Temmosus

Your enemies are not in here, but out there!

The War Doctor

Synopsis

Fighting alongside the Time Lords against their common enemy, some Thals have realised that this collaboration is not between equals.

When his new battleship is stolen, the War Doctor must convince his old allies that they are on the same side.

Review

Temmosus sees Big Finish continue to examine the types of stories that could be told in the Time War, and brings us back to the Thals, who were first introduced in The Daleks, as a race who share the Daleks’ home planet of Skaro.

Temmosus gives us an insight into the other species that we have fighting in this war, in the case, the Thals, who have what feels like a rather reticent alliance with the Time Lords. They feel as though they are undervalued by the Gallifreyans, and seen as an inconvenience by them. This is certainly borne out by the way that Tamasan talks about them in the story, and being prepared to allow them to continue taking The Temmosus to the Daleks, along with a bomb designed to devastate both Thals and Daleks alike. Equally, on the other side of the spectrum, there are power struggles within the Daleks, as the leader of the Red Faction of the Daleks is plotting to overthrow the Time Strategist by secretly communicating with Dylon, in an attempt to become the Emperor’s second-in-command. In respect of both the Time Lords and the Daleks, I quite liked this element of Temmosus. It highlights that the Time Lords are unable to put aside their superiority complex, even at times of war against an enemy that they are unable to defeat. Equally, whilst the Daleks are unlikely to form alliances with any other species, they have problems of their own as Daleks seek to usurp to further their own causes.

I would like to say that I did like the concept of this story, especially given that The Temmosus is a ship designed by the Doctor for the Thals, which will allow them to play a vital part in ending the war. Unlike the War Council, the Doctor sees the importance of the alliance with the Thals, and how their links to the Daleks can lead to ways of ending the war. The Temmosus benefits from having a chameleon circuit, making it undetectable to the Daleks. Being involved in the Time War in this way almost makes sense for the Doctor as it makes use of his intelligence and knowledge. Dylon, the leader of the Thals, is someone who is known to the Doctor and the possibility of him handing the ship to the Daleks is something that he initially seems not to be able to believe, but he does understand his motivations before too long. Whilst Dylon is misguided in his faith in the Daleks in sticking to their deal, his motivations for doing so are to try and ensure the safety of the Thals’ new planet, New Darius. It is a perfectly solid performance by David Warwick, but I did find that he did seem to struggle with the mutiny elements and these were played a bit too jovially, but I liked his performance in the closing scene with the Doctor.

The majority of the story of Temmosus is set on the ship, trying to stay ahead of the Time Lords and safe from the Daleks, which does lend a sense of tension to the story. Rossa McPhillips does write a good story, which managed to keep me engaged for most of the runtime. It is a story that does follow a lot of familiar Doctor Who tropes and does little very original or exclusive to the Time War other than the central warship, but this is not a bad thing exclusively. I was disappointed at how easily the story line was solved, very quickly, with the use of the fast return switch to return The Temmosus to the Time Lord space station it had been stolen from, and the Daleks who had boarded are very quickly dealt with by Tamasan. Given the purported difficulties in disarming the bomb, the fact that this has a quick resolution that simply depends on the ship basically not flying feels a little bit cheap and unsatisfying. It is a shame, as it does let down the rest of the story, which does contain some good elements and performances, especially from Rose Basista as Soolal, who does not fall into line with Dylon, and Troy Alexander as Gilder, who is a younger loyal crew member. Including Dylon, they feel as though they have detailed backstories, something cannot always be said.

Jonathon Carley continues to shine in this role of the young War Doctor, embodying the part which originated with Sir John Hurt, and I think it’s clear that Carley is having a whale of a time playing this role. His performance continues to grow story after story, which is testament to both the hard work of Carley and director Louise Jameson. He is particularly powerful in his scenes with the Daleks, and in the concluding scene with Dylon, where he concludes that he cannot go home.

Verdict: Temmosus has an interesting concept, but is let down by a rushed climax which does not feel earned. 6/10

Cast: Jonathon Carley (The War Doctor), David Warwick (Dylon), Rose Basista (Soolal), Troy Alexander (Gilder), Adele Anderson (Tamasan), Nicholas Briggs (The Daleks) & Louise Jameson (Soldier).

Writer: Rossa McPhillips

Director: Louise Jameson

Music & Sound: Howard Carter

Release Date: 10th May 2022

Cast Notes

• David Warwick previously appeared in the Fourth Doctor story The Pirate Planet, playing Kimus, and the Tenth Doctor story Army of Ghosts, as the Police Commissioner. He has also appeared in the Big Finish plays Power Play and The Harvest.

Best Quote

Your cruelty never ceases to amaze me. Even when we stoop to your levels, you’re still worse than us!

The War Doctor

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