Terror Firma [AUDIO/2005.8.?]

★★★★☆

  As much a C'rizz story as it is a Doctor story, Terror Firma is a sleek Davros four-parter that's at the very least much more confident in presentation than War of the Daleks ever was. It pits the Doctor, Charley and C'rizz in near impossible situations, presents a very bleak (read: amazing) aftermath of Remembrance of the Daleks, and it has that one big twist that Eighth Doctor Big Finish listeners won't shut up about. 

  Well, then, it's a good thing that the twist in question is executed this well, isn't it? Especially when the entire story practically hinges on that twist and how Davros played the long game in conquering the Earth, acquiring his own pure army of Daleks and using the Doctor's past to his advantage. One of Davros's most dastardly plans, perhaps? On this merit alone, it's a worthy successor to Remembrance, I'd say. Then we have C'rizz and what he has to go through -- almost becoming a leader of the Daleks, which results him in a furious outburst that's a seminal moment for the character (or would be, if people hadn't forgotten about him so egregiously). Conrad Westmaas is seriously one of the best actors to work on one of the best Big Finish companions (yes, I find him utterly wonderful, with his violence and moral greyness), and Terror Firma sees one of his most riveting performances. When Paul McGann and India Fisher deliver performances that feel relieved, almost, because their characters are stepping into their own universe again and are therefore pleased, this Eutermesan isn't afforded such comfort... particularly after the harrowing events he had to go through in The Next Life, which happened right before the events of this adventure. C'rizz really can't catch a break, can he?

  Then we have the Doctor and his ordeal with Gemma and Samson. Having been talked about to death aside, I still reckon it's one of the most insane and effective twists Big Finish has pulled. It's not often that you get two secret backdoor companion introductions/departures, and when used to further paint this post-Remembrance Davros as an actual lunatic who schemes ten steps ahead while fighting his own schizophrenia, it paints a very unsettling picture that I appreciate. I love McGann's performance in regards to this story development as well; it's obvious he's fired up by this new revelation and is as convincing as he can be in selling listeners to the idea that these two strangers used to be the Doctor's companions before he became mind wiped.

  You can call Terror Firma, much like its portrayal of Davros, frequently schizophrenic with tone shifts and focusing "too heavily" on ambitious ideas and such; it really isn't a strange thing if you don't feel this audio drama. It's not for everyone, and I suspect Joe Lidster dramas will never truly be for everyone. That's right... his stuff's exactly up my alley. Slick, unforgiving, truly strange and unsettling, and deeply affecting (for the two C'rizz fans in the world, anyway) -- I love it.