Army of Death

 

Army of Death by Jason Arnopp

A fairly engrossing story that may prove to be perhaps too archetypal, Army of Death is a play that you would be hardpressed to find had many ideas that were not tried and tested in Classic Who, yet it performs these things rather admirably, all things considered. Unlike a story that uses unoriginal ideas to deliver a play that is merely functional, Army of Death had something going for it for me, and these unoriginal ideas blossomed into an excellent waste of two-hours. While formulaic, it does most of what it sets out to do, completely and utterly, and very well. The performances, and characters (minus those who are just there to deliver bit lines) are intriguing across the board, and I really felt that Zelonia was a planet that was alive. Which is perhaps ironic, given the subject material. Something about the visuals too are excellently vivid, I rarely picture an alien planet so completely and utterly. It's a rare trait for an audio to be that engrossingly visual. In many ways, it reminded me of another story that is similar to it in many ways, One Mile Down from the Tenth Doctor Adventures - a decent story elevated both an excellent companion and by how rich the world in it is and the wonderful side characters. As for where the story flounders, another comparison that could be made is The Armageddon Factor. Yes, Army of Death spends a good deal of time really nicely developing the villain and making them a scary threat before they quickly evolve into a one-dimensional pile of ham. Compare the creepy whispering voice threatening the President into doing it's bidding (excellent) to THE BONE LORD, who yes, is called the fucking Bone Lord. This embarassing performance is not helped whatsoever by the sound design who really fucking botched it on the Bone Lord's already bad performance with a ...undignified vocal filter. It's amazing to me an actor who can be so creepy and effective can go so off the rails, not even in a sequel, but in the same story. The Bone Lord is...irredeemable as a villain, and his mere presence devalues everything the play strived for. But this is still a fun play, and while it is generic, it doesn't instantly leave my mind like Absolute Power for instance. And since the Bone Lord doesn't show up till the end, there's a lot of good content before he leaves a bad taste in your mouth. As for Mary Shelley, her departure here is well-realized, foreshadowed adequately and performed to an excellent degree, but as the Eighth Doctor literally says, "after all, we've only started!" And I don't think Big Finish realized whatsoever what a find Julie Cox was - after all, this trilogy was only made to bridge time between the 8DAs and Dark Eyes. And well, honestly, Mary Shelley's final appearance makes her feel like a piece of wasted potential, being an incredible companion that the company itself didn't realize was incredible. Mary could have easily sustained another trilogy, and honestly, despite it's problems, if it had stories this strong, I wish she did: 8/10