Big Finish Reviews+ Paper Cuts by Jeff Goddard

Ten years ago, this month saw the Draconians make their first appearance in the main range of Doctor Who audios from Big Finish, and with Marc Platt writing for them they did so with all the style and grace one associates with them. Paper Cuts places the Doctor firmly into the heart of the Draconian court, not once but twice, and answers the question first raised in Frontier in Space of how exactly an outsider became a noble of Draconia, a race absolutely steeped in tradition.

It is that deep culture and heritage that Platt brings to the fore here, and while it is reminiscent of Japanese culture it has its own uniqueness to make it truly alien. Draconia is a society that holds its traditions as sacrosanct, as it has always been, so shall it always be so. But when the Doctor, in an earlier (although unspecified) incarnation became an advisor to the XV Emperor, the Red Emperor, early in his reign he unwittingly drew the ire of those who held those traditions closest to their hearts when, for the sake of the entire species he suggested Draconia close itself off from the rest of the galaxy until a space-plague had passed, foreseeing the destruction and death that it would cause. In a move that would cause untold hardship for his peoples the Red Emperor took the Doctors advice, saving his peoples, but with its own price….

Now in his sixth incarnation the Doctor has been summonsed back to Draconia by the Red Emperor himself, some 60 years later and with ‘Charley’ in tow (more of this shortly). The Deathless Emperor is lying in state and his successor is to be named, but only after a three-day vigil of contemplation has been completed.

The four vigilantes (the highest, the lowest, the bravest and the wisest) in the Emperors tomb, in the Celestial Heaven above the planet soon learn that they are playing a deadly game, one that it seems none of them are expected to survive and that not all the participants are openly declared. As the Doctor, The Emperors Son, a lowly Fisher-Catcher and the Emperor’s former bodyguard gather together to become playing pieces on the board the stakes raise ever higher, especially with the High Priest playing their own game.

Paper Cuts never relents in its pace or imagery and has the feel and tone of a real whodunnit with just a twist of the mystical. It is a story of lyrical visuals, and the performances of all the cast bring it to vivid life, painting its pictures as the paper walls of the Emperor’s Tomb paint the pictures of people’s memories. With killer Origami Sazou (Draconian Chess) pieces, a space necropolis of the interred yet deathless Emperors of Draconia, and galaxy spanning Empires forced into seclusion this is a story of scale but told with a deceptively small cast of characters and with a delightfully light hand.

The sixth Doctor and Charley work beautifully as a pair, which is odd when you consider how well-known Charley is for her time with the eighth incarnation of our beloved Time Lord. But there is something about Colin Baker and India Fisher’s chemistry together that just works. Its not the same relationship, but its equally as engaging, even if Charley isn’t quite herself. Which brings me to the point I alluded to earlier. Paper Cuts could be listened to as a stand-alone story, but it is really part of a longer series of stories that sees an interloper, Mila, masquerading as Charlotte Pollard desperate to taste adventures with the Doctor for herself (and all to herself). As such there are out of character moments that throw you, especially if you listen to it as I did for this review for the first time in a long time and out of sequence.

But none of that detracts from the spectacle and grandeur of the story itself. Colin Baker is at his warm and charming best as the Doctor here, having finally reached that happy point for which he had always aimed when he started out all those years ago, thanks to his time with Big Finish. He and Fisher get a slightly easier job than the rest of the cast in this affair, as they play the only non-Draconians in the whole story. It is up to everyone else to bring the sibilant reptile species to life, and this they do with the same truth and poise as their television counterparts all those years ago.

Anthony Glennon’s arrogant and loathsome Prince has exactly the right tones of haughty entitlement one would expect from the first-hatched and heir apparent. Sara Crowe as the Queen Mother obsessed with the traditions of Draconia and driven by ambitions for her son gives an amazing performance. The lowly Fisher-Catcher played by Paul Thornley provides us with the most relatable character – just wanting to go home, even if it is full of hungry mouths to feed, and it’s a shame Mila would ensure we wouldn’t get to see a little more of the character. John Banks completes the main cast with his noble and earnest soldier, another solid performance that never fails to ring utterly true. We must also give special mention to Nicholas Briggs of course who along with directing, provides a chilling backdrop with his deathless Emperor – never failing to send the blood running just a little colder, probably aptly given this is a story about reptiles.

Ten years on Paper Cuts is just as sharp (pun possibly intended), just as vivid and vital as it was when it came it. If you haven’t listened to it for a while or have never listened to it than its ten-year anniversary may just be the time to do it! You certainly wont regret it.

My life at your command.