The Mission

They’re dead already. Always have-was, never not-weres.

The War Doctor

Synopsis

As the Time War takes a dark new turn, the War Doctor is tasked by the Time War Council with locating and assassinating a Gallifreyan renegade waging their own private campaign against both the Daleks and the Time Lords. Who is the mysterious Barber-Surgeon, and can the Doctor complete his mission without becoming all that he abhors?

Review

The Mission kicks off a boxset-long arc based on both the Time Lords and the Daleks seeking out the threat of the Barber-Surgeon, pursued by the Dalek Hunter-Killer. This makes the Time War feel more fleshed out, and it’s easy to see why Big Finish have opted for longer form storytelling rather than the anthology format for the more recent War Doctor releases. It’s always difficult to assess these types of story without looking at them in the context of the wider narrative.

As the starting point, The Mission has to create the building blocks for the next two installments. This is a challenge that Robert Valentine rises to admirably, and it feels as though he is setting himself a broad canvas on which to tell his story. In this story alone, we go to Gallifrey and a station near Kembel, and by the end of the story we’re heading for Skaro. Valentine is aided in making this feel truly epic thanks to the direction of Louise Jameson and the sound design and music of Howard Carter. The War Doctor is approached by a secret subset of the War Council to find another renegade Time Lord, the Barber-Surgeon, who is waging war against his own people and the Daleks alike, and using abominations against them, who displace their victims across four dimensions. It’s a good idea to give the Daleks and Time Lords a common enemy who can co-exist within their broader conflict, and that neither side knows everything about him. With the time locks around both Gallifrey and Skaro failing, the Time War could be edging towards a conclusion thanks to the contribution of the Barber-Surgeon. This is ,of course, a goal of the Doctor, and he admits that part of him admires the Barber-Surgeon, even if he does not like his methods. We start in media res, with Gallifrey under heavy attack, and the story doesn’t really let up from there. I found it all pretty easy to visualise and it feels truly cinematic from those opening moments to the ending. It’s certainly my favourite Time War story.

The guest cast are pretty strong here. Nicholas Le Provost’s Barber-Surgeon gets very little to do in this establishing story, but his presence does linger over this, and I believe we do very briefly hear his voice. Ken Bones is very good as the General, and his chemistry with Carley is great, especially when reflecting that the Doctor is starting to become what the Time Lords wanted him to be, but that this might not entirely be a positive. The best performance is that of Indigo Griffiths as Captain Vellichor, a former librarian turned Captain, who appears to initially be destined to fill the companion void for the entirety of the story, but is killed towards the end of The Mission. I definitely would not have minded having this partnership work together for the remainder of the story, but I suppose the story needs to remind you of the price of war. Griffiths embodies her with a feisty spirit and calls the Doctor out on his nonsense, which are all traits that I like in companions. She also feels like a typical companion when the crew of the Bessie are killed, but Valentine subverts this. Vellichor might be a sad loss for the remainder of the story, but I will keep an open mind as to where this story will go from here. The Daleks also have a minimal presence in this story, but the Hunter-Killer certainly makes an impact. It’s a good idea to have someone else voice him, other than the dependable Nicholas Briggs, as it does serve to differentiate him from other Daleks, and Jason Merrells does a really good job with this ruthless killing machine.

The War Doctor is in a somber and reflective mood in this story. He mentions that he is conscious of those he has lost through all his travels through time and space, and how much the Time War has changed him. He feels that he is the only one capable of sorting out the problem of the Barber-Surgeon, one way or another. He is reminiscent, remembering how he grew up near a mountain a battle takes place near, and surrounded by elements of nostalgia, like the spaceship he boards being called the Bessie, just like the Edwardian roadster he drove in his Third, Fourth and Seventh incarnations. Carley does give the War Doctor a sensitivity and sense that no matter how far he falls, he will retain an inherent sense of being the Doctor, as much as that may haunt him. He is haunted by his past, including those whom the Barber-Surgeon has killed and that is certainly affecting him here.

Verdict: The Mission sets up an interesting story for the rest of the box set. It is well written by Robert Valentine, well directed and well acted. 9/10.

Cast: Jonathon Carley (The Doctor), Ken Bones (The General), Nicholas Le Prevost (The Barber-Surgeon), Indigo Griffiths (Vellichor/Rask), Emily-Jane McNeill (Rodion), Jason Merrells (Dalek Hunter-Killer/Nikov) & Nicholas Briggs (The Daleks).

Writer: Robert Valentine

Director: Louise Jameson

Producer: David Richardson

Music and Sound Design: Howard Carter

Release Date: 13 December 2022

Cast Notes

• Indigo Griffiths has also appeared in Station to Station,

Best Quote

Once upon a time, I ran around the universe like an idiot. A sonic screwdriver in one hand and a bag of jelly babies in the other. But they slapped those sweets out of my hand and offered me a gun instead.

The War Doctor

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