Doctor Who: Destination Nerva (2012) - Written Review
...and I have to say, I'm glad I didn't spend ten quid on it.
Destination: Nerva is possibly the most corporate Doctor Who story I've ever watched, read or listened to, doing almost everything it can to recreate the feel of Phillip Hinchcliffe's time on the show (so much so that the man himself was dedicated his own boxset some time after). Tom Baker? Check! Louise Jameson back as Leela? Check! Direct tie-in to a popular Fourth Doctor story? Check! Plot that acts as a loose sequel to another popular Fourth Doctor story? Check! It's clearly attempting to pander to the fanboys, which perhaps I wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't so gosh darn bland. I couldn't understand what my problem with Destination: Nerva was for a very long time. I listened to it about a week ago and I came out feeling a bit nonplussed about the whole thing. A quick google later and I discover that quite a few others weren't impressed with this installment. I'm unsure if later releases were any better, but this isn't a great start.
The story follows the Fourth Doctor (one of my favourite Doctors brought to life with a slightly tired performance from the man himself) and Leela (who's great here) investigating an incident in a Victorian household, shortly after having left 19th Century London in The Talons of Weng-Chiang. Their discovery leads them to return to Space Station Nerva were a sinister parasite threatens the entire crew. Quite what this parasite actually was in the end was left relatively unclear, and it felt like a rather passable monster. I couldn't help but wonder if somewhere along the line Nicholas Briggs wanted the Wirrin to return, but alas that would have probably been too similar to The Ark in Space. Alas, the efforts to make this as period as possible results in Destination: Nerva feeling like a pandering piece of mediocrity. There's nothing particularly original here, because the story is fills itself up with all-too-familiar elements. The awkward transition from Victorian England to Space Station Nerva begged plenty of questions as to quite why this was all happening in the first place. Another critic has commented that this episode feels like its being made up as it goes along, and I have to admit that there's no clear structure here. It flows like a fan film, and the scene transitions don't always flow too well.
The sound design is pretty strong, and the guest cast are all fairly good, but it all feels like everyone's on autopilot here, reading their lines with 70% enthusiasm. Even Tom Baker, whose great booming voice regularly commands the screen in his television Who episodes, seems a little half-hearted in his performance as the Doctor. Having read interviews with him since, I thought he was very enthusiastic about his Big Finish ventures, but perhaps he's grown into the role over time. Both he and Louise Jameson definitely sound older here, but its only really Jameson who gets away with it, thanks to her sheer enthusiasm to return to the part of Leela. Perhaps if the story was more original, I could get more out of it, but when it feels so by-the-numbers, it's difficult for those involved to build-up their enthusiasm, let alone for the audience listening. Frankly, I'm very disappointed. 5/10
Comments
Post a Comment