Davros

Main Range #48

Released: 19 September 2003

Listened: 3/18/20

This is the earliest Big Finish Main Range release with the Sixth Doctor, chronologically, and one of the earlier releases in general. It’s part of the Omega / Davros / Master trilogy that led up to “Zagreus,” and while “Master” is regarded as a classic, this one is...kind of just there. It’s the first appearance of Davros in Big Finish, and was likely quite a big deal at the time. The general idea is that Davros and the Doctor are forced to work together for a larger corporation, at least for a bit. This is clearly where Davros gets his big business ideas that we’ll see in “Revelation,” which is later in his timeline. As expected for an early Big Finish, it’s rather talky, and short on action. The Doctor acts like he’s in control of the situation at all times, but he doesn’t really do much; he just reacts to things going on around him. The emphasis seems to be on telling Davros’ backstory, particularly his relationship with Shan, another scientist who may have been even more brilliant than Davros. This is clearly the inspiration for the “I, Davros” series released shortly thereafter. The problem is that the background doesn’t make Davros into a tragic figure; it just makes him seem even more evil. Wendy Padbury (Zoe) makes an appearance as Lorraine Baynes, before the Second Doctor era was represented in Big Finish. This story is unusually long, with just two parts, each 75 minutes. Unfortunately, I just didn’t enjoy it all that much.