Liam Carey reviews

Distributed by
Big Finish Productions

• Year: 2000
• Rating: 6/10
• Cat. No: BFPDWCD6CA
• Format: 2xCD
• Running Time: 110 minutes
• Price: £13.99

Director:
Gary Russell

Writer:

Stephen Cole

Cast:

The Doctor: Peter Davison
Nyssa: Sarah Sutton
Monica Lewis: Lucy Campbell
Shaun Brett: Christopher Scott
Tulung: Neil Roberts
Gaborik: Andrew Fettes
Supplier: Alistair Lock

The Fifth Doctor/Nyssa partnership's debut for Big Finish, is set in the middle of Alaska, where a remarkable house is under construction. Brett, a young, domineering millionaire, is determined to honour the memory of his father who perished 30 years earlier in the very same location when an archaeological dig went tragically wrong.

The fantastical house, incorporating the harsh natural elements of its surroundings, is however host to a chilling secret, one which could threaten the future of mankind. It will also reveal much about the past of the area itself, as well as what really happened to Brett's father and his partner in the fateful dig - the father of Tulung, who is half-Inuit... a race who believe that Spirits protect the land.

Horrifically mutated creatures - some several million years old - lurk within, around and below the isolated building. The Doctor, with the aid of Nyssa's scientific know-how, attempt to prevent them escaping.

Land Of The Dead is a tense adventure, full of chills and foreboding, not to mention a large dose of terrifying action. The main problem, and one which subsequent productions soon rectified, is a lack of dynamism in the dialogue; this story's central idea is impressive but probably too ambitious for what was then a fledgling team and the performances (with the notable exception of Sarah Sutton) have a stilted, finding-their-feet air about them. Lucy Campbell's rather bolshy interior designer Monica Lewis is particularly cumbersome at key moments.

Although this was Peter Davison's third BF outing, he is still audibly getting accustomed to how best portray his trademark Doctor through this medium, where much of his onscreen physical energy cannot be seen or used. The chemistry between Davison and Sutton is always a joy, but Land Of The Dead's undoing is its attempts to convey the peril and the visual horror through contrived dialogue and lacklustre sounds. BF were on a steep learning curve, but they at least became wiser and more accomplished for their early experiences.

Review copyright © Liam Carey, 2003.