WARNING: Here there be spoilers...
It's been 15 months since the first Dark Eyes release, making this (at least for 8th Doctor fans like me) one of Big Finish's most anticipated releases in forever, and in that time not only has the 8th Doctor returned to our screens, but that first Dark Eyes set has only gone and won an award as well!
This second series was written and recorded in the pre- Night of the Doctor landscape, and any fuss about the 8th Doctor's new outfit is water under the bridge of yet another new outfit.
Big Finish had always said that Dark Eyes 2 would contain somewhat more loosely linked installments, but the official series' synopsis also hinted pretty heavily that there was also likely to be some "timey-wimey" style element to proceedings. "Living his life through the complexities of time travel, the Doctor can never be quite sure if he's experiencing his life in the most helpful order" is on the surface of things stating the bleeding obvious but raised a flag in my mind, at least.
We also know to expect Nicola Walker's med-tech Liv Chenka from the 7th Doctor story Robophobia, Alex MacQueen's new incarnation of the Master who debuted in the UNIT: Dominion boxset and the Eminence, contained in teleportation caskets that can control the minds of those who have inhaled "the breath of forever" and become an "infinite warrior". This new villain is also due to put in an appearance in June's 4th Doctor adventure Destroy the Infinite.
To nail my colours to the mast up front, I was happy enough to have Liv Chenka back (Nicola Walker's a good actress and the character has potential), very pleased to have Alex MacQueen's new Master back (one of the highlights of the very strong UNIT: Dominion set), but the Eminence does absolutely nothing for me, so although it seemed pretty obvious that the series was to begin with Daleks and end with the Master, I did approach this series with a certain amount of trepidation. Obviously a villain Big Finish are particularly pleased with, the Eminence gets a thumbs down here, but open mind and all that, let's see how it plays into the Dark Eyes series...
1: The Traitor
"I'm the Doctor! Ring any bells?"
"No."
"Oh, fair enough."
Seemingly mainly a vehicle to get Liv and the Doctor reacquainted, this infiltrate-the-base story is relatively straightforward, but takes an absolute age to get going. It's just under 20 minutes until anything of real note happens and over 30 minutes until the Doctor and Liv meet. I really do feel the first 35 minutes could have been condensed into about 10-15 minutes and lost nothing.
The freedom fighters are pretty forgettable, but decent fodder for Liv to run rings around and show some steel.
There's a welcome return for the Dalek Time Controller, and McGann continues the reinvigorated performance we've enjoyed since Lucie Miller showed up, but this is far from really being a "Dalek story", they're very much a background threat here, with only really a thinly sketched escapade in psychological manipulation from the Time Controller raising a flicker of interest.
Solid fare, but much like the previous installments in the first Dark Eyes, this is obviously one of those parts that is lesser than the whole it's contributing to. Some credit I suppose to the role reversal of the "base under siege" trope, but there's not really a lot going on here until the closing moments, where the Doctor reveals his agenda. Hopefully the resolution to the cliffhanger may serve to convince otherwise...
2: The White Room
Immediately it's clear that we were right to anticipate out of sequence stories, as we now visit Molly O'Sullivan, staying in the Doctor's house in Baker Street. It's 1918 and the 1st World War is nearly over. Molly is trying to help young deserters, but with the Doctor's arrival, her Dark Eyes reactivate, and the two are drawn into a story that takes in ghosts, viruses and a return for the Viyrans.
This one performs the same function as the last and has the same problem i.e. it brings the Doctor and Molly together and that's the focus to the detriment of the story.
Puzzling, still engaging, but still - at this stage - a bit unsatisfying, despite the thoroughly engaging central performances. The Viyrans are almost completely wasted and there's no sign of that cameo you might have been expecting with a certain spin-off series in the offing.
3: Time's Horizon
If we had our suspicions that there was a timey-wimey arc to this set then these are confirmed as soon as the Doctor and Molly arrive aboard the cryo-ship Orpheus in the far flung future at the very edge of the universe, and Liv Chenka rounds angrily on the Doctor... furious at his actions at the end of The Traitor - events which clearly haven't happened yet for him.
This is the story that brings the aforementioned Eminence into play, and even though I'm no fan of that villain, this is the story where everything starts to add up. Are we jumping to conclusions to assume that the fleet of ships the Doctor wanted destroyed at the end of The Traitor has something to do with the Eminence?
It's possibly the strongest of these first 3 chapters, with the interaction between Liv and Molly very rewarding in particular.
We know we're into the end game when the final scene is a teaser with Alex MacQueen's Master saving Dr. Sally Armstrong (from the original Dark Eyes) from being run down in the street. For his own purposes, naturally...
4: Eyes of the Master
"Beware the march of Ides!"
It's up to the Doctor, Molly and Liv, crammed into the Doctor's rather smaller on the inside purple Volkswagen Beetle to investigate...
It's another story where it takes an infuriating whole 1st half to put the Doctor and the Master together, and when it does, the Master is saddled with the majority of the 4 part story arc's exposition. Thankfully, MacQueen is once again excellent as the Master, the scheme is at once suitably grandiose and gleefully macabre, and the whole thing pulls together wonderfully.
McGann and MacQueen obviously relish the chance to go head to head and their scenes are easily the highlight of the series. It's no great spoiler to say that the Master's scheme is defeated but the post-credits sequence definitely points to a rematch coming sooner rather than later.
