Just War

21.10.2022

The strongest in the trilogy. Highlights are the graphic torture scenes, with Bernice's mind literally breaking. Very evocative and truly horrifying.
A big problem is how easily resolved the conflicts are after it is set up that they won't be easy to resolve. This wave-off approach felt confusing more than anything.
It's listenable, with some great scenes it's a textbook 3/5.

This review comes with a large helping of nostalgia and I don’t know how I feel about that. Big Finish still, weirdly, seems like a ‘new thing’. It just feels current. But then, you look at the month and year they first released an audio – the audio adaptation of the Bernice Summerfield novel Oh No It Isn’t and realise it was September 1998. That’s the month and year I started my teaching career. I’ve been teaching for 24 years. That means Big Finish has been a going concern for 24 years. That’s only two year shy of Doctor Who’s original run. Big Finish isn’t a new thing at all. Therefore, even though it feels really weird, I think I’m allowed to see those early audios in a nostalgic light.

I was young, single and had cash to spend. I lapped up those early Big Finish releases with Benny and can still remember the excitement of the first Doctor Who release, The Sirens of Time. It was an exciting time to be a fan even though the prospect of a new TV series was so much pie in the sky.

In that first series of Bernice Summerfield was what was grandly-titled the Time Ring Trilogy. After only two other releases, BF decided to adapt three unrelated New Adventure novels – a Bernice Summerfield solo release (from after Virgin lost the licence to Doctor Who in the wake of the Paul McGann TV Movie), Walking to Babylon; the Doctor-lite Birthright; and the Doctor, Benny, Chris and Roz-lead Just War. All three were majorly rewritten to tie them together into a, fairly loose, trilogy. Characters such as the Doctor, Ace, Chris and Roz disappeared to be replaced, mainly, by Benny’s erstwhile husband Jason Kane.

I’ve already reviewed the first two releases in this trilogy I’ve finally arrived at the final part, Just War.

I remember the first time I listened to this audio. One sequence of scenes have stuck with me and those are of Bernice’s torture at the hands of Mark Gatiss’s sadistic Nazi officer, Standartenfuhrer Joachim Wolff. It is harrowing and perfectly played by Lisa Bowerman and Gatiss. I also remember enjoying the performance of the actress playing Bernice’s foster mother in this time and place, Ma Doras – an unknown actress going by the name of Maggie Stables.

Just War is absolutely superb and easily the best of the Time Ring Trilogy, and also one of the best of the entire Bernice Summerfield audio range. (It was also one of the very best New Adventures too and, considering it was Lance Parkin’s first novel, that’s no mean feat). Ironically, it’s link to the Time Ring Trilogy are tenuous at best and as a conclusion to that arc it may lack something, but as an audio adventure in its own right, it is difficult to beat.

The memorable torture scenes really are only the tip of the iceberg. Every scene featuring Lisa Bowerman is gold. From her awkward relationship with the young Nazi, Gerhard, which Bernice guiltily uses to her own advantage to the point where that relationship leads to Bernice having to make a terrible decision. The terrifying scene where six innocent residents are executed because of a crime Bernice has committed. The perfectly reasonable and yet chilling conversations Bernice and Jason have with Oberst Steinmann (played perfectly by Michael Wade) about the future of the Third Reich. The brief glimmers of comedy of Jason working in British Intelligence and the tangible sense of relief when they are finally reunited. Bernice posing – complete with ‘country’ accent – as Celia Doras, the long-lost daughter of Ma Doras (the owner of the local guest house where Nazi soldiers are billetted). The gentle heartbreak of Maggie Stables Ma Doras as she loses her daughter for a second time. This, of course, was long before Maggie Stables was taken to fandom’s heart as Old Sixie’s greatest audio companion, Evelyn Smythe – but the seeds of Evelyn are audible in Stables’ performance.

