Project: Twilight
stars Colin Baker as the Doctor. It was
written by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright, directed by Gary Russell and released
in August 2001 by Big Finish Productions.
The layers present in this
audio are very deep as Scott and Wright explore the human condition and the
monsters we can make during a period of intense pressure, like a World
War. The play shows just how bad
humanity can get and how they will get their just desserts as time goes by
exploring the secret government organization, the Forge, which is basically
Torchwood except more towards the evil side.
The plot sees the Doctor and Evelyn arriving in South East London in
1999 where a shady casino is doing deals in blood as people are being murdered
on the streets. The owners of the casino
it turns out are part of a group of experiments from World War I by said
government organization left them as literal blood sucking vampires. Their leader, Amelia, asks the Doctor for
help as on the surface they want to become human again and he agrees to give
it. There is also a young barmaid who
Evelyn connects with after falling on hard times and a Forge operative in
coming after the vampires.
The first thing to stand
out about the audio is its opening scene which sets the overall tone for the
story as it sees the vampires escaping from Nimrod’s experiments which is
dripping with intrigue as you wonder what this scenario is about and how it
will eventually play into the rest of the story. The plot then cuts to 1999 where everything
kicks off to an incredibly dark story with some gruesome imagery coming to your
head. This is not a story for the faint
of heart as you can imagine all the blood spilling throughout the plot.
Colin Baker is on top
form here as the Doctor as he is tricked into helping the vampires
reproduce. He is initially wary as being
a Time Lord, vampires are his natural enemy, but he does something he should
never do and lets his guard down which causes a lot of rage from the Doctor in
the way Colin Baker does. His concern
for Evelyn in this story as she is in so much danger is heartwarming. She could be killed off at any moment and he
does everything to stop it from happening.
His care really completes his transformation to a softer character and
makes this story great as a season finale.
(That season consisting of The
Marian Conspiracy, The Spectre of Lanyon Moor, The Apocalypse Element,
Bloodtide, and Project: Twilight) He also comforts Evelyn with her sadness at
the end of the story which is heartwarming.
The best parts of their relationships were outlined in the beginning
when they have little blows at each other over the Doctor’s taste in food.
Maggie Stables as Evelyn steals
the show as she gets to have a subplot of her own with the barmaid of the
casino, Cassie. Cassie is someone who
has fallen down on her luck. She is
surrounded by a religious family, but accidentally had a child so she is working
at the casino so she can support him.
Evelyn has a real emotional connection with her and helps her feel good
about herself until Part Four where they get captured and (Massive Spoilers
Incoming), Cassie gets turned into a vampire and it’s the Doctor’s fault. The end of the story sets up the sequel to
this story with the Doctor and Evelyn leaving Cassie in Norway so they can find
a cure. The performance by Rosie
Cavaliero.
The rest of the
supporting cast is great especially considering they are all villains of the piece. The head of the vampires is Amelia played by
Holly De Jong, who is stone cold. De
Jong plays her very sympathetic until the curtain is pulled up and it is
revealed just how evil they are. They want
to take over the world which has terrifying implications as just seeing how
Cassie reacts to becoming a vampire and she is very strong willed. Amelia is cold and calculating and surrounded
by weaklings. Her partner in crime is Reggie
Mead played by Rob Dixon who can be summed up as insane. He is someone who was probably broken before
he became a vampire which makes for an extremely interesting villain. He breaks a tone of bottles when he goes into
a rage over Amelia trusting the Doctor.
The other character is Nimrod, the Forge operative played by Stephen
Chance. He is much more prominent in the
sequel, but here he is just as evil as he wants to destroy the vampires, which
are his creations. He obviously has
ulterior motives as he is fascinated with the fact the Doctor is an alien. I won’t give too much about the character as
he is best heard on your own.
To summarize, Project: Twilight is one of the darkest
stories I’ve experienced and it does very well for it. The acting is perfectly combined with some
great music and sound design. Gary Russell
does great as director here and I implore you to find this one for
yourself. 100/100
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