Doctor Who – The Monthly Adventures

#161. The Butcher of Brisbane ~ 10/10

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◆ An Introduction

I don’t really have many friends who are interested in Doctor Who, and my entire family would probably be a lot happier if I shut up about this franchise all together. That being said, I do find it fascinating to hear what both my mam and step-dad were scared of when they watched the show in their youth.

The giant maggots have always scared my step-dad, and that’s not surprising given the props were reportedly made from the head of a deceased ferret! My mam on the other hand has always been petrified of Mr Sin… so wasn’t very happy when I showed her the artwork for this release.

‘The Talons of Weng-Chiang’ was formerly one of the most well-loved stories in the series, before people woke up and realised it was incredibly racist! Here’s hoping Marc Platt doesn’t include anything problematic during this sequel.

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◆ Publisher’s Summary

Adopting the alias of Weng-Chiang, the 51st century war criminal Magnus Greel will one day arrive in Victorian London by Time Cabinet – only to meet his doom, his plans undone by the Time Lord known as the Doctor.

The Doctor never believed he'd meet Greel again. But when a TARDIS trip to companion Tegan's home town goes wrong, the Doctor ends up in the younger Greel's heyday – in a world on the brink of all-out war.

With the Doctor at the mercy of Greel's alien associate Findecker and his army of mutations, Tegan is about to learn just why they called Greel 'The Butcher of Brisbane'…

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◆ The Fifth Doctor

From a performance stand point at least, this trilogy of adventures have been absolutely top-notch. Marc Platt has proven on numerous occasions in the past how well he can write for the Fifth Doctor and ‘The Butcher of Brisbane’ is no exception. It shouldn’t surprise you then that Peter Davison’s performance here is excellent.

The Doctor always knows the horrible things, but tries to put them right, though it doesn’t always stop them from happening. I love that he bribes Chops the Dingo with a bunch of chocolate drops, all so he can reprogramme him into thinking he’s his chief. The Doctor thinks that “never” is probably the most annoying word in the universe, except when it is “never say die”.

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◆ Tegan Jovanka

‘The Butcher of Brisbane’ features some excellent material for Janet Fielding’s character, which was probably a given since it is partially set in her home town. Performance wise, she absolutely nails it here.

Tegan is really excited at the prospect of going to see the shearing at her dad’s sheep farm, and even plans on giving her fellow travellers a guided tour of Brisbane. She feels physically sick at seeing what becomes of her home town; the wasteland in front of her is all that’s left of Brisbane.

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◆ Vislor Turlough

‘The Butcher of Brisbane’ is the second story in a row where Mark Strickson has really stepped into the forefront of the action, and he really excels with the material Platt has given him.

Turlough is posing as Nyssa’s personal assistant, and he is even more jumpy than usual (partly because Greel scares him).

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◆ “Older” Nyssa

‘The Butcher of Brisbane’ is the first script to really tap into Nyssa’s recent rejuvenation, in a rather brilliant way might I add. Sarah Sutton takes full advantage of Platt’s excellent script to deliver an equally excellent performance.

Nyssa is posing as Magnus Greel’s wife, and it isn’t long until such a dangerous position lands her in hot water – someone attacked Greel’s hover saloon, and she caught a glancing blow from a laser blast. She sees a lot to admire in Greel, but nothing to love.

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◆ Story Recap

The Doctor is attempting to materialise the TARDIS just outside of Brisbane during the 1980s, because Tegan wants to witness the sheep shearing at her father’s farm. However, the ship encounters turbulence in the vortex before being struck by a beam of Zygma radiation, carving up its dimensions.

Nyssa and Turlough find themselves transported to 51st century Earth, picked up by agents of Earth Free Media, and roped into a scheme to bring down the corrupt Minister of Justice for the Supreme Alliance of Eastern States – Magnus Greel.

