The Land of the Dead

When I came here, when I realised the skeletons in my father’s closet were white and shiny and real…then I realised I must have them for my bone room.

Shaun Brett

Synopsis

Landing in Alaska, the Doctor and Nyssa encounter a group of people in a most unusual house. cut off not only by the harsh climate but by their individual secrets and obsessions.

Millionaire Shaun Brett is utilising chunks of the local area to construct a shrine to his dead father. But when deadly creatures start roaming outside, and a terrifying discovery is made inside the house, the Doctor realises that Brett has unleashed an unimaginably ancient force.

Review

It almost feels as though Big Finish were painted into a corner with regards to setting stories within the Fifth Doctor’s television run. With Janet Fielding and Matthew Waterhouse not wishing to reprise their roles at the time, they were left with Sarah Sutton, Mark Strickson and Nicola Bryant. There are also no obvious gaps in the Fifth Doctor era to exploit, unlike the Sixth and Seventh Doctors, who each have gaps caused by the show being in crisis, rich for expanded media to exploit. The one spot which could theoretically feature the Doctor and Nyssa travelling together falls post-Earthshock and post-Time-Flight.

The Land of the Dead is therefore the first story to slot into Tegan’s temporary departure from the TARDIS between Seasons 19 and 20. I don’t think that it’s any secret that Peter Davison’s favourite companion is Nyssa, and the strongest parts of this story are those which features Davison and Sarah Sutton together. Unfortunately, the story does keep them separate for the majority of its runtime and it certainly struggles as a result. I can understand why writers do it, and it is something that is tempting when dealing with companions like Romana or Nyssa; those who have knowledge mean that you can split characters off, and you need the guest cast to fulfill the role usually dedicated to the companion, especially in the original series. Still, it’s good to have Nyssa back, and Sarah Sutton’s voice does not appear to have aged, and in the scenes that they do share, she and Davison have excellent rapport. The first scene, which sees the Doctor and Nyssa materialise in the TARDIS in 1964, is probably the best in the story, and establishes that having these two together will work well for future stories.

Ultimately, the story devolved, making Nyssa into a damsel in distress and giving her little meaningful to do. Personally, I would have rather had the Doctor and Nyssa remain together for the majority of the story. Instead, the Doctor gets most of the major revelations and plot points, and ultimately the best lines. Davison does give the story his all, injecting his lines with energy and humour, but he can only do so much.

Stephen Cole wrote this story in a week, due to The Fearmonger becoming delayed and it does show in places. I think that there are some good ideas here, like the setting, but that the story does little interesting with them, instead falling into an uninspiring base under siege story. I particularly struggled with the Permians, the foe in this story, despite them being a good idea. Whilst a dinosaur made of bone should be a winning concept, Cole struggles to actually making the idea work and every time he tries to explain how they function, even at a basic level, the story gets bogged down. It relies on the atmosphere and the fear the Permians cause in their prey, which does make for an effective first episode, but doesn’t really develop any further. They are revealed to absorb information from their prey once consumed, which could lead to disastrous consequences, but this feels as though it is introduced too late.

The guest cast are not particularly strong, but I’m not sure that they are given a fair chance from the story. The main focus of ire is undoubtedly Monica Lewis, played by Lucy Campbell, who is essentially Tegan in all but name. She snipes, snarks and complains just as well as the Fifth Doctor’s Australian companion, which did make me wonder whether Janet Fielding’s decision not to return was rather late in the day. Monica ends up taking on the more traditional companion role, which makes her all the more egregious and it is a relief when the story ends and she doesn’t get invited onboard to be a pseudo-Tegan at the end of the story. There are also two Native Americans, Tulung and Gaborik, who represent differing compliance with Brett. Whilst Tulung complies, Gaborik secretly defies Brett by selling off items collected for his home. Tulung has his own conflict with Brett, concerning an incident that led to Tulung’s father dying whilst working for Brett’s dad. This subplot doesn’t really work, and it doesn’t help that Tulung just becomes more irritating as the story goes on. Neither Tulung or Gaborik are particularly sympathetically portrayed. Brett feels like he barely appears, and doesn’t make a lasting impression.

Verdict: The Land of the Dead has some interesting ideas, which could have benefitted from some more development. Davison and Sutton are good, but the guest cast are poor and not memorable. 3/10

Cast: Peter Davison (The Doctor), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Lucy Campbell (Monica Lewis), Alistair Lock (Supplier), Christopher Scott (Shaun Brett), Neil Roberts (Tulung) & Andrew Fettes (Gaborik).

Writer: Stephen Cole

Director: Gary Russell

Music and Sound Design: Nicholas Briggs

Main Range Release Number: 4

Release Date: January 2000

Behind the Scenes

• The first Big Finish release of the 21st Century.
• One of only two stories to be set in Alaska. The other is Lurkers at Sunlight’s Edge.
• This story uses the Delia Derbyshire arrangement of the theme, rather than the Peter Howell variation.

Cast Notes

• Alistair Lock has appeared in a number of Big Finish audio plays, including The Fearmonger, Sword of Orion and Dust Breeding.
• Neil Roberts also appeared in Kingdom of Silver, Keepsake and The Defectors.
• Andrew Fettes also appeared in The Land of the Dead, The Magic Mousetrap and Heroes of Sontar.

Best Quote

I’ve always hated skeletons.

You’d find it difficult to get about without one.

Monica Lewis and the Fifth Doctor

Previous Fifth Doctor review: Phantasmagoria

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