Stories Audio Drama Big Finish Main Range 101-150 A Thousand Tiny Wings 1 image Back to Story Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 3 reviews 21 January 2025 · 690 words Review by deltaandthebannermen Spoilers 1 This review contains spoilers! In 1944, the Doctor defeated the plans of Nazi scientist and time traveller, Dr Elizabeth Klein leaving her stranded on our Earth when her parallel version was erased from the timeline. It is now 1952 and the Doctor returns to Earth and finds Klein holed up in a farmhouse in the Kenyan jungle. She is trapped with four other women, all fearing the approach of the Mau Mau people who are rebelling against white colonial rule. A new threat has added to their desperation and an alien has been found in the forest. A Thousand Tiny Wings is an excellent story serving to reintroduce Klein as the Doctor’s new companion whilst examining how many of her Nazi beliefs, and desire to see her timeline restored, are ideals shared by survivors of the wrong side of the war. Principal among these is Sylvia O’Donnell, the wife of a German who clearly thinks the world would have been better off if the Germans had won. Hers is a privileged racism directed at anyone she deems inferior be that the Mau Mau natives of Kenya or the alien discovered in the forest. She is cold and pragmatic and, in a ending which echoes the survival of Rickston Slade in Voyage of the Damned, is the only survivor of the alien incursion. She is thoroughly unlikeable and unsettling in her unwavering belief in far right ideals and her casual racism. And although none of the other women at the house are quite as horrid, none of them really challenge her. They are products of the same society that she is, if lower on the rungs of the social ladder. Lucy, the youngest, may choose to care for the wounded alien they find rather than kill it, as Sylvia wishes to do, but this is merely because her compassion to reacting to what is directly in front of her. The other women clearly see the approaching Mau Mau as ungrateful murderous savages just as Sylvia does. Comparisons with the famed series Tenko are unavoidable, not least because of the casting of Ann Bell as Sylvia – Bell played the central character of Marion in the series – but these are favourable parallels. Putting Klein with these women is a stroke of genius. She is a kindred spirit, especially alongside Sylvia (there is a chilling scene where they discuss their shared beliefs of how the world should be governed). But the arrival of the Doctor starts a subtle shift in her character. There is a humanity there even if she tends to frame it as pragmatism. She is the perfect foil for the manipulative 7th Doctor probably moreso than any of his other companions. She highlights some of his hypocrisy and the combination really helps draw an excellent performance out of McCoy – sombre yet determined. The Doctor placing the responsibility of protecting all of humanity from an alien plague on Sylvia is coldly fatalistic. It is almost her punishment for being such a horrid person. She will have to stay in Kenya, even after it gains independence and as she watches the world she desires slip further and further away. The alien menace is the arresting image of a flock of birds. The deaths of characters as a result of their attacks are chilling and naturally evokes memories of Hitchcock’s The Birds. It does seem to take the characters a bit too long to realise birds are the perpetrators considering all the clues but the visuals created by the sound design are suitably scary. The climax is possibly a little underwhelming although it ties into the concepts of individuals and the group which are reflected in Klein’s Nazi ideology. This is an interesting twist on the classic base under siege story and with an all-female cast, aside from the Doctor and Joshua, a Mau Mau rebel masquerading as someone fleeing from his people’s regime, and Lisa Bowerman directing, this is a story which stands out in the Big Finish canon. An evocative setting, an excellent cast and script, an unusual alien menace and the absorbing pairing of the 7th Doctor and Klein make for something rather special. deltaandthebannermen View profile Like Liked 1 19 January 2025 · 746 words Review by KnuppMello Spoilers This review contains spoilers! Original (Brazilian Portuguese) Translation (English) Depois de inúmeras aventuras acompanhado da excelente dupla Ace e Bernice, o 7° Doutor segue seu rumo viajando sozinho. Seu próximo destino é a antiga Quênia Britânico que hoje conhecemos como apenas Quênia após conquistar sua independência do império Britânico em 1963 – A Thousand Tiny Wings nos leva dez anos antes (1953) um ano depois do início da chamada “Revolta dos Mau Mau” evento de enorme importância na conquista da independência do país Africano. Tudo começou em julho de 1895, a Inglaterra ocupou oficialmente uma vasta região na África oriental e a declarou seu “protetorado”, dando começo a muitos anos de autoritarismo dos britânicos, usurpação de terras e minerais, assim como a prática de métodos de extermínio contra aquela população, humilhações, torturas e assassinatos. Só em 1952 com o surgimento do grupo Mau Mau que os quenianos começaram a enxergar os primeiros passos para alcançar sua libertação, a organização considerada clandestina tinha com finalidade libertar sua nação das mãos dos britânicos. Tomando conhecimento no mesmo ano o governador colonial declarou estado de emergência