Staging an Adventure

On the podcast, Traveling the Vortex, we recently reviewed the Big Finish audio adventure, Jubilee. The story is set in an alternate dystopian timeline in which the British Empire, with help from the Doctor, has defeated a Dalek invasion and as a result, has conquered the world in the process.

The audio play begins with a trailer for a fictional story called Daleks: The Ultimate Adventure. This reminded me of a stage play I have read about called Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure a musical stage play that ran in the U.K. from March 23 to August 19, 1989.

Jon Pertwee first starred in the adventure reprising his role as the Third Doctor. The rest of the show’s run had Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor.

During Pertwee’s run, he was sick for a few of the performances, and his understudy, David Banks (best known for playing the Cyber Leader on television) briefly played a unique incarnation of the Doctor.

This is a piece of Doctor Who’s history, lost on those of us who never had the opportunity to see it. However, in 2008, Big Finish recreated the performance in an audio production that can now be heard by everyone.

Colin Baker revises his role as the Sixth Doctor in the story. He is joined by David Banks who played the mercenary, Karl on stage as well. Other actors and actresses who did not appear in the original, fill out the rest of the cast in this superb story.

From BigFinish.com:

The Daleks have allied themselves with the Cybermen and a deadly band of mercenaries. The future of Earth depends upon a vital peace conference. And Mrs T knows that only one Time Lord can save the world.

There are epic battles. There are betrayals. There is love, and there are even songs.

Take your seat for… Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure!

The story, written by veteran DW writer Terrence Dicks who also wrote the stage version, is aimed at a younger audience, but the jokes and the humor appeal to a vast age of fans. It explores a story set in several locations and borrows heavily from previous televised stories. Not the plot specifically, but rather a few of the devices used in some Dalek tales.

It’s quite enjoyable to see the Cybermen team with the Daleks in this outing, however the prior feel mostly like hired thugs utilized by the Daleks, whose ultimate plan is world domination.

Colin Baker is his usual best and performs the Doctor with the passion and delivery that has made him popular, especially in recent years with his portrayal of the character in the audio range.

The rest of the cast does a wonderful job with the unique characters created for the story. Noel Sullivan’s Jason and Claire Huckle’s Crystal make excellent companions to our hero and are really in step with the spirit of the many assistants created for the television series.

Something I found quite interesting was the use of three musical numbers that also appeared in the stage production. The use of the songs is not jarring in the least, and fits into the narrative, without pulling you out of the story. It’s unusual for a Doctor Who story, but the production pulls it off very well.

I found it easy to imagine how this story might have played out on the stage. Except for a few obvious cues about the action going on, it feels as though the crew stayed true to the original material, and it has the same 1908’s feel that would have been prevalent at the time.

Overall, this is an enjoyable story, and the production is top-notch, as we have come to expect from Big Finish.

I should also note that this is the third release in the company’s “The Stage Plays” series which also includes 1965’s The Curse of the Daleks and Doctor Who and the Daleks in Seven Keys to Doomsday which came out in 1974. The latter was also penned by Terrence Dicks.

If Big Finish’s production of these shows is anywhere near the quality of recording as TUA, I will certainly be reviewing those shortly.