The Last [AUDIO/2004.10.18]

★★★★☆

  There are audio dramas that you can quote from beginning to end at any time of the day, and there are installments you simply cannot be bothered to remember anything about. Then there are the ones you forget specific details about, except the general impending atmosphere and the brutal attitude every character is pushed to are lodged into your brain. That, to me, is The Last.

  The Divergent Universe arc has always had its detractors — quite a few, in fact — but I found its execution more pleasing than most. Ideas were big, stakes were raised and Paul McGann did his absolute best to portray his Doctor utterly broken and bereft. While there was always the criticism that stories of this arc weren't too dissimilar from Doctor Who adventures we see in the "main universe", and therefore lacking in ambition... well, I wouldn't exactly call The Last lacking in ambition, now would I? It's perhaps the bleakest of the Divergent Universe stories, set in a desolate world filled with ghosts of the past who know of the future. It does the hitherto-unheard-of by killing all three of our regulars — I hesitate to even talk about what Charley has to go through, and India Fisher's performance here (which in all honesty would've been an oddity in any other story due to how powerless it is, but is perfect for The Last) has a particular hoarseness to her voice which makes everything feel all too real. We also get Conrad Westmaas finally get to show his metal, portraying C'rizz as a brave and compassionate soul who gives his ears to the dead of this world. This time, special mention has to go to Carolyn Jones' Excelsior; seldom have I encountered such a.... a despicable villain. If I were to make a Top 10 list of original Big Finish Doctor Who villains, she would have a reservation seat.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  The Last is a ballsy story that unfortunately gets a bit of a bad reputation because of its final reset switch moment, but I'm here to tell you that for once that reset is not a deus ex machina but instead, in itself, a parable about the cycle of violence. Bleak stories work so very well when everyone involved is driven and emotions are played just right, and Gary Hopkins achieves that impossible with this monthly range installment. Incredible stuff.