Leviathan is
the real oddball in the first season of the Lost Stories as it was added on to
the range after the production of the other seven stories were completed and
the fact that it is a script that was only ever a backup as the story would
have needed a lot of money to pull off a lot of the visual effects this story
actually features. As the story is a
replacement in the story for Yellow Fever
and How to Cure It which never would have been made by Big Finish as it
never got past the initial idea, it really works well as it does something no
other Doctor Who story has done before. Leviathan is a pseudo-historical in what
can be the purest sense as the plot sees the Doctor and Peri land in the
twelfth century in England where Herne the Hunter is stalking people of a
village and taking away the children when it is there time. Now this is a really good premise on its own
even though it reflects The Visitation in
a lot of its style and story structure of the first episode as there is
advanced technology sprinkled throughout hinting at something more. Unlike The
Visitation which has a historical setting with science fiction elements,
the first episode cliffhanger reveals that instead of the historical setting,
this medieval village and surrounding forest and manor is on the titular
Leviathan, a spaceship suspended in space and Herne is a robot which is using
the children for cloning. The twist is
done brilliantly and I will say no more as to exactly where the story goes
following this.
Colin Baker as the Doctor
is once again really good in this story as he gives it his all here and the
writing from the Finches actually feel a lot like the Big Finish version of the
Sixth Doctor. He is extremely caring in
this story for both Peri and the people of this village even though he really
should just be going right onto the next adventure. His interactions with the Baron are great as
he plays the straight man for the Baron who is a comedic fop. The Baron has this high pitched voice which
is really feminine and really comedic in the story. Nicola Bryant as Peri gets one of her better
stories as Peri actually takes a prominent role in the action here as she is
trying to figure out the mystery of what Herne is doing to the teenagers and
why they don’t seem to have any real families to be seen of. The supporting cast while all at least
interesting, really are kept a mystery throughout which actually works for the
better in this story as a lot of the cast are young people played by adult
actors. The real conflict is the Doctor
and Peri just working together to figure out the mystery which is the real
appeal of the story.
Note must be made of the
direction by Ken Bently who was brought on last minute and the music which
doesn’t actually sound like the period in Part One. Simon Robinson’s score and sound design
actually feels like a score used for a historical drama as it tricks the
listener into thinking that the historical setting is actually a real
area. It also knows when it is not
needed to actually allow the drama of the story to sink in easily. The writing is also interesting as Brian and
Paul Finch were actually father and son respectively, and you really don’t
notice it in the story.
To summarize, Leviathan is a great story that
outclasses The Nightmare Fair and Mission to Magnus in terms of quality as
although there are a few problems with the matter of the characters not really
being that fleshed out and a really slow start.
Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are both great in the story and are
honestly all you need to pay the price of purchase to experience the
story. 90/100
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