Scherzo [AUDIO/2003.12.14]
★★★★★
Truth be told, I don't even know where to start with this one. Scherzo is one of most beautiful, lyrical and downright terrifying Doctor Who adventures to ever be written, produced and performed; its subtleties (and lack of, in appropriate circumstances) astound me, its imagination fills me with such happiness, and its honesty shocks me to this day. I am always dumbfounded by how it manages to strip away all the superficial layers of fictional romance before all that is left is a very real, very painful conversation between two people bound by a love which may or may not exist anymore -- a two-hander which focuses on finding the self in the other and the other in the self. Fitting, isn't it, that the Doctor and Charley are also literally bound together, unable to let go of their hands because of cellular reformation and a need to evolve to survive? Layers upon layers exist in this short audio drama (it's one of Big Finish's shortest four-parters) for us listeners to marvel at and pick apart over the coming years (as we undoubtedly have, and will continue to do).
Rob Shearman is one of Big Finish's strongest writers, and one of the best writers ever to have written for Doctor Who as a whole... and I firmly believe that Scherzo is his magnum opus. His Big Finish output is still insanely good (I mean, who else would even have the capacity to come up with something as ingenious as The Holy Terror and The Chimes of Midnight?), but there's an edge to Scherzo... that edge being that all bets are off in this new Divergent universe, and that Shearman's magical realist/fantasy horror tendencies are let off the hook to truly dominate the story. The juxtaposed story about the Foolish King Who Banned Music has to be one of the most artistically accomplished I've ever experienced from the show, and it's an opportunity for Shearman to truly flex his own literary muscles (please read his short stories if you haven't yet) and add another layer of lyricism to Scherzo. There are also fraught emotions, frayed tempers unresolved (certainly touched upon, but certainly not satisfactorily bookended) from Zagreus for Shearman to have fun with. What Shearman decided to do next astounds me to this day: he decided that this brave new universe would start with no sight, no touch, no smell... only sound, and absolute whiteness as the Doctor and Charley lose the TARDIS and are left to walk along a neverending path for eternity. He decided that sound would be the main supporting character, sound itself made from these two creatures damaged by love, and that he would subject the two regulars to unfathomable emotional and physical torture to show what they're really made of -- the results are staggering. The Doctor is suddenly a very tangible, very sensitive man with his own fears, wishes and emotional shortcomings. He wants everything to make sense, every plot to have a villain to fixate on. Charley's two years' worth of audio adventures lead up to this moment -- this masterful portrayal by India Fisher -- as she becomes a careworn and melancholy woman, nonetheless strong in heart and wise in moments when the Doctor proves to be childish (that moment she confronts the Doctor about making up villains and villainous plots to satisfy himself is soul-crushing). They are meant for each other, and they cannot be more different to each other in the moment they need each other most. Paul McGann and Fisher bring such raw performances to their characters, aided by the fact that they recorded all this in one go, and their strengths go hand in hand with the strong ideas and execution at play.
Body horror, existential dread, the most beautiful music and the most terrifying sound design, and one of the most heartfelt and electrifying two-handers ever to grace Doctor Who... yes, this is what Scherzo is. My review, passionate as it may be, doesn't do the story any justice. Together with Neverland and Zagreus, this makes a trilogy of sorts in my mind that showcases the absolute best of Big Finish: the beautifully energetic blockbuster, the surreal, overwhelmingly ambitious and melodramatic finale, and the haunting and unforgettable coda. It's genuinely one of the scariest stories Doctor Who has ever put out, and it's simultaneously one of the most fitting, poetic and otherworldly romantic resolutions I've ever experienced. Shearman's greatest contribution to the mythos proves to be not just one of Big Finish's best outputs ever... but also one of the greatest adventures of Doctor Who ever.
Truth be told, I don't even know where to start with this one. Scherzo is one of most beautiful, lyrical and downright terrifying Doctor Who adventures to ever be written, produced and performed; its subtleties (and lack of, in appropriate circumstances) astound me, its imagination fills me with such happiness, and its honesty shocks me to this day. I am always dumbfounded by how it manages to strip away all the superficial layers of fictional romance before all that is left is a very real, very painful conversation between two people bound by a love which may or may not exist anymore -- a two-hander which focuses on finding the self in the other and the other in the self. Fitting, isn't it, that the Doctor and Charley are also literally bound together, unable to let go of their hands because of cellular reformation and a need to evolve to survive? Layers upon layers exist in this short audio drama (it's one of Big Finish's shortest four-parters) for us listeners to marvel at and pick apart over the coming years (as we undoubtedly have, and will continue to do).
Rob Shearman is one of Big Finish's strongest writers, and one of the best writers ever to have written for Doctor Who as a whole... and I firmly believe that Scherzo is his magnum opus. His Big Finish output is still insanely good (I mean, who else would even have the capacity to come up with something as ingenious as The Holy Terror and The Chimes of Midnight?), but there's an edge to Scherzo... that edge being that all bets are off in this new Divergent universe, and that Shearman's magical realist/fantasy horror tendencies are let off the hook to truly dominate the story. The juxtaposed story about the Foolish King Who Banned Music has to be one of the most artistically accomplished I've ever experienced from the show, and it's an opportunity for Shearman to truly flex his own literary muscles (please read his short stories if you haven't yet) and add another layer of lyricism to Scherzo. There are also fraught emotions, frayed tempers unresolved (certainly touched upon, but certainly not satisfactorily bookended) from Zagreus for Shearman to have fun with. What Shearman decided to do next astounds me to this day: he decided that this brave new universe would start with no sight, no touch, no smell... only sound, and absolute whiteness as the Doctor and Charley lose the TARDIS and are left to walk along a neverending path for eternity. He decided that sound would be the main supporting character, sound itself made from these two creatures damaged by love, and that he would subject the two regulars to unfathomable emotional and physical torture to show what they're really made of -- the results are staggering. The Doctor is suddenly a very tangible, very sensitive man with his own fears, wishes and emotional shortcomings. He wants everything to make sense, every plot to have a villain to fixate on. Charley's two years' worth of audio adventures lead up to this moment -- this masterful portrayal by India Fisher -- as she becomes a careworn and melancholy woman, nonetheless strong in heart and wise in moments when the Doctor proves to be childish (that moment she confronts the Doctor about making up villains and villainous plots to satisfy himself is soul-crushing). They are meant for each other, and they cannot be more different to each other in the moment they need each other most. Paul McGann and Fisher bring such raw performances to their characters, aided by the fact that they recorded all this in one go, and their strengths go hand in hand with the strong ideas and execution at play.
Body horror, existential dread, the most beautiful music and the most terrifying sound design, and one of the most heartfelt and electrifying two-handers ever to grace Doctor Who... yes, this is what Scherzo is. My review, passionate as it may be, doesn't do the story any justice. Together with Neverland and Zagreus, this makes a trilogy of sorts in my mind that showcases the absolute best of Big Finish: the beautifully energetic blockbuster, the surreal, overwhelmingly ambitious and melodramatic finale, and the haunting and unforgettable coda. It's genuinely one of the scariest stories Doctor Who has ever put out, and it's simultaneously one of the most fitting, poetic and otherworldly romantic resolutions I've ever experienced. Shearman's greatest contribution to the mythos proves to be not just one of Big Finish's best outputs ever... but also one of the greatest adventures of Doctor Who ever.
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