Doctor Who spin-off review: Bernice Summerfield: Just War
By James Aggas
Dark, bleak and challenging, Just War is an incredibly strong audio for Bernice Summerfield from the pre-Doctor Who days of Big Finish.
I must admit: I didn’t know quite what to expect from Just War. I had heard many good things about it – in fact, I’ve often heard it praised as not just one of the best stories from the first season of Bernice Summerfield, but perhaps one of the best ever stories from the range. I also knew that, like Birthright, it had originally been a Doctor Who novel with the Seventh Doctor. But that’s all.
To be honest, I had partly assumed that it was set in an alternative timeline where the Nazis had won the war. In fact, the actual blurb for the story initially leads you along those lines…before revealing that the story is far more grounded in reality than that.
"The Nazis occupy British soil and British citizens are being deported to European concentration camps. Those who do not co-operate with the Germans are shot.This isn’t a parallel universe: this is Guernsey, 1941, and it’s where Bernice is stranded."
Lance Parkin, the original author of this story, made a very smart decision by setting this story in such a little-explored part of the Second World War. Wondering what would have happened if British citizens had had to live under Nazi rule has often been explored in science-fiction. So a story set in Guernsey in 1941 is a shocking reminder that it did actually happen.
Originally, the Seventh Doctor played a key role in the original novel. But in the audio adaptation, Bernice is on her own…
Image Courtesy BBC Studios, BritBox
Incredible performance
With the story so heavily grounded in reality right from the start, it’s unsurprising to know that Just War is a rather grim and uncomfortable listen. We’ve heard Bernice live through adventures with extremely high stakes, and she’s generally gotten through those ok. In some ways, she even enjoys having those adventures.
But this is different. In this story, she lives through an extremely ugly side of history. Worse, she feels absolutely useless in this time period, particularly as she knows that she can’t change history. She just has to try and live through it until she finds a way out. However, things become far, far worse when she gets captured by the Nazis…
I’ve mentioned before that Lisa Bowerman’s performance as Bernice, even in these early audios, has often been brilliant. But her performance in Just War stands out as one of her greatest. She’s given some really challenging material to work with, particularly when Bernice is tortured in various ways, and she handles it absolutely brilliantly. She’s always played the strengths of Bernice extremely well, but in this story, we get to hear her at her most vulnerable. It really is an incredible performance.
More from Winter is Coming
- For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
- Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
- Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
- Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
- Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”
Villains with depth
The story also features some great villains. Mark Gatiss does a fantastic job playing the extremely loathsome and sadistic Standardtenfuhrer Joachim Wolff. Gatiss has often been great at playing villains, and his performance as Wolff is definitely no exception.
But the character who stands out the most is Oskar Steinmann. A true believer in everything the Nazis stand for, he doesn’t come across as a simple two-dimensional baddie, but as someone who genuinely believes that what he and the Nazis are doing is right. That it will lead to a better tomorrow, and that the Third Reich will last forever. In short, he’s far more dangerous than someone like Wolff, who only seeks to indulge his more sadistic tendencies.
I had been expecting extremely great things from Just War. But to be honest, even I am surprised by just how fantastic this story is. While it’s far from the easiest of listens, there’s no question that Just War is an incredible piece of drama, and perhaps one of the best audios that Big Finish has ever produced. Considering that this was made when the company was only just beginning, that’s extremely impressive, to say the least.
dark. Next. The War Doctor Begins in 2021!
Have you read or listened to Just War? Did you enjoy the story? If you’ve enjoyed both the audio adaptation and the original novel, which did you enjoy more? Let us know in the comments below.