Doctor Who – The Monthly Adventures

#082. The Settling ~ 10/10

◆ An Introduction

We’re moving onto a double bill of excellent stories now, beginning with a pure historical from one of my favourite writers. I’ve often been a proud supporter of the pure historical genre, because the best of them always manage to keep you entertained whilst also teaching you something.

But some of the Doctor’s companions can’t simply observe, they see the horrifying truth and barbarism of history and feel like they need to intervene. Whether that be a history teacher from Coal Hill trying to stop an Aztec sacrifice… or a nurse from St Gart’s Hospital wanting to minimise casualties during one of the worst atrocities in Irish history.

◆ Publisher’s Summary

Note to Sir Arthur Aston, governor of the town of Drogheda, 10 September 1649.

"Sir, Having brought the army belonging to the Parliament of England before this place, to reduce it to obedience, to the end effusion of blood may be prevented, I thought fit to summon you to deliver the same into my hands to their use.

If this be refused, you will have no cause to blame me.

I expect your answer and rest your servant.

O. Cromwell."

◆ The Seventh Doctor

Despite this being only their fifth story together, this TARDIS team is already acting like a tightly nit family. Their interactions with each other are brilliant, and it’s genuinely just a lot of fun to hear them in action. Sylvester McCoy seems to have a lot of fun playing midwife in ‘The Settling’, and his performance is top-notch.

The Doctor used to take on the universe single-handed, real ego-trip stuff (small man’s complex according to Ace). The minute he realises where and when they’ve landed, he wants nothing more than to get back in the TARDIS and leave. His bedside manner when looking after Mary is brilliant, being a perfect listener and not judging her in the slightest. The Doctor’s voice quivers with regret and sadness when he finds Ace, finds out that she ignored his order and fought alongside the Irish. Due to unforeseen circumstances, he finds himself having to deliver Mary’s baby during the Sack of Wexford (he really rises to the occasion though, making an excellent midwife).

◆ Ace

Sophie Aldred absolutely excels in ‘The Settling’, putting on a fabulous performance worthy of Guerrier’s incredible writing.

Ace climbed the snowy mountain in the TARDIS once before. She used to hide in the mountain range when she would have arguments with the Doctor, back in her teens. She cannot believe that the Doctor would have brought them to Drogheda on purpose, but then recalls when he took her to face her own demons at Gabriel Chase. Ace thinks that the TARDIS latches onto hotspots in history; events so big that they effect the vortex, that's why they always end up where stuff is happening. First thing she learnt was to never listen to the Doctor (that sounds like a fast way to get killed). She claims that the captain of Cleopatra’s guard was a friend of a friend; best swordsmen she ever met, and he taught her fencing (he also made a mean fig casserole). Ace sees Hex like a little brother.

◆ Hex

‘The Settling’ is absolutely Philip Olivier’s story. This is some incredibly powerful material, and it would have been so easy to fluff the lines, but he ends up delivering one of his finest performances!

Hex refuses to leave Drogheda because it wouldn’t be right, and it’s clear he wants to help the locals. He isn’t that religious, but seeing a church on fire is just wrong. You hear “thousands dead” and you think you understand it, but being there… it’s nothing like you see on the news; bodies everywhere and guts all over the streets. Hex is a nurse, and he cannot understand why everyone thinks that’s something to laugh at. Listening to Cromwell’s attempts to justify his conquest of Ireland, he is utterly defiant and disgusted – whatever he says, he can’t make it right. You cannot justify wholesale slaughter on moral grounds! It’s been a joke since he joined the TARDIS that “Oh my God!” is basically Hex’s catchphrase, but it backfires on him when he says it in front of Cromwell… who beats him up and sentences him to death as a blasphemer!

◆ Story Recap

1649, Ireland. The Roundheads have laid siege to the small coastal town of Drogheda, with three-thousand Irish Royalists being killed, wounded or captured during the massacre. That’s not even taking into account the hundreds of civilian casualties.

