The Twilight Kingdom [AUDIO/2004.3.11]

★★☆☆☆

  Some Doctor Who stories try a lot of things and end up doing one, namely giving you a massive headache. The Twilight Kingdom is very much like that, an audio drama that shows sprinkles of promise at the very beginning and at the tail end while cramming the middle portion with filler and fluff that would try the patience of a monk. I don't think I've truly been "angry" with anything from Doctor Who, but it's safe to say this story got me frowning more than most did. If I were to put it bluntly, it's very misguided; Will Shindler attempts to inject a lot of human drama, but in my humble opinion... poorly depicted melodrama (and a hefty amount of it) is not the same thing.

  I realize I've been very unflattering about The Twilight Kingdom; you might ask, 'well then, why the two stars?' My answer to that would be that despite all the doom, gloom and overall lack of enjoyable factors, there's a real go at giving our three main characters, especially Charley and C'rizz, something to reflect on and therefore make more interesting to listen to. One common criticism of the Divergent Universe arc is its bad treatment of the TARDIS team, and I'm inclined to agree in select stories. With a drastically changed Eighth Doctor (from breathless romantic to broken man lost in an unknown universe), his companions were bound to get the full blast of the changed dynamic. They could have done so much more interesting things with the Doctor and Charley post-Scherzo, but sadly the truth is very much the opposite. In The Twilight Kingdom, at least, the Doctor's morality is explored (particularly in his current uneasy state) and Charley's true feelings about the one she used to love are dealt with. C'rizz, the poor beggar, is still not given material that allows him to truly shine (The Natural History of Fear, while an amazing adventure with a wonderful performance from Conrad Westmaas, is hardly C'rizz's homecoming piece)... but I'm of the opinion that he was always much better than his reputation eluded to. I find him fine here.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  The Twilight Kingdom is that one awkward two-hour experience you dread as you binge an entire series. It's filled with so many things and yet so little that I personally enjoy, and its casual depiction of friends inflicting violence upon friends has always rubbed me the wrong way. Fear not, though, for the second run of the Diverget Universe arc presents much better stories.