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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