The Land of the Dead

Wow, what a disaster. I had managed to avoid Land of the Dead up until now and would definitely recommend others avoid it, too.

It definitely doesn't sit well with me that we are telling indigenous stories from a very British perspective, the sound effects are overused and detract from what could have been a spooky and interesting monster in the form of the Permians, while the Doctor and Sarah don't have much to do of substance throughout. It's interesting you can tell this story might have been written with Tegan in mind and had to cut her out and replaced with Monica, but it really just makes her a useless character with some rough attitudes that never really get addressed.

It's a shame, too, because I like the Alaskan setting and think this story has miles of potential with the Permians as they sound creepy as on idea, but it really doesn't work with it well at all in its execution. I also think it is something the franchise could and should explore more, especially outside of Big Finish's early days, now that they might have resources to actually tap into more indigenous talent. This could have made the story more authentic feeling and give the story more energy, both of which Land of the Dead severely lacks. I do hope Doctor Who explores more of these ideas in the future as currently it is rarely touched on at best, because it sucks such stories are often relegated to audios like this one, which was a chore to get through more than anything, and a little problematic with how we treat the Koyukon, who seemed to only get the barest of research by writer Stephen Cole.

Stephen Cole delivered the script quickly to fill a scheduling gap, and it shows. The concept is easy enough. The classic trapped and hunted plotline has served Doctor Who well in the past. Throw in ancient Inuit legends and a vegetarian architect; you will have the basics.

The plot is too exposition-heavy without any real payoff. The whole spiritual v rational thread is handled crassly, and there are too many throwaway lines about the exploitation of wildness for commercial gains. Sarah Sutton tries to make the best of it; hers is the best performance.

Davidson seems to have phoned in his performance, while the supporting cast is annoying. Neil Roberts and Andrew Fettes play Inuit natives working for Christopher Scott’s English millionaire. It’s hard to tell which is the most irritating. They also have deeply annoying fake accents which break down throughout the production.

The soundscape is fine enough, but the score is utterly forgettable and offers nothing to the story.

The first dud of the Big Finish Doctor Who releases. The plot is a dull thudding of nothingness that just keeps going with a drudging game of hide and seek that leaves you lost in a void of generic rooms, to the point that the CD release has a floor plan. The characterisation is either annoying and whiney, or baffling to the point of me audible say WTF or groaning. The sound design is OK with the caveat that generic_monster_sound_24_MASTER is supposed to do some heavy lifting, along with, even more generic, verbal descriptions. This was a struggle to get through. I actually stopped about halfway through for a full day and just couldn't bare getting back to it. I think only sleep deprivation allowed me to finish it. All-in-all, a very disappointing and never-to-be-listened-to-again release.