The Great War [AUDIO/2012.11.10]

★★★★☆

  Dark Eyes 1 is such a unique beast. It pretty much started the four-story boxset trend that Big Finish carries on to this day, but it has an amount of laser-sharp focus to it that can't really be found in any other boxset, let alone successive Dark Eyes installments. Perhaps it's because it was entirely written by one writer (Nick Briggs again), or perhaps it was Paul McGann's excitement over taking his Doctor into a fresh new direction bleeding into the finished product, but this a very engrossing story arc -- and it all starts with The Great War.

  One could dismiss it as basically setup for everything to come, I suppose, but I tend not to. The opening story needs to be encapsulating and slick to capture the attention and whet the appetite, and The Great War does this magnificently. Instantly, we get a scarred Eighth Doctor on a mission for an entirely new adventure. We are introduced to Ruth Bradley's new character Molly O'Sullivan, an instantly likable person with plenty of energy, attitude and empathy. All throughout the proceedings, we have some top-notch sound design and direction (which bring this story up to a four-star for me); from barbed wires scratching Dalek casings to chugging trains to the intriguing sound the sonic screwdriver makes to track Molly, they're all music to the ears. On its own, The Great War provides great thrills (the midpoint train sequence is gripping) and displays the leads confident in their roles. What more could you ask for from a series opener?