Mark Gatiss gives a great nasty Nazi and would go on to play a German naval officer in the 1915-set segment of The Sirens of Time. He had also played a Nazi officer in the BBV production, Island of Lost Souls (which he also wrote), which I will be reviewing in the near future (it has an indeterminant ‘Second World War’ setting so I am leaving it until a little later in the marathon). It would seem that around this time in the late 90s, Mark Gatiss was the go to guy for audio Nazis.

Alongside Stables and Gatiss is another familiar face from this period of Doctor Who. Michael Wade plays Oskar Steinmann, the reasonable face of facism. Wade had featured in the lead role of the Auton trilogy, a series of videos released by BBV in the 90s which saw the return of the Nestene and the Autons. He, like Gatiss, would return for The Sirens of Time playing the Lord President of Gallifrey; a role he would play again in The Apocalypse Element.

Steinmann’s dialogues with both Benny and Jason are chilling in their normality and reason. He does not believe Benny can be from the future because he cannot fathom a future where the Nazis do not win, so convinced is he of their superiority and righteousness. His whole-hearted belief in his values and vision is scarily convincing until you remember the less appealing aspects of Nazi idealism.

If Just War has a fault it lies within the final scenes which go a little silly with Jason and Benny flying a German super stealth jet across the English Channel. But this is a tiny niggle at the end of a truly memorable and moving audio. A cast and production team that are near-faultless provide an audio which clearly shows why the BBC granted Big Finish the licence to produce Doctor Who on audio and why Big Finish are still going 24 years later.

If you have never listened to Just War, beg, borrow or steal yourself a copy.

Wow, this episode is dark in all the best ways. It's the kind of episode that makes you physically wince every so often because of the brutality - but I never felt that this was overdone. Sometimes, stories that are violent and dark like this can be overwrought to the point of melodrama, but the torture and horror that Benny goes through on Guernsey are chilling.

I'm not usually a huge fan of the WWII setting, but it could not be more effective here. Jason is out in Nazi Germany, accidentally giving away British secrets, while Benny is on Guernsey, waiting for him while posing as a dead girl after being taken in by said girl's mother. And it is here that Benny cannot help but get herself into trouble.

One of the best parts about Benny is the way she is a messy character. I've probably said this before, but I really admire the way she is allowed to be horny and rash and angry and righteous and still be our beloved protagonist. So many things that Benny does are things that often get female characters labelled as 'unlikeable', but I cannot do anything but adore our Benny. On Guernsey, she is horrified by people 'sitting back and taking' whatever the Nazis are given, but the story shows us that she's wrong - the example that sticks most in my head is Marie Simmonds, who Benny is dismissive and rude about, and yet she was part of a resistance force all alone.

This is a story that sticks with you for a long time. It's not simple and it's not easy, but it is very good.

Bernice Summerfield

#1.05. Just War ~ 8/10

◆ An Introduction

World War Two has been the backdrop for many adventures in this franchise, including the utterly faultless ‘Colditz’. That being said, BigFinish tend to tone things down a bit when dealing with Nazis, because… some of the wartime atrocities would likely cause these audios to get slapped with an age restriction.

As previous reviewers have already pointed out, ‘Just War’ really doesn’t sugar coat the events of the war, something which really works in its favour.

◆ Publisher’s Summary

"Tomorrow belongs to us, not you. If you were really from the future, Miss Summerfield, you would be a Nazi."

The Nazis occupy British soil and British citizens are being deported to European concentration camps. Those who do not co-operate with the Germans are shot.

This isn't a parallel universe: this is Guernsey, 1941, and it's where Bernice is stranded. With no sign of Jason, she has to endure the full horror of the situation, alone and afraid.

And something, somewhere has gone wrong. The Nazis are building a secret weapon, one that will have a decisive effect on the outcome of the war – and it's up to Benny to put history back on course…

◆ Prof. Bernice Summerfield

‘Just War’ puts our favourite archaeologist through some genuinely traumatic scenarios. Lisa Bowerman approached this material with confidence, giving one of her best performances in these early years.

