Doctor Who: The Butcher of Brisbane

Among the many delights of the classic TV story The Talons of Weng-Chiang is writer Robert Holmes' conjuring of a radically altered future geopolitics, with phrases such as “I was with the Filipino army during the march on Reykjavik.” And, of course, the title of this play, which, thanks to the vagaries of time travel, serves as both prequel and sequel to Talons.

The play deals with the final days of Magnus Greel's time in office, on the eve of the outbreak of World War VI at the dawn of the 51st century. It's quite a complex story, with a host of minor characters (sufficient at times to cause a little confusion about who is speaking) and Tegan and Nyssa getting involved in their own parts of the story, away from the Doctor. It weaves in all the necessary elements from the TV story, most obviously, perhaps, including the origin of Mr. Sin.

Unfortunately, good though it is, there are a couple of problems that stop it earning a full 5 stars. For one, Nyssa's naivity is overdone to the point of implausibility (and in exactly the same way that a previous play mishandled it, in my opinion) and Turlough's characterisation is a little weak - although he isn't given that much to do anyway.

A more serious issue, though, is that this just can't live up to the implied grandeur of future events in the original TV story. Technically, Greel doesn't even commit any war crimes (although he can certainly tick the box for ‘ordering crimes against humanity'), and we're given the impression that WW VI is largely down to one vaguely insulting comment at a diplomatic reception. It all feels a bit minor and mundane.

Having said which, it is a good story, with a lot going on. But it's perhaps biting off more than it can chew, apparently feeling compelled, perhaps by the nature of the format, to limit the arena for the story beyond what's truly desirable. Big Finish have pulled it off before (for example, in To The Death and Cyberman 2), but it's a tough ask, and one that doesn't quite work here.

But, taken on its own merits, this is still worth a decent 4 stars.