Doctor Who Club of Australia

[Sulp Niar]

Part One

Whoa there! Part one starts with an incredibly mind-blowing opening, and I'm not sure if that's particularly praiseworthy. It's been ages since I've heard Briggs' unique (some might say overproduced, but it stays on the right side for me) style, and to have it come back in brute force was a shock to the system. Insanely, we also get a bunch of references to the Angel of Mercy and that, and I wondered for a second whether setting the fourth series during the first was really such a good idea.

After that, though, the story completely calms down with a complete contrast as Kade lies on a beach, remembering how he came to join the Fearless. I won't go into what happened - spoilers, and all that - but it's an interesting change of pace. I didn't find this section riveting, but it was solid enough. Better yet, it means we get lots of Noel Clarke (who plays Kade), and his powerful performance is really rather good. Indeed, I think Noel's fast becoming one of my favourite blokes on the planet - with 'Combat', Kidulthood, Doctor Who and now this, the man's on fire recently.

The other returning companion-as-new-character is Maureen O'Brien, and she's incredibly effective. In fact, her voice surprised me: instead of the slightly eccentric elder we heard reading 'Frostfire', here we've got a hard-nosed woman whose voice never breaks. Her casting almost echoes of Beryl Reid in 'Earthshock', and yet she never falters. Excellent casting.

It's only at the end of this first part that the story actually begins, as Kade and his force find themselves approaching a mysterious Dalek ship - it's a surprising ending, and promises much. Overall, whilst I wasn't punching the air with this release, I think it satisfied me enough before (presumably) the really good stuff kicks in. It is only the first episode, after all.