Saturday, 9 May 2020

Big Finish Reviews+ The Ultimate Evil by Matt Rabjohns



For a very very long time I was put off from ever purchasing the novel of The Ultimate Evil as I had seen it often classed as very poor Doctor Who fodder. But when I finally decided to heed my often-used mantra of never believing what anyone says about a story till you find out its true for yourself I was hugely surprised. Because The Ultimate Evil is not in any way shape or form just another 'run of the mill' Lost story. In fact, I consider it to be one of the best as its extremely well-paced and has several brilliant moments and a very strong central premise indeed. ​
For starters the villain of the piece, the slimy creep intergalactic salesman Mordant is a truly unremittingly vulgar and nasty creation in the very best vein of memorable baddies. Absolutely no moral core and the ringer he puts the Doctor and Peri through and the inhabitants of Tranquela is utterly abhorrent. Robin Sebastian is clearly delighting in the role and he truly makes the fiend totally repulsive and easy to loathe. He has the same sort of silkiness to his performance that Roger Delgado gave as the Master in the classic era of the TV show. Maybe he is Sil in another body?!​
Colin Baker gets to act deranged and evil and he, as one would rightfully come to expect, is sublime. He always was and it’s so much of a full on treat to have so many lost treasures unearthed and given the audio magic that Big Finish is so adept at creating and blessing our ears with. And wonderfully predictably Nicola Bryant as Peri remains his perfect foil. It is a very novel idea at the start that for the first time ever in the show's long history that the TARDIS is working perfectly! I chuckled at this scene. Honestly Colin and Nicola always enhance anything they grace with their presence. Their chemistry remains perfect and they aid each other so commendably that its always joyous to tune into their adventures. It's also good to hear the two friends at ease and just getting on in the opening TARDIS scenes too, and its so comedic that the Doctor is off at his ship for working 100% efficiently!!​
Paul Panting's Ravlos makes a good impression as one of the myriads of old friends the Doctor has scattered through the multiverse. And it’s good to hear him portrayed as a competent scientist, as is also the case with Issy Van Rhydwick's Koreelya. Its superb when Koreelya is the first one to realise there is something wrong with the "Ball" that the Doctor was given by Mordant in a previously unseen adventure. I always like to see some characters being given good sense and so they don’t become laughable or mere cardboard cut-out characters. ​
Gary Burgess too shines as the lying and scheming Escoval. Honestly its now so routinely easy to lose track of how many superb actors shape these detestable villains so we will always recall how deliciously unpleasant they were. You can never have enough black hearted villains in Doctor Who! ​
Jack Forsyth-Noble also gives Locas a backbone and a heart full of likeable pathos. When he is grief stricken at what he thinks is the loss of his fiancĂ©e he is extremely credible. He is also a very decent character. Without giving too much more away too I really liked his final scenes. Sublime character acting. ​
The Amelierans perhaps should have been in the story just a little more, as one isn't really given an adequate viewing of what the enemies of the Tranquelans are like. But that is largely about the only serious quibble I can find with this story. The other element I really enjoy about this story is its non-violent conclusion. It’s good to have the Doctor halt a madman's scheme simply by pointed and confident conversation. Even better to hear a foe sent packing without a massive effusion of loss of life. ​
Maybe the plot isn't completely earth shatteringly different but as with so many stories it is very reliably entertaining and never anything less. I will never be one of those it has to be something new else I'll hate it people. ​
I was extremely saddened to learn of the very recent death of Wally K Daly. Judging by the strength of this tale he could have had a whole lot more to offer the show. It’s so so thrilling that Big Finish have decided to resurrect The Lost Stories. It’s one of my favourite series because of its discovering what might have been aspect. I have greatly enjoyed all but one of them and we as fans should be grateful to have these jewels in our collections. The Ultimate Evil has a lot that is very good in it. It serves as a great memorial to Wally. Thanks, so much Wally for this superb story, the Doctor Who universe is enriched by it...

No comments:

Post a Comment