Fugitives [AUDIO/2012.11.10]

★★★★☆

  Ask anyone about Dark Eyes 1, and nine times out of ten, they'll point at Fugitives after a generally positive evaluation of The Great War and say, "Ah, it's that filler one." 

  There's a grain of truth in that, of course. This seems to know its identity as a stopgap between two lore-establishing installments and doesn't even try to be coherent in a generic sense; we are strapped on for the ride as the Doctor and Molly jump between wildly different locations, discover new plot threads that either won't be resolved in a long time or won't be elaborated upon altogether, and have emotional heart-to-hearts. On paper, this feels like the most filler of fillers... so why is it that it may just be my favourite installment of its boxset? I must have listened to Fugitives a hundred times or more, and every single time it manages to entertain me. Andy Hardwick's sound design is absolutely superb -- check out the Dunkirk sequence if you don't believe me, and the whirring machinery of the Ides Scientific Institute -- and to this day, I have rarely heard audio dramas with better sound work. I guess that's a compliment you could level at the entirety of the first Dark Eyes set. The focus on characters was such a good move, after the madness of The Great War, and both Paul McGann and Ruth Bradley get to discover their characters in a deeper sense as they engage in banter, bicker amongst each other and slowly realise how much they enjoy each other's presence. Isn't it such a beautiful way to establish a Doctor-companion dynamic -- thrust them into an impossible situation and see the two get to know & love each other on the fly? It's fitting that this is how the Doctor met Molly when his previous introduction with Lucie Miller went much the same way.

  I can certainly understand listeners being underwhelmed by Fugitives. I think I was too, back when I first purchased Dark Eyes; it's structured so oddly (like a compressed blockbuster version of The Keys of Marinus), and it doesn't throw many bones for plot/narrative nuts (it's pretty stagnant, and all it does is set up even more threads). Well, thank God that I both love the madcap structure and give not a single fig about the overarching plot/narrative in this case. Fugitives is one of the best realised audio dramas out there, with every new location brought to life with skill, and it's a fascinating exploration into what makes Eight and Molly tick. Out of the first Dark Eyes boxset, this is without a doubt my favourite installment.