The TARDIS crew arrive and soon find themselves flung into the chaos – with the Doctor acting as a midwife to a pregnant Irish widower named Mary, and Ace joining the fight against the Roundheads.

Hex finds himself captured and brought before Oliver Cromwell, the man responsible for this historical atrocity. He’s still relatively new to time travel, and thinks he can help the Lord Protector settle Ireland more peacefully… but Hex is about to learn that difficult age old lesson of realising you cannot make a real difference to history.

◆ Historical Atrocities

‘The Settling’ is easily one of my favourite pure historicals of all time, and I’d argue that it’s greater than even Evelyn’s debut adventure (bet that remark will annoy some people).

I have a huge amount of respect for the writers who will dive into not only historical events, but the genuine tragedies of the past. I decided to do a bit of research on the Siege of Drogheda before writing this review, and it’s understandable why it’s classed as one of the worst atrocities in Irish history; casualties stretching into the thousands, as Cromwell bombarded the town’s medieval curtain walls with cannon fire. He reportedly saw his fallen Roundhead troops at the breaches in the walls and ordered his surviving forces to leave nobody in the town left alive. In the man’s own words - “In the heat of the action, I forbade them to spare any that were in arms in the town… and, that night they put to the sword about two thousand men.” - the Roundheads even murdered the Irish Royalists who had surrendered at Drogheda (their commander was reported beaten to death with his own wooden leg).

What you’ve got to remember when listening to something like ‘The Settling’ is that history isn’t always adventures to the Wild West, or Barbara being chased around by Nero in a scene reminiscent of Benny Hill. History is very rarely pleasant, and modern society is built on the backs of the dead… Christ, that got depressing!

◆ Sound Design

The Siege of Drogheda is a wall of noise, as Cromwell’s loyalist forces begin massacring those trying to defend the town, and those who are just innocent bystanders. David Darlington has done a fab job at bringing this historical tragedy to life.

Howling winds in the TARDIS mountain range. Gunfire, shouting and clashing swords dominate the siege, whilst rain falls onto the bloody battlefield. Squelching mud underfoot. People crying in Drogheda following the battle, mourning the dead bodies strewn about their town. The TARDIS console room is in the process of being redecorated, according to Ace, so the ambient sounds have now switched to those of ‘The TV Movie’. Mary’s baby cries following the birth.

◆ Music

David Darlington is also behind the score for ‘The Settling’, and it is absolutely stunning. Traditional Irish music that fully embraces the setting of this adventure, the use of the violin in particular here was breathtaking.

When the fighting is in full swing, the score reflects the chaos of the massacre that is about to unfold. Then you have moments like when the Doctor finds Ace injured on the battlefield during part two, where the music becomes really soft yet dramatic. Genuinely one of my favourite scores of any BigFinish play.

◆ Conclusion

“I spent the best part of today keeping her alive!”

Pure historical adventures have always been some of my favourites, but some of the best always add an element of humanity to the drama, often by plunging the TARDIS team right into the heart of a tragedy. In the case of this story, it’s the Siege of Drogheda in 1649.

‘The Settling’ is easily one of my favourite stories Simon Guerrier has ever written for this franchise (which is shocking given how much love his spin-off series, ‘Graceless’, constantly gets from me).

You could also call this story a modern day equivalent of ‘The Aztecs’ because it teaches Hex the same lesson that Barbara learnt all those years ago; time doesn’t care about all the little people. You push time one way, and it will push back.

The performances in this adventure are all top tier, but Clive Mantle steals the show with his portrayal of Oliver Cromwell (attempting to justify his massacre by citing it as God’s will – in a manner not too dissimilar to the way Queen Mary tried to justify burning thousands of Protestants in ‘The Marian Conspiracy’). Philip Olivier also deserves truck-loads of praise for his handling of the material too; this was most definitely Hex’s story.

If you’ve not listened to ‘The Settling’, then you are sorely missing out on pure historical excellence.