Benny has been trapped in Guernsey for three months, posing as the deceased Celia Dora and living with said woman’s mother. It’s not the 20th century she knows, and sometimes she feels like she’s living in a parallel universe. War took her mother from her, so it’s only fitting that it should give her another. Benny has been all over the universe, faced countless alien threats, but surrounded by her fellow humans has made her painfully aware of her own mortality; she’s terrified. She’s actually excited when she believes there could be alien involvement here, as it means she can actually fight the bad guys and try saving the day. Benny isn’t the kind of person to kill, no matter how awful the person, but she shoots Gerhard to stop him from compromising the safety of Ma Doras. Unfortunately, this backfires on her, as it results in the Nazis executing six innocent civilians… which completely breaks her spirit. After all the atrocities she’s seen, all she wants is to be alone with her feelings, swearing to never use the Time Ring again.

◆ Jason Kane

Stephen Fewell delivers an immaculate performance throughout this adventure.

Jason has been living in the 26th century, but he comes from the 1990s… until he got kidnapped by aliens, taken to the future, and met his wife! Since the universal translator doesn’t allow him to hear accents, he’s mortified to realise that he’s been getting hammered in a German bar, in 1936… with a Nazi! His grandfather was killed during the Second World War: if he hadn’t, then maybe his own father wouldn’t have grown up into the kind of man who beat his kids. Maybes then, Jason’s sister wouldn’t have had all her fingers broken with a chisel, and he wouldn’t have had to prostitute himself – Jason has had an incredibly rough life! Don’t call him “Captain Kane”: makes him sound like a Marvel Comics character. Jason is horrified when he realises that he’s responsible for the Nazis gaining radar technology. He always corrects people when they refer to him as Benny’s husband, but he doesn’t this time… because maybe he doesn’t want to be her ex-husband anymore. It’s a sweet gesture, but one made at the wrong time.

◆ Story Recap

1941: the Second World War continues to rage across the globe. Jason Kane has already been here for five years, managing to become a spy for the Royal Air Force whilst waiting for any sign of his ex-wife.

Prof. Summerfield has only been on Guernsey for three months, yet she already feels like she’s aged decades from the climate of fear.

The Nazis are constructing a secret weapon on the island, one that would win them the war, changing the entire course of human history… and it’s all Jason’s fault!

◆ Horrors of War

‘Just War’ doesn’t shy away from showcasing the horrors of the Second World War, it doesn’t sugar coat the atrocities committed in the name of the Third Reich. It’s also a story that focuses on character, specifically how our two protagonists react to the horrors – more-so Benny, who ends up being violently tortured!

I’m keeping this section of the review rather short, because this is an episode where you’re best diving in with as little knowledge as possible.

◆ Sound Design

‘Just War’ is the final BigFinish adventure that Harvey Summers did the sound design for, and he did an excellent job. The soundscape really helps to showcase just how brutal the situation on Guernsey is.

A bustling bar in 1930s Germany with old fashioned swing music playing from a nearby gramophone. Benny attempts to drive an armoured German car to safety, whilst being fired at by Nazi soldiers, and then she crashes the car causing it to explode! Six civilians have a bullet put in their skull by the soldiers as punishment for Benny’s act of rebellion. There’s a fantastic aerial dog fight towards the end of this adventure, where Benny and Jason attempt escape in an experimental aeroplane.

◆ Conclusion

“If the Germans succeed first, they’ll win the war!”

Many atrocities were committed by the Nazis during WW2, and Lance Parkin makes no attempts to mollycoddle you: this script just showcases the horrifying nature of their activities, which makes for a brutal listen.

I genuinely felt like I had a ball stuck in my throat listening to this adventure, especially following the execution scene. This is a superbly well-written story, but one that’s so dark and visceral that it’ll stay in your mind for quite some time.

Just Wars' plot is great. A little slow to get started as it has to set all the new characters up, but about 1/3 of the way through it picks up pace. This story was a lot more 'adult' than previous ones, but the sense of tension was kept for a good hour. The sound design was great again, and the score was very well done. Really played the emotions. The voice acting was superb and really showed off the skills of the performers. This little trilogy overall has been great.