The Great War

Dark Eyes #1.1

Released: 10 November 2012

Listened: 11/13/21

Welcome aboard, Molly O’Sullivan -- except not quite yet. The first story in this box is very much setup, without much of a story of its own, something that future boxed sets try to avoid. But this box is the Nick Briggs show, both writing and directing, and feels more of a single piece. We have the Doctor, despondent and a bit unhinged from Lucie’s death, heading to the end of the universe in search of hope, only to be intercepted by the Time Lords and sent to find...well, we don’t know what yet. We have Straxus the CIA agent, sent by somebody to do something. And Toby Jones, whose character doesn’t even have a name yet, monitoring something for somebody. Lots of setup. The Doctor ends up in World War I, which is where Molly comes in, a Voluntary Aid Detachment worker -- kind of like a nurse. Historically, these were noblewomen volunteering to “do their part,” but they sometimes brought their servants. Molly came along with Kitty Donaldson, to whom she was extremely dedicated (and hints of something more, but of course not confirmed), but has found herself on her own. Ruth Bradley plays Molly with a thick Irish accent, sounding borderline cliche with her wording and strong attitude, but that may have been appropriate for a lower-class woman in 1915. Molly is pretty determined not to like the Doctor, and certainly looks sideways at any of his explanations. She addresses him as “the Doctor,” including the article every time, and you can hear the sarcasm slathered on it. But she’s definitely tough and capable, and she’s going to have to be. Because this is a Nick Briggs story, and it’s a big epic, so you know who’ll be turning up as the bad guys. It’s hard to evaluate this story on its own, when it’s a large pile of loose ends.