Customer Reviews

The Genocide Machine (Dr Who Big Finish)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the 2nd Big Finish story I have heard. The other one is available on the BBC as a web site -- "Real Time" (6th doctor Colin Baker.) This is the story that takes the cake!

Even though it's only audio, the sound effects and the atmosphere from this story is superb! It's a storyline with a lot of depth but easy to follow at the same time. Where The Doctor and Ace stop by on the Karcharat Planet to return some library books. The librarian is concerned that they were taken in the first place basically because they contained vital knowledge. Various alien races are involved the story, the Kar-Charratians, Daleks, libraians and explorers like Bev who are after a valuable artefact called the ziggurat.

I guess the attraction to Big Finish is they give a chance to upon the doctor's enemies and characters. For example more information is given on the Daleks' conquest, the Timelord's and the matrix. There are lots of twists and turns to the story, you don't know what's going to happen when Ace leaves the library or when the Doctor is still chatting away with Elgin. Each proceeding episode gets more and more interesting! The varying episode lengths gives more time to give background information as stated before but also with the planets history, it's various environments and life forms. You can't help but being amazed by all the background information and how "3D" the whole story seems! You think to yourself -- imagine if this story was filmed! It would be a Doctor Who classic!

If you don't mind listening to 'lost' Doctor Who stories from the 1960's (thanks to the loyal fans from the 1960's who recorded on audio tape!) well stories like this are a must! I have a lot of respect for Big Finish and sure that there would be lots of other cool stories out there too!

This is a purely unique story. This is exactly what Doctor Who should have been like for Sylvester in the classic series! It feels like this story is apart of the canon!

If other Big Finish stories are like this, I would rate them better than as a rank lower than 1970's Doctor Who but better than how it was in the 1980's!

There is an ancient ziggurat on Kar-Charret, a structure of unknown origin. The planet is also home to a vast library that is hidden from all but a few select races. When the Doctor drops by to return a few books he is impressed with the library's new data storage facility--and dismayed to find that the Daleks have been trying to gain access to it.

Doctor Who and the Daleks are inescapably linked and it was something for a boon when Big Finish secured the rights to use the pernicious little pepperpots.

The Daleks' first audio outing is a solid debut. Writer Mike Tucker loads his script with lots of Dalek details from the original series. And with Nicholas Briggs voicing the Dalek Emperor, it ties into the new series as well (although at the time the story was released, the thought of seeing the Doctor back on television was nothing more than a pipe dream).

There is a lot to like about this story. While the Daleks get top billing there are also other memorable characters. Bev Tarrant (played by Louise Faulkner) is a tough thief would have made a great full-time companion. Chief Librarian Elgin (played by Bruce Montague) is pompous and officious, a fusspot who doesn't want anyone reading his books and who will hoard knowledge at any cost. And then there's the running gag of Cataloguer Prink who can't get a word in edgewise.

Sylvester McCoy turns in a fine performance. I particularly like his fiery speech when he realises the horrible lengths his friend Elgin will go to.

All in all, this is an enjoyable adventure that should please most fans.

4.75 stars.

Cast your mind back to April 2000 when The Genocide Machine made its debut. The story holds an interesting place as it was the very first Dalek story produced by Big Finish. Thanks to a post on one of the message boards I'm a member of I listened to this story again for the first time in over year. As I did I asked myself the same question that had gotten me to listen to this audio again: is The Genocide Machine a worthy addition to Dalek cannon?

To answer that let's start by looking at the performances from the lead actors. Both Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred give good performances as they reprise the seventh Doctor and Ace respectively. Considering this was only their second Big Finish outing together (with only The Fearmonger (Doctor Who) coming before this story) there is a very strong feeling that this is the same duo that walked off into the proverbial sunset way back in Survival. While they give good performances there isn't exactly a whole lot of range to be found in them. That fact is more to the script then the actors but more on that a little later.

The supporting cast is a bit of a mixed batch though. While Louise Faulkner gives an admirable performance as smuggler Bev Tarrant and has some wonderful chemistry with the character of Ace in particular the same can not be said of her other co-star. Bruce Montague gives a constantly annoying if not whiny performance as Chief Librarian Elgin which, given juts how much this character appears in the story, brings down the story considerably. On the plus side there is Daniel Gabriele in a couple of different roles plus of course the Daleks. Nicholas Briggs and laisatair Lock cover the whole range of Dalek voices admirably right through and up to the Dalek Emperor himself. Yet the real problem of the supporting cast is the fact that it is noticeably small. While all the audios have a small cast this is the one occasion I can recall where it became noticeable to the point of annoyance (like the character of Prink who keeps getting referred to but only gets a couple of line sat the very end).

And of course there is the script. Special effects man and novelist mike Tucker was given the task of bringing the Daleks to audio with this story. In doing so Tucker created the audio equivalent of the Pertwee era story Doctor Who - Planet of the Daleks which means (to borrow from Nicholas Briggs for a moment) that this is effectively "the Daleks greatest hits". The story contains the Dalek Supreme, Dalek duplicates (Doctor Who - Resurrection of the Daleks (Episode 134)anyone?), Hoverbouts from the comic strips plus the Emperor amongst many, many other Dalek elements. The result is that story is probably second only to the novel War of the Daleks (Dr. Who Series) (which I'm reading now) for just how many Dalek references can be put into a single story weather needed or not. For the most part it seems a little unnecessary to cram so much into the story and it certainly isn't to the stories benefit in my opinion. Beyond the elements of Dalek continuity there is little original to the story outside of the setting of the Library of Kar-Charrat (one wonders if Steven Moffat drew some inspiration from this story when he wrote Silence In The Library / The Forest Of The Dead for the new series) which si a shame because there's so much more that could have been done in this story.

So how worthy is The Genocide Machine to Dalek cannon? While It has some good performances the story is marred down by its script. While this is perhaps a good adventure (if unexceptional) when comparing this story with later Big Finish Dalek stories like The Mutant Phase (Doctor Who) or Doctor Who - Jubilee this story way too lightweight by comparison. Or, to put it another way, good but still found wanting.

The Daleks sound very urgent and menacing as though they really do mean business! And with different sounding voices for the different Daleks speaking so you can follow which one is talking. The special weapons dalek, the Dalek Supreme and the Emperor Dalek especially sounding very distinctive, the emperor sounding quite creepy. I loved the character of Mr Elgin, the head librarian, his voice and character were extremely well put across, very distinctive. Sylvestor McCoy and Sophie Aldred played their parts to perfection and the sound of the raindrops and continual rainfall of the planet were also very effective too. One of the best from Big Finish, especially the first two episodes which were quite simply superb. A treat for all Dr Who fans everywhere.