Red Dawn

I’m not sure things are going terribly well.

The Fifth Doctor

Synopsis

Ares One: NASA’s first manned mission to the dead planet Mars. But is Mars as dead as it seems?

While the NASA team investigate an ‘anomaly’ on the planet’s surface, the Doctor and Peri find themselves inside a strange alien building. What is its purpose? And what is frozen inside the blocks of ice that guard the doorways? If the Doctor has a sense of deja-vu, it’s because he’s about to meet some old adversaries, as well as some new ones…

Review

What frustrated me about Red Dawn is that it has the potential to be an interesting story. This is ultimately wasted, and unfortunately becomes a bit of a slog to get through.

The story is one of corporate greed, with the Webster Corporation seeking to exploit their position to make Earth Warriors. They have funded all of NASA’s expeditions to Mars and received the spoils of various Martian probe missions. It’s a story that Doctor Who has done frequently throughout it’s history, with varying degrees of success. This story is not a great example of these tropes. It is difficult to really follow the train of thought of the Websters, not to really care that much about what they are doing. The story wants you to be repulsed by their actions, but doesn’t really give compelling reasons to do so. This is combined with one of the weirdest soundtracks on a Big Finish story, which goes from being in keeping with the era to disco-style music that really took me out of the story. The story also feels massively stretched, with Part 3 being a measly 18 minutes, and it feels as though there’s not enough plot to go around.

The Ice Warriors feel really rather one-dimensional here. They are characteristically interested in matters of honour, which could be interesting but is never really taken beyond Zzaal providing tedious monologues on the topic. I never really felt that the Ice Warriors wanted anything or had any form of plan. Any action felt quite slow and plodding, a bit like the Ice Warriors themselves. This is a shame because I liked the voices. They are not voiced by Nicholas Briggs, as they would go on to be, but I didn’t find that this too jarring or noticeable, which is all to the actors’ credit.

The crew of the NASA mission to Mars are not great, but again, I don’t really feel as though the story gives them anything to make them anything more than one-dimensional. The villain of the piece, Paul Webster, is a rich and privileged child but has no real threat or menace to him. It’s a limp performance from Stephen Fewell. Georgia Moffett’s Tanya is the only real member of the guest cast of any note, who is well played but underdeveloped.

One of the few high points of the story are the performances of Peter Davison and Nicola Bryant, who both play their roles perfectly. There is certainly an argument that having stories with the Fifth Doctor and Peri undermines The Caves of Androzani, as part of what makes this story so impactful is that they have only recently met. There is nothing that ties Planet of Fire to the Fifth Doctor’s swansong chronologically, however, and the Fifth Doctor’s early days at Big Finish are impacted by the fact that both Janet Fielding and Matthew Waterhouse did not wish to return to their roles, which restricts stories to the gap between Time-Flight and Arc of Infinity with Nyssa, or following Resurrection of the Daleks with Turlough. This is not a problem for Davison’s two successors, who had all of their television companions available immediately. Having more adventures with Peri does not harm the Doctor’s sacrifice, but allows her character to become more developed and enjoy time with a different Doctor. Davison and Bryant also share considerable chemistry, and the scenes they have together are the best of the story, and it is a shame that they don’t have more.

Verdict: Red Dawn is a story with good ideas but poor writing, performances and guest cast performances. 3/10

Cast: Peter Davison (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown), Robert Jezek (Commander Forbes), Maureen Oakeley (Susan Roberts), Georgia Moffett (Tanya Webster), Stephen Fewell (Paul Webster), Matthew Brenher (Commander Zzaal), Hylton Collins (Sub Commander Sstast), Gary Russell (Razzburr), Alistair Lock (Zizmar) & Jason Haigh Ellery (Sskann).

Writer: Justin Richards

Director: Gary Russell

Producers: Gary Russell and Jason Haigh-Ellery

Music: Russell Stone

Sound Design: Alistair Lock

Monthly Range Release Number: 8

Release Date: 4 May 2000

Behind the Scenes

• This was the first Big Finish story to feature the Ice Warriors.
• The Ice Warriors in this story are not voiced by Nicholas Briggs, who would go on to voice them on television and audio.

Cast Notes

• Robert Jezek played Sergeant Zbrigniev in Battlefield and has also played the Sixth Doctor’s companion Frobisher in The Holy Terror and The Maltese Penguin.
• Maureen Oakley also played Dale Pargeter in Minuet in Hell.
• Georgia Moffett, also known as Georgia Tennant, is the daughter of Peter Davison and wife of David Tennant. She went on to play Jenny, the Doctor’s daughter in The Doctor’s Daughter, and reprise the role for Big Finish.
• Stephen Fewell has appeared in a number of Big Finish stories, including The One Doctor, Seasons of Fear and Zagreus.
• Matthew Brenher has also appeared in a number of Big Finish stories, including Whispers of Terror and The Rapture.
• Hylton Collins appeared in Whispers of Terror, Storm Warning and Sword of Orion.
• Gary Russell is a writer and director and was at the time of this release, executive producer of Big Finish.
• Alistair Lock performs music, sound design and post-production for Big Finish.
• Jason Haigh Ellery is the executive producer of Big Finish.

Best Quote

I never thought I’d be so pleased to see red rocks, freezing cold temperatures and poisonous atmospheres.

Peri Brown

Previous Fifth Doctor review: The Land of the Dead

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