontarans more generally since their return to the show in The Sontaran Stratagem.

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