Just how secure do you feel, Resident Shahan?
The Seventh Doctor
Synopsis
“You’re listening to LIVE 34.”
“LIVE 34 | News on the hour every hour | LIVE 34 | Broadcasting to Colony 34 all day every day | LIVE 34 | Constantly updated every minute of every hour | LIVE 34| Sport, weather, business, local news, interplanetary affairs | LIVE 34 | Live, independent, accurate, comprehensive | LIVE 34 all news, all day, every day | LIVE 34…”
“Reports are coming in of an explosion…”
“On the line now is the leader of the FDP…”
“The President is about to begin his address…”
“We can see bodies in the wreckage…”
Quick Facts
| Doctor | Seventh (Sylvester McCoy) | Release Date | 25th September 2005 |
| Companions | Ace (Sophie Aldred), Hex (Philip Olivier) | Writers | James Parsons and Andrew Stirling-Brown |
| Range | Main Range | Director | Gary Russell |
| Release Number | 74 | Music and Sound | David Darlington |
Cast
| Andrew Collins (Drew Shahan), William Hoyland (Premier Jaeger), Zehra Naqvi (Charlotte Singh), Duncan Wisbey (Ryan Wareing), Ann Bryson (Gina Grewal) and Joy Elias-Rilwan (Lula). |
Review
Due to a combination of pressures, this review is purely coincidentally going out on the 21st anniversary of Live 34‘s release!
This story is an example of Big Finish’s experimentation with storytelling in their early years and finding what they can do with the audio medium. This is one of the strengths of Live 34!, with the entire story being told through radio broadcasts from the titular impartial news organisation. This sidelines the Doctor, Ace and Hex, as we see the process of them sowing the seeds of rebellion from the outside rather than seeing them doing this directly. This means that events like the Doctor’s transporter crashing and the Doctor supposedly dying much more dramatic and suspenseful. We know that the Doctor is probably going to be okay, and his reappearance at the end of Part 4 is not a surprise, but seeing it from an outsider’s perspective does concern the audience more. In the absence of our main trio, we spend most of the audio in the presence of the newsreader and presenter Drew Shahan, who leads us through the main events, from bombings to press conferences to assassination attempts, on Colony 34. That role is played well by Andrew Collins, and is helped through the direction of Gary Russell and the sound design of David Darlington, who make this a really intriguing, immersive and captivating story. The sounds of the bombings rock the listener, and throughout there are sounds of banal things like sirens, camera shutters and microphone feedback, which make this feel all the more real. That gave me the impression that I had listened to Jaeger’s downfall in real time rather than listening to an audio drama. In fact, when Sylvester McCoy does appear in Part One, it does feel like a genuine shock that the Doctor is here.
The Doctor overthrowing tyrannical regimes is nothing new – from William Hartnell’s First Doctor, we’ve seen countless uprisings inspired by the Doctor and his companions. So credit is definitely due to writers James Parsons and Andrew Stirling-Brown for finding a new way to bring this type of story to life. This story is quite horrific too, with the revelation that President Jaeger’s administration have been using humans for fuel and suppressing any opposing voices. The Doctor rapidly becomes the leader of the main opposition party, the FDP, whilst the supposedly independent news outlet Live 34 comes under the control of the state. This is a display of trying to control the media, and feels particularly topical with the situation in the United States at the moment. I feel like more and more that the stories I’m reviewing are becoming increasingly relevant to our current times. This story is also notable for not giving us a clean resolution – we leave with a mob coming to take the President away, rather than knowing for certain that the Doctor, Ace and Hex have been successful. That’s also a nice twist on a tried and tested formula.
Death to this! Death to that! Death to the other! You know, you’re developing a morbid obsession, very unhealthy.
The Seventh Doctor
When it comes to the main trio, it is a strong story for two out of the three of them. Sylvester McCoy puts in one of his best performances for Big Finish. He comes across as the Machiavellian schemer, pulling the strings behind the scenes to undermine President Jaeger’s authority and placing his companions into positions where they can assist with his downfall. Whilst he is not in the story very much, he does make an impression in each of his appearances.
The other strong performance is from Sophie Aldred as Ace, who is out in the slums stirring up rebellions and acting as a haven for dissidents. Thankfully, Ace has decided to stop calling herself McShane in this story, as I always rankled against this weird call, and has returned to her original nickname. She is a powerful figure, known colloquially as the Rebel Queen, who is blamed by the administration for the bombings and any other dissidents. Aldred is particulary good in this story too.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Hex. Perhaps that’s because he enters the story last of the trio, or because his plotline feels particularly throwaway, but it still feels as though we still have not had the best of Hex yet. That’s through no fault of Philip Olivier’s, but Hex simply doesn’t have enough to do here, especially when compared to McCoy and Aldred. He does get the dramatic revelation that President Jaeger isn’t all that he seems.
Verdict: Live 34 shows Big Finish at its early and experimental best. 9/10
Behind the Scenes
- Only the Doctor and Drew Shahan appear in all four parts.
- During the title sequences, which feature changing radio channels, the Seventh Doctor’s theme can briefly be heard.
Cast Notes
| Zehra Naqvi | Also played Joy in The Gathering. |
| Duncan Wisbey | Other appearances include Valhalla, The Crimes of Thomas Brewster and The Nightmare Fair. |
| Ann Bryson | Also appeared in Thicker Than Water, playing Karno. |
Best Quote
People were used as fuel. Burned, every single one of them, just so you could have toast for breakfast.
The Seventh Doctor
Previous Seventh Doctor review: Unregenerate!
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