❤️100% = Masterpiece = Essential!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! 

This time: a two-hander in an empty space, with ear-shattering soundscapes and relationship drama.

Scherzo plunges us directly into the adventure, with the Doctor and Charley stranded inside the TARDIS, evading an unidentified terror at the apex of everything. They eventually exit the ship, only to notice that they have appeared in a place where they cannot see, feel, or taste anything and have to rely on their hearing as they make their way across the vast nothingness. The Doctor, under the influence of Zagreus, forced himself into this Divergent Universe, Rassilon's pocket universe, where time does not exist.

There is a deeper narrative here, as Robert Shearman (Jubilee, 2003; Dalek, 2005) takes the opportunity to further develop the relationship between Eight and Charley and deal with the fallout from Zagreus (2003). The dialogue also explores existential questions and ideas.

In terms of its sheer inventiveness, unique setting, and total reliance on the two regulars, Scherzo is unlike any Doctor Who story I have encountered. It is simple yet complex, engaging yet unnerving, and strange yet impactful. Only if you're familiar with the characters and their journey up to this point can you fully appreciate their impact.

From the onset, it becomes clear that this story relies heavily on its two performers and the sound design to find success. Paul McGann and India Fisher carry the story effortlessly with their amazing emotional range and effective chemistry, while the intense sound design creates strange and scary canvases around them. Throughout the story, the bond between these two characters fluctuates, and Scherzo excels during the most emotionally charged moments.

Due to the nature of the story and its setting, it only really works in audio format. The simple and unnerving sound design, sometimes overwhelming and capable of making your ears bleed, brings it to life. There’s no music apart from the theme tune, which serves to strengthen the strange nature of the setting and puts more focus on the performances and the soundscapes.

The story maintains a tense atmosphere expertly and occasionally bursts into intense moments of creepy and weird “action” that serve to make the experience even more effective. The story also slowly introduces small, dark elements that give the entire thing a new layer (such as the Doctor and Charley eating the flesh of the dead bodies they come across).

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

This is the first Big Finish release, and the first performed Doctor Who all in all, to only feature two cast members.

Scherzo is also the first entry in the eight-part Divergent Universe arc.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Wildly original, creative, and emotionally complex, Scherzo brings out the very best in Big Finish and ends up being one of the finest pieces of performance by Doctor Who ever released.