Red Dawn

Red Dawn had a lot of potential. It's got a pretty great start that has all the ambition of human space exploration brought to the forefront with some pretty impressive special effects. However, after a while, things just sort of fall into a very typical Ice Warriors story. The sort of thing that's been done a lot before and especially with these characters.

I think the problem with the Ice Warriors is that they represent this sophisticated race that isn't simply villainous, and sometimes (too often in lesser Ice Warrior stories) the plots don't live up to that sophistication. And I guess I just want or expect these sort of stories to dig a little deeper than just shrugging our shoulders and wondering "can't we all just get along?" It's not a bad message, it just feels a little reductive, and Red Dawn makes things too easy for listeners by making the humans too over-the-top (or at least the one guy bossing everyone around) while the Ice Warriors are a little too bland and inoffensive. It's not even necessarily unrealistic - one bad faith actor can spoil delicate situations like this in real life, and a lot of politics come to mind to that end - it's just the sort of thing we see a lot in these sorts of stories. It results in a story where the conflict feels less organic and more forced.

I did appreciate Peri being in this story and Nicola Bryant's dedication to this role. Maureen Oakley wasn't too bad either. On the other hand, the Doctor doesn't really get to stand out much here. Overall Red Dawn was very uneven. Bristling with unused potential, competently made but very lacking in the writing department. I don't think I'd recommend it, but it is a shame as it feels like the talent behind the scenes went to waste, to a degree.

Red Dawn was a solid idea, let down by a combination of poor writing and an overdramatic acting choice. The basic premise has a decent amount of things going for it, and to start with everything was good, but about 1/3 of the way through there is a dramatic 'twist' that unfortunately makes the rest of the story almost unbearable. Mostly this is down to the way one character is written and, ultimately, portrayed. The overdramatic performance makes it so about 2/3 of the way through the story, there is little imaginary set left to chew on. There are little gems left here and there, but ultimately it doesn't save this story, which is a shame because the Ice Warriors are well realised in this story.

The problem with this story is the awful amount of padding. Some events get dragged out too long for their dramatic weight. A fair amount of the details in the plot feel superfluous. The human guest characters aren't that interesting (and given how well all four actors do in other Big Finish audios, this is a sad waste of talent). It should be cut down to a two-parter at the longest.

In addition, the Doctor and Peri don't do much, even considering the padding. They are almost in the role of witnesses. I wished the core idea had been developed as a short, Doctor-free story.

If you love the idea of complex, interesting Ice Warriors enough to ignore the bad points, go ahead and get it. Otherwise, It stinks.