Doctor Who Review: Eighth Doctor audio ‘Terror Firma’
By James Aggas
The Eighth Doctor returns to his home universe, but it’s far from a happy return, as he faces Davros once again in ‘Terror Firma’.
So here I am! Finally returning to my ongoing re-listen of the Eighth Doctor! When we last left him and his companions, Charley and C’Rizz in The Next Life, they had finally left the Divergent Universe. They were all initially happy about landing somewhere new…until they found themselves face to face with Davros and the Daleks.
Terror Firma is a rather significant story in three key ways. First, it’s Eight’s first story after the series had returned to TV in 2005. In effect, this makes Terror Firma’s McGann’s first story as a “previous” Doctor, instead of a “current” one.
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This story couldn’t reference the Time War directly (it would be ten years before Big Finish finally got the license for New Series material). But there does seem to be an air of foreshadowing over the whole thing.
Secondly, the story is in many ways a direct sequel to Seventh Doctor story Remembrance of the Daleks. If listeners haven’t watched that story, they might find themselves confused, as Eight’s and Davros’s conversations get very continuity heavy.
Having said that, (and spoilers in case you plan on watching it,) the consequences of Remembrance can be summed up as follows: the Doctor tricked Davros into destroying his own home planet, Skaro, and the Daleks with it. As you can imagine, Davros is very, very angry at the Doctor right now.
A Grim and Dark Story
Lastly, and this is something that is notable only in retrospect. At the time of writing this article, this is currently the only story featuring the Eighth Doctor and Davros together on audio. Considering how much of a major enemy Davros is, that’s almost surprising. I say “almost”, because it is still somewhat understandable. Not only because another appearance would potentially lean too much on Time War territory. But also, by the end of this story, Davros is…not exactly who he used to be.
So with all of these key elements, Terror Firma is already a pretty important story. And, without going into too much detail, it even adds a ton of new and explosive mythology, particularly for Eight. Is it a great story, though?
Overall, Terror Firma is a very grim and very dark story. It also shares a few elements – superficially, at least – with the TV episodes Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways from the same year. How the Daleks are resurrected from almost total destruction; a dark depiction of Earth’s future, and a few scenes focusing on humans in a deceptively lighter setting.
Excellent Performances
But like I said, these comparisons are admittedly very superficial. Where the story really excels is when it focuses on the Doctor and Davros. Particularly how the Doctor develops over these scenes. At the start, Eight is happy. Happier than he’s been in a long time. After spending two entire seasons away in another universe, he is finally back in a universe with time. He’s truly a Time Lord again.
But when Eight starts talking to Davros and catching up, things change. He learns what Davros has done. He learns what Davros has taken from him and corrupted. At one point, he comes close to making a truly terrible choice. By the end, he has absolutely no mercy for Davros.
This is one of Eight’s darkest depictions yet. He’s not just depressed or uncaring, as he was in the Divergent Universe. He’s angrier and more full of rage than he’s ever been. This is a fantastic take on Eight, and McGann plays him brilliantly.
Terry Molloy, of course, gives another excellent performance as Davros. While I think he initially lacked the subtlety of original Davros Michael Wisher, over time, his performance has grown to have a lot of depth. A cold, calculating and clinical form of evil, which Molloy continues to perform brilliantly. Hearing him psychologically torture the Doctor here is fantastic to listen to. If you’re a fan of the series 9 story The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar, you should love these scenes.
Weaker Elements
As for the rest of the story? It’s a bit of a shame that it doesn’t truly show what Earth is like under the subjugation of the Daleks. It’s more keen to focus on people lucky enough to be ignored, and even having a party. The characters of Samson and Gemma are interesting, although Samson’s sub-plot with Charley is more interesting than Gemma’s sub-plot with C’Rizz. If I’m honest, C’Rizz’s role in this story feels like the weakest. Especially where it eventually leads to, which I wasn’t truly convinced by.
Like The Time of the Daleks in his second season, Terror Firma isn’t the best Dalek story with McGann. (The very best of which have yet to come.) And honestly, writer Joseph Lidster has definitely written better, both before and since. But this is still worth a listen. Not just for how important it is, but for the excellent drama with Eight and Davros. For just those scenes, of which there are many, Terror Firma is a good start to Eight’s remaining stories with Charley and C’Rizz.
Next: Opinion: Why I love River Song despite sexualization