The Doctor and Tegan arrive three years after their friends and find that events have moved on a bit; Nyssa is now under deep cover as Greel’s devoted bride-to-be, while Turlough is working as her personal secretary. Planet Earth is on the brink of the Sixth World War, and Magnus Greel will go to extreme lengths in order to decimate the Icelandic Alliance and become Supreme Leader of the globe. But Greel’s destiny was never in his own hands…

The Doctor has seen his future, as a depraved and disfigured killer in Victorian London, one who will be defeated by his previous incarnation.

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◆ Political Machinations

This adventure is a sequel for the Doctor, but a prequel from the perspective of Magnus Greel. We get to hear the events that led to him stealing an experimental time cabinet and fleeing to 1892, which coincidentally means that this story has a very different feel to ‘Weng-Chiang’.

The Gothic themes and “Jack the Ripper” style murders have been switched out for a plot involving political machinations, temporal experiments, and a planet on the edge of all-out war. The scale of this adventure is definitely a lot grander, something which is also reflected in the different locations we switch between; from the deserted Brisbane Dead Zone filled with Findecker’s mutated dingos and the corpses of the hundreds killed during experiments with Zygma energy, to the grand centre of the Eastern Alliance in Peking. It’s just brilliantly written.

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◆ Sound Design

Welcome to the madness of planet Earth in the 51st century, where half the planet has been consumed by a new Ice Age, and the other half is being fought over by the Icelandic Alliance and the Supreme Alliance of Eastern States. This is a turbulent era for the human race, and it is expertly brought to life by Fool Circle.

The TARDIS begins violently shuddering as a beam of Zygma energy begins splitting apart reality, flinging Nyssa and Turlough through the time vortex. Icy winds fly past Nyssa and Turlough as they crunch through the snowy tundra of the Brisbane Dead Zone, passing corpses strewn about the city by Findecker’s time experiments. Crickets chirping in the middle of the Outback. A giant mutant troll growls at the Doctor, before kicking Tegan to the ground. The howling of Findecker’s mutant dingos, who soon try to savage the Doctor. The squealing of a Peking Homunculus at the banquet… otherwise known as Mr Sin! Chops and the other cyborg dingos howl as they are put down forever. The Supreme Alliance begins bombarding Reykjavik, their bombs colliding with the dome over the city.

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◆ Music

Fool Circle are also handling the score for ‘The Butcher of Brisbane’. It’s been quite some time since I last talked about the creative partnership of Kelly Ellis and Steve McNichol, but anybody who has read my reviews in the past will know that I absolutely adore their music. Out of all the BigFinish productions they have worked on, this has to be their crowning achievement.

https://soundcloud.com/foolcircle/mr-sin-expanded-mix-from-doctor-who-butcher-of-brisbane

Fool Circle are one of the few composers to have most of their isolated scores on SoundCloud, so I highly recommend listening to Mr Sin (Expanded Mix) because it is just proof of why I adore this composing team so much. Electric guitars and snare drums in a perfect marriage to the synthesiser. I genuinely cannot praise the music here enough – it is the best score for any BigFinish play.

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◆ Conclusion

“You’re the butcher Greel, one day you’ll drown in your victims blood!”

Earth in the 51st century is on the brink of all-out war, and Magnus Greel is intent on doing a hostile takeover in his native Supreme Alliance of Eastern States… before moving on to annihilate the Icelandic Alliance. He has dreams of world domination, of a planet united under his absolute rule, but we already know what becomes of him (a disfigured wreck carrying out brutal murders in the Victorian era).

‘The Butcher of Brisbane’ is a story of political intrigue and backstabbings, of assassination attempts and deception. It’s also the story of a mad scientist who is attempting to create a time cabinet using a highly deadly form of energy in the Brisbane Dead Zone. Marc Platt doesn’t just manage to pay respects to ‘The Talons of Weng-Chiang’ in this adventure, he also creates something brand new and exciting.

I also have to praise the post-production work, because Fool Circle simply do not get enough love from the fans nowadays. Not only is their sound design faultless here, but that musical score… holy mother of God, it is so good!

‘The Butcher of Brisbane’ is simply magnificent in all aspects, and I’d argue it is the best thing Marc Platt has ever written for this franchise (besting even ‘Spare Parts’).