Just when everything seems to be tying up nicely, if not necessarily joining all the dots (and that's not needed, frankly), there's a curiously flat end scene, wherein Frank Skinner turns up just when you'd forgotten he was in the credits, and does... not a lot. There's obviously something fishy about the Doctor's TARDIS being plonked right outside the cell he's been in while the Daleks have all been rather too conveniently wiped out, so you have to assume this is set up for Dark Eyes 3, and that Skinner may have a much bigger role in that.
Once again it's greater than the sum of its parts but this time out it's more "several mysteries with a few thrills" than the "one mystery with several thrill-rides" we got last time out.
Consequently it's more stop-start than the 1st series, and you keep having to wait a story at a time for everyone to get on the same page, but the threads are there to follow and do keep you engaged enough to stick with it till the pieces start falling into place.
You'll probably find yourself guessing the twists ahead of time, such as the identity of the Master's shadowy sponsors, but thankfully this is mostly wrapped up in the solid 3rd part and the much more fun and hectic 4th, with some tantalising nods to the future. By the end, it's pretty clear that Dark Eyes 2 a whole is something of a middle chapter, and with Nick Briggs telling us in the behind the scenes extras that an arc has been plotted out to wrap up in Dark Eyes 4, it's hard to really judge this as a truly self-contained standalone entity in its own right.
It lacks the impact of its predecessor, but shouldn't be judged for that. It has to deftly reintroduce a lot of previously existing elements meaning that a new listener could happily take in without having heard any of Robophobia, The Seeds of War, UNIT: Dominion or perhaps even the previous Dark Eyes. I think this is largely achieved, and though this may mean there's a tendency to take more time than appears necessary to do some donkey work, this may reward the more casual listener.
It's enjoyable, entertaining and in its pay off it is satisfying, but perhaps because it doesn't actually conclude as such, you do come away with a slightly empty, cheated feeling, though at least you're also wanting more. So a mixed bag, if a solid performer, thanks mostly to very strong turns from the 4 leads, but with only a few glimmers of greatness, that it takes some patience to arrive at.
On the strength of this, I'll still look forward to Dark Eyes 3 (and 4) - it'll be fun to see how Liv copes with the 70s if nothing else! - but I'm hoping next time round there can be more of an organic balance to having an arc and individual stories, so that the individual stories feel a little stronger in their own right. For me, roping in too many Big Finish props like the Viyrans and the Eminence should definitely be given a miss.
Naturally enough, though, this is all very much "first reaction" stuff, and maybe it'll satisfy more with a second listen. But for anyone wondering, yes, there are a few too many "Tardy-box"es mentioned...
McGann and MacQueen obviously relish the chance to go head to head and their scenes are easily the highlight of the series. It's no great spoiler to say that the Master's scheme is defeated but the post-credits sequence definitely points to a rematch coming sooner rather than later.
Just when everything seems to be tying up nicely, if not necessarily joining all the dots (and that's not needed, frankly), there's a curiously flat end scene, wherein Frank Skinner turns up just when you'd forgotten he was in the credits, and does... not a lot. There's obviously something fishy about the Doctor's TARDIS being plonked right outside the cell he's been in while the Daleks have all been rather too conveniently wiped out, so you have to assume this is set up for Dark Eyes 3, and that Skinner may have a much bigger role in that.
Dark Eyes 2
So what of Dark Eyes 2 overall?Once again it's greater than the sum of its parts but this time out it's more "several mysteries with a few thrills" than the "one mystery with several thrill-rides" we got last time out.
Consequently it's more stop-start than the 1st series, and you keep having to wait a story at a time for everyone to get on the same page, but the threads are there to follow and do keep you engaged enough to stick with it till the pieces start falling into place.
You'll probably find yourself guessing the twists ahead of time, such as the identity of the Master's shadowy sponsors, but thankfully this is mostly wrapped up in the solid 3rd part and the much more fun and hectic 4th, with some tantalising nods to the future. By the end, it's pretty clear that Dark Eyes 2 a whole is something of a middle chapter, and with Nick Briggs telling us in the behind the scenes extras that an arc has been plotted out to wrap up in Dark Eyes 4, it's hard to really judge this as a truly self-contained standalone entity in its own right.
It lacks the impact of its predecessor, but shouldn't be judged for that. It has to deftly reintroduce a lot of previously existing elements meaning that a new listener could happily take in without having heard any of Robophobia, The Seeds of War, UNIT: Dominion or perhaps even the previous Dark Eyes. I think this is largely achieved, and though this may mean there's a tendency to take more time than appears necessary to do some donkey work, this may reward the more casual listener.
It's enjoyable, entertaining and in its pay off it is satisfying, but perhaps because it doesn't actually conclude as such, you do come away with a slightly empty, cheated feeling, though at least you're also wanting more. So a mixed bag, if a solid performer, thanks mostly to very strong turns from the 4 leads, but with only a few glimmers of greatness, that it takes some patience to arrive at.
On the strength of this, I'll still look forward to Dark Eyes 3 (and 4) - it'll be fun to see how Liv copes with the 70s if nothing else! - but I'm hoping next time round there can be more of an organic balance to having an arc and individual stories, so that the individual stories feel a little stronger in their own right. For me, roping in too many Big Finish props like the Viyrans and the Eminence should definitely be given a miss.
Naturally enough, though, this is all very much "first reaction" stuff, and maybe it'll satisfy more with a second listen. But for anyone wondering, yes, there are a few too many "Tardy-box"es mentioned...
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