Thursday, 5 March 2020

Big Finish Reviews+ Arrangements For War by Matt Rabjohns



The first time I heard this story I cried, and I am not remotely ashamed to say it. Arrangements for War I came to with no massive expectations, and boy was I well and truly booted up the butt for not thinking this story would be anything memorable or long lasting. ​
Colin Baker's Doctor on screen has always come in for a heck of a lot of flak. There were the notions flying about that the era was blatantly overtly violent, and that the writing standard was poor and Id even seen several people saying Colin was no good as the Doctor at all. What arrant nonsense.
The Colin Baker era was plagued with behind the scenes chaos. The show was to suffer an offensive hiatus for eighteen months and it was only with the driving force of John Nathan Turner that we got the show back at all in season 23. And I must say that I have always long admired and loved the Colin Baker era of the show. It was just as colourful and flamboyant and brilliant as every other classic era.
This nonsense has led to Colin being criminally underrated and overlooked as the Doctor. True, his Joseph coat of many colours is stark and bold and brash, but actually I think his costume suits his Doctor to a tee, perhaps a better character fit than any other incarnation of the Doctor. Anyway, I’m supposed to be writing a review for Arrangements for War but all this information does have some impact on the story.
For Arrangements for War is my all-time favourite Big Finish Production, and by quite some margin too. Everything about the story is absolutely perfect. And this is the story where Colin can prove to his non-believers that his Doctor is indeed a worthy incarnation, and a darned formidable one at that.
Arrangements for War leads on from the heart breaking and harrowing aftermath of Project Lazarus. Maggie Stables Evelyn is left shattered and bone marrow raw by the death of a friend in that story and she takes serious umbrage at the Doctor's apparently aloof and detached manner about the matter. The opening scene between Maggie and Colin showcases two characters at the zenith of their powers. The strain and pain in Maggie's performance is utterly sensational and Colin's Doctor is so amazingly voiced by Colin. Cor I'm waxing lyrical and this is only the first scene of the play!
This story is actually one of the best of the character led dramas that Doctor Who has ever done. One of the other extremely special aspects of this story is we get to hear the superbly talented Gabriel Woolf return to the Doctor Who fold. And this time he's a goodie, not a warmongering evil God! The development of his relationship with Evelyn over the course of this story is absolutely winning and beyond charming. It feels all totally believable and real and garnishes an already captivating story with an added stroke of emotionally charged genius. One wishes nothing but warmth for Evelyn and Governor Rossiter.
Corporal Reid and Krisztina are the embodiment of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet really, but whilst I am no fan of Shakespeare, I most certainly am a fan of Paul Sutton's writing of these two central characters of the plot. Lewis Rae and Katarina Olsson are absolutely captivating with their delivery of the two lovers set amidst the backdrop of a corrupted and blinkered government. And The Doctor's involvement in the relationship is handled so well and Colin clearly enjoys his role in this story as his performance is utterly incredible. Honestly the scenes these three characters share together are spellbinding and totally gripping.
The sheer uselessness and wastefulness of war comes thick and fast in this story, so perhaps many would label it rather political. Although I have never understood why moral decency has anything to do with good moral messages and food for thought. War is such a despicable and heinous thing.  So many millions die in them, and for what gain? ​
Set against the background back stabbing politics all the other characters in this story too are fantastically well rounded and very believable too.
And the climax of the story is an award-winning performance nomination from me for Colin Baker. When a tragedy happens, the Doctor shows a very rare side to his nature. His total angst and grief at the tragedy are sublimely delivered by Colin, and the effect means you feel like you've been punched in the heart by Mike Tyson or something very similar. There is also a very bittersweet ending for now to the budding and wonderful relationship written for Evelyn and Govern Rossiter too. The goodbye scene between Gabriel and Maggie is heart breaking and adds even more impact to the massive ending to this masterfully crafted tale.
This is most assuredly a story that will set the record straight and clearly display with hundred-foot-high neon writing that Colin Baker most assuredly is a darn awesome actor and an even more awesome Sixth Doctor. One must be so thankful to Big Finish for a story like this. Thankful to Paul Sutton for writing it, thanks to the sound design team for creating such a rich atmospheric backdrop for the story all the way through, and thanks for a phenomenally directed epic by Gary Russell. This story has so much rawness and emotion woven into it that one feels it should be made into a film. It really and truly does have that amount of profound impact for me.
And I won’t apologise for not finding one single negative to darken the sky of this fantastic story from Paul Sutton. Paul would go on to write a fantastic sequel to this story too, but that is quite another story of course!
Colin's TV era was actually pretty distinctive and brilliant and amazing. And now Big Finish will see to it that we respect and dignify the Sixth Doctor with the acclaim and recognition he oh so clearly deserves. Long live Old Sixie and all who write for him....






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