iniciando assim uma violenta guerra contra os Mau Maus. Em meio a esse cenário voltamos a nos deparar com Elizabeth Klein que além de se formar em medicina, ela se encontra hospedada em uma casa isolada acompanhada de Denise, Lucy e Sylvia esperando por uma solução ou resgate. É preciso recapitular um pouco pelos áudios anteriores do 7° Doutor, Klein tem sua primeira aparição no áudio “Coldtiz” em meio a Segunda Guerra Mundial ela fez parte e apoiou o Partido Nazista trabalhando Castelo alemão de Coldtiz, seu objetivo era alterar o curso da história trazendo vitória aos alemães, seu envolvimento no evento nos trouxe vários pontos de interrogação não respondidos tornando-a um enigma para o Doutor. Após se deparar e acolher uma criatura debilitada aos arredores da casa isolada, o 7° Doutor volta a cruzar seu caminho com o da Klein sendo atraído até o local pela sua TARDIS. Além de reproduzir muito bem todo preconceito que existia nesse período vindo dos apoiadores aos britânicos, Andy Lane usa das interações entre Doutor e Klein e seus conflitos de ideias como forma de rebater toda as ideias erradas e desumanas fascistas e nazistas (ideias apoiadas por Klein e Sylvia) você sente uma entonação de desprezo que um tem pelo outro. Mas por um outro lado percebesse que o escritor evitou críticas mais agressivas relacionadas a exploração dos britânicos ao povo queniano, entregando um enredo não tão pesado ou impactante que se mantem longe da Revolta dos Mau Mau, o que me fez pensar que talvez tenha sido proposital para evitar maiores polemicas sendo o escritor de um produto com maior distribuição e venda na Inglaterra e também se tratando de um assunto muito delicado para se opinar. O Doutor mantém seus princípios, diz entender a causa do povo queniano e repudia as atrocidades dos britânicos, mas não compra da ideia de impedir a violência usando da própria violência e completa dizendo a Klein que infelizmente a história da humanidade é repleta de abuso dos mais poderosos contra os menos poderosos chegando até mesmo se questionar o porquê gosta tanto dessa espécie. O enredo desenvolve muito bem uma trama confinada onde aos poucos alguns dos envolvidos é infectado por uma espécie de praga alienígena, tendo um vilão que talvez tenha uma pequena referência ao filme “The Byrds” (Os Pássaros) de Alfred Hithcock, mas no resultado geral acaba sendo um enredo muito simples sem muito brilho. Por fim, sabendo de suas intenções de criar um Quarto Reich, o Doutor decide estrategicamente convidar Klein a bordo do TARDIS como sua companion, tudo com para deixá-la a vista onde possa ficar de olho. Em resumo, mesmo entregando um enredo bem água com açúcar “A Thousand Tiny Wings” ganha uma altíssima avaliação por acerta na forma como relata todo o preconceito desumano que existia no evento histórico e também nos conflitos de ideias entre o Doutor e Klein. Meu único medo e receio é que essa essência nazista da personagem da Klein seja usada como parte de desenvolvimento de personagem para no fim chegarem e declararem que ela é “” uma nazista legal”” o que nem preciso dizer que isso seria patético e inaceitável, deixando então de não combater pessoas que abraçam essa ideologia desumana e deplorável chamada nazista/fascista. Não sou de correr atrás de Spoilers, mas me parece que ela vem a se torna uma vilã, o que é o mais coerente e certo a se fazer. Vamos ver o que acontece a seguir. After countless adventures accompanied by the excellent duo Ace and Bernice, the 7th Doctor continues his journey alone. His next destination is the former British Kenya, which we now know simply as Kenya after gaining its independence from the British Empire in 1963 – "A Thousand Tiny Wings" takes us ten years earlier (1953) one year after the start of the so-called "Mau Mau Uprising," an event of enormous importance in the country's fight for independence. It all began in July 1895, when England officially occupied a vast region in East Africa and declared it their "protectorate," initiating many years of British authoritarianism, land and mineral usurpation, as well as the practice of extermination methods against that population, humiliations, tortures, and murders. Only in 1952, with the emergence of the Mau Mau group, did the Kenyans begin to see the first steps towards achieving their liberation; the clandestine organization aimed to free their nation from the hands of the British. Upon being informed in the same year, the colonial governor declared a state of emergency, thus initiating a violent war against the Mau Maus. Amid this scenario, we once again encounter Elizabeth Klein, who in addition to graduating in medicine, finds herself hosted in an isolated house accompanied by Denise, Lucy, and Sylvia, waiting for a solution or rescue. It is necessary to recapitulate a little through the previous audios of the 7th Doctor. Klein made her first appearance in the audio "Colditz" during the Second World War; she was part of and supported the Nazi Party, working at the German castle of Colditz. Her goal was to alter the course of history, bringing victory to the Germans. Her involvement in the event brought us several unanswered question marks, making her an enigma for the Doctor. After encountering and fostering a weakened creature on the outskirts of the isolated house, the 7th Doctor crosses paths with Klein again, drawn to the location by his TARDIS. In addition to accurately reproducing the prejudice that existed at the time from