Doctor Who – The Monthly Adventures

#021. Dust Breeding ~ 6/10

◆ An Introduction

It can sometimes take me a couple of days to get a review written, which can be quite the pain in the rear end when you desperately crave being the first reviewer on new releases. But I’ve started to realise that if I get writer’s block, the best thing to do is just take a day to compose my thoughts… which is what I did with ‘Dust Breeding’.

The BigFinish debut of a villain as iconic as the Master should be really damn good.

The key word here is “should”.

Oh dear.

◆ Publisher’s Summary

On 19th century Earth artist Edvard Munch hears an infinite scream pass through nature. Centuries later his painting of that scream hangs in a gallery on the barren dust world Duchamp 331.

Why is there a colony of artists on a planet that is little more than a glorified garage? What is the event that the passengers of the huge, opulent pleasure cruiser 'Gallery' are hoping to see? And what is hidden in the crates that litter the cargo hold?

The Doctor's diary indicates that the painting is about to be destroyed in 'mysterious circumstances', and when he and Ace arrive on Duchamp 331, those circumstances are well underway.

◆ The Seventh Doctor

‘Dust Breeding’ is the second time Mike Tucker has written a script for this incarnation, and McCoy once more puts in a really nice performance.

The Doctor has a playroom in the TARDIS that is filled with various priceless works of art, including a Terileptil sculpture and a copy of the Mona Lisa (not the one with “this is a fake” written on it in felt tip, that one is in the Louvre). I love the idea of him rescuing famed works of art, minutes before they are set to be destroyed.

◆ Ace

The dialogue for Ace in ‘Dust Breeding’ feels a little bit forced, and it honestly feels like Sophie Aldred only took one look at the script the night before. Also not a fan of the weird screaming that she does at the beginning of part two (I don’t know how many of you have seen the video of the news anchor falling out of a vat of grapes, but that’s what the screaming sounds like).

Ace doesn’t run from anything.

◆ Bev Tarrant

Louise Faulkner gets substantially more to do in ‘Dust Breeding’. The fact she didn’t join this TARDIS team full time was a massive missed opportunity (but this range’s loss is Professor Summerfield’s gain).

Bev believes that whenever she crosses paths with the Doctor, someone is always trying to kill her.

◆ Story Recap

The planet Duchamp 331 is a desolate hell hole where people come to refuel their spaceships, and not much else. Though it does contain an isolated artist’s colony, which is why the Doctor has dragged Ace here. He’s been “liberating” famous pieces of art across time and space, before they are set to be destroyed or damaged.

Duchamp 331 in the 26th century is the last known location of The Scream by Edvard Munch; a painting about to vanish in mysterious circumstances… and one containing a sentient, unstoppable super-weapon made of pure mental energy.

Meanwhile, the Master is aboard the pleasure cruiser Gallery, with a group of six extremely powerful biological, fish-faced super-weapons. Suffice to say, a pretty colossal battle is about to ensue.

◆ And You Will Obey Him…

‘Dust Breeding’ is an adventure I’ve wanted to review for a while, due to the fact it’s historically important to BigFinish’s long and awesome legacy; it’s the first time they had the Master appear in an adventure.

Anthony Ainley had been invited to reprise his role, but BigFinish were unable to reach a suitable deal with him, so Mike Tucker decided to do something quite clever. He made it so that the Warp Core (mental super-weapon) was so powerful that it stripped the Tremas Body from the Master, and returned him to his barbecued form.

Some people may be sad that we didn’t get to hear Ainley back in action, but I’m so grateful that Geoffrey Beevers got to step back into the role – he is such an incredible performer, with a gorgeously soothing yet creepy voice. I can say with absolute clarity that he is the best part of ‘Dust Breeding’, and it’s easy to see why BigFinish keep asking him back (I can’t wait to review ‘Master’).

◆ Artists in Isolation

I’d like to move onto the topic of location. Duchamp 331 has this melancholic feeling to it; a world of pure dust which is completely hostile (a Dalek saucer landed there and got stuck, so you can now hear the screams of the genocidal pepper pots beneath the surface). It’s a really bleak place.

It’s pretty much just a fuelling station, though there is the Outhouse. The idea of an isolated artist’s colony on a hostile planet is an immensely fun one, so much so that BigFinish would revisit it in a brilliant Third Doctor script called ‘The Gulf’. Sadly, I don’t think the concept was used to the best of its potential here.

◆ The Eccentric Salvadori

I want to talk about my biggest issue with ‘Dust Breeding’. The acting is really inconsistent. On one side of the coin, Beevers is absolutely nailing his BigFinish debut, whilst McCoy and Faulkner are proving that we were utterly robbed of more adventures featuring the Doctor and Bev Tarrant.

On the other side of the coin… “KLEMP! KLEMP!” I genuinely don’t even know where to begin with the performance Caroline John delivered. This is a woman who literally played one of my all-time favourite companions (Liz Shaw) so I’m completely baffled by the sheer atrociousness of her playing the eccentric Madame Salvadori. The accent feels like a mash-up of Swiss, German, Danish and Icelandic… and it just comes out sounding terrible. I never wanna hear “KLEMP! KLEMP!” for as long as I live, or I may just remove my eardrums with an orbital sander!

I’ve already been over Sophie Aldred’s poor performance in this play, so I wont waste any more time on that.

◆ Sound Design

A desolate and dusty world… which is more than a little hostile. Gareth Jenkins has created a great soundscape for Duchamp 331.

A blaring alarm sounds, as Refuelling Station B sends a distress call to Duchamp Control, attempting to warn them of the dangers of the dust. Wild winds batter the surface of this dry planet; the screams of trapped Daleks carried through the air. A band plays classical music aboard the Starship Gallery, as Salvadori addresses her crowd of buyers. The warbling Warp Core begins its psychic “communion” with Ace. As the Master reactivates the dormant Krill, they begin snarling and growling with much ferocity.

◆ Music

Russell Stone is behind the score for ‘Dust Breeding’. This is a composer who has all but vanished from BigFinish, but he created some of the best music back in the day. Duchamp 331 is meant to be this backwater planet where, according to Guthrie, you are sent to die. There are moments where the score becomes this sedate and melancholic piece, and it’s so beautifully fitting for the locale.

◆ Conclusion

“Did you even bother to ask who I might be, where I came from?”

Aside from some really nice post-production work and a few decent performances, ‘Dust Breeding’ is an adventure that is beset with problems.

The pacing is slower than a pensioner with a fractured ankle, thus making the whole outing drag on. The plot involving the Master and the Krill feels completely incidental to the one involving the Doctor and the Warp Core (which makes zero sense, since the Krill are literally on the artwork). Oh, and don’t even get me started on some of the acting in this release! Most of the cast did a decent job, with Beevers, McCoy and Faulkner really excelling. Sophie Aldred, on the other hand, completely dropped the ball! As for Caroline John as Salvadori… dear lord, the accent was abysmal!

Mike Tucker did a really good job with his last story for this TARDIS team, but ‘Dust Breeding’ really fell flat. It’s a damn shame too, since this was the Master’s BigFinish debut.