the British supporters, Andy Lane uses the interactions between Doctor and Klein and their conflicts of ideas as a way to refute all the wrong and inhumane fascist and Nazi ideas (supported by Klein and Sylvia); you feel a tone of contempt that one has for the other. But on the other hand, it is noticeable that the writer avoided more aggressive criticisms related to British exploitation of the Kenyan people, delivering a plot that is not so heavy or impactful that it stays away from the Mau Mau Uprising, which made me think that it might have been intentional to avoid larger controversies, given the larger distribution and sale of the product in England and also since it is a very delicate subject to comment on. The Doctor maintains his principles, he understands the cause of the Kenyan people and repudiates the British atrocities, but does not buy into the idea of stopping violence using violence himself, and completes by saying to Klein that unfortunately, the history of humanity is filled with abuse by the more powerful against the less powerful, even questioning why he likes the human species so much. The plot develops a confined drama very well, where slowly some of the involved get infected by a kind of alien plague, having a villain that might have a slight reference to the movie "The Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock, but overall it ends up being a very simple plot without much sparkle. In the end, knowing her intentions of creating a Fourth Reich, the Doctor decides strategically to invite Klein aboard the TARDIS as his companion, all in order to keep an eye on her. In summary, even though it delivers a rather bland plot, "A Thousand Tiny Wings" earns a very high rating for the way it portrays all the inhumane prejudice that existed in the historical event, and also in the conflicts of ideas between the Doctor and Klein. My only fear and concern is that this Nazi essence of Klein's character is used as part of character development to end up and declare that she is a "nice Nazi," which needless to say would be pathetic and unacceptable, consequently failing to combat people who embrace this inhumane and deplorable ideology called Nazi/fascist. I'm not one to chase after spoilers, but it seems that she becomes a villain, which is the most coherent and right thing to do. Let's see what happens next. (Translation generated by AI, so mistakes are possible). KnuppMello View profile Like Liked 0 21 November 2024 · 502 words Review by MarkOfGilead19 Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! This was excellent. A really interesting base under siege story with the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenia in the 50s as a political and historical background. I must confess I hadn't heard of this period before I listened to this, so props for making me a bit less uninformed in the history of Africa (or, frankly, anything that isn't western history). The characters are phenomenal too. Klein is such an amazing addition to the Doctor as a companion (and a ballsy move if I might add, something the TV show would never, with her being a nazi and all...). And given that the 7th Doctor is the one that is known the best for overthrowing fascist regimes across the galaxy, this just makes this duo an extremely interesting one to follow, ripe with conflict and philosophical discussions. Her and O'Donnell share the same ideologies, and have a few conversations that made me shiver frankly, like the talks about the 4th Reich and having connections in the upper classes of Britain with the same ideas... The resolution isn't perfect really (as I found the main villain somewhat lacking), but it is thematically appropriate with the political ideas this story is interested in exploring. Listening to Klein helping the Doctor convince Abraham to choose for himself instead of doing what he is told is pretty funny, and the conversation the both have when everything is done is so good, as they both toss gibes at each other's ideologies. Finally, the end having Klein join the Doctor makes me think that she will ultimately change her fascist perspectives after experiencing all the galaxy has to offer, as they say, travel broadens the mind. Or she just might join the Daleks the first time they meet, who knows! PS: I would really like a TV episode centered in a period of Africa similar to this, but with the 15th Doctor, having to battle between the racism of the colonialists of the era and the civil unrest. It would be interesting choosing the Rwandan Civil War (although it may be a bit to personal for Ncuti). I just think that this story would have gone a lot different if the Doctor wasn't a white male, so a 15th Doctor historical is just so much more interesting to me than with any other incarnation. The first 12 incarnations can just saunter in and assert immediate dominion over all higher authorities present with their intelligence and their charisma, but with the 15th Doctor I would be inclined to say that in some periods (medieval ages like in The Time Monster) he couldn't even be allowed to enter the premises before being struck down. It would make for a logical sequel to Dot and Bubble's message I think. PSS: I know the 13th Doctor has a similar problem, like in the Witchfinders, but she's white so in this case she would probably just have been brushed off until she proved her knowledge and prowess to the rest of the house. MarkOfGilead19 View profile Like Liked 2