Main Range 37: The Sandman (spoilers)

Such a great story and how Evelyn finding out a different side of The Doctor is played is spot on. The pure shock she has that he either could be such a person or create that Myth is perfect

This is a good story - but it follows a run of excellent Sixie/Evelyn stories and had a couple of issues which meant that for me it was a 4*

I thought it was a particularly good example of world-building, with the strange spaceship-shifting Clutch where different people come and go - but the Galyari remain because Space has been forced upon them as their home. And the Galyari culture and biology was also very well-imagined, a species evolved from something like a chamaeleon and haunted by a legendary monster who defeated their last attempts to occupy a world (which was already occupied) and wrote himself into their memories...

Colin Baker gives a great performance as the 'Monsterdoctor' and I thought the idea of the Doctor making himself a deterrent against further incursions by scaring a warlike species into submission through their legends - which he invented - was a clever one. And Maggie Stables plays it perfectly with just enough doubt - is the Doctor really a monster or is it all a cunning plan. We've known him longer than Evelyn and of course it's a plan.

A plan that was going perfectly until a real Sandman showed up...

I enjoyed the story which has so many good ideas (e.g. the Galyari are so colour-sensitive the Doctor's coat causes them actual pain! ) but there were a few things which made it 4* for me -
Evelyn doesn't have much to do after we've established that the Doctor isn't really a monster.
I thought it was a mistake to obscure the voices of wonderful guest stars like Anneke Wills and Ian Hogg with quite so much voice-processing.
The Galyari are warlike and heavy-handed, but they're not Daleks. Yet the Doctor has terrified their people for generations (albeit originally in a good cause) then almost negotiates a peaceful settlement within minutes of trying. Wouldn't he have tried much earlier, since he obviously has regets about how drastic his actions were in fighting them off at their first meeting?

Ah, a story about the relativity of stories. Revisionism, biases, the uncertainty of historical detail... Your side, their side, the truth...

I really, really like it. It's incredibly brave. Particularly with an incarnation like the Sixth Doctor whose actions still give us pause from time-to-time. I always picture it in my mind's eye with claymation and puppetry like The Dark Crystal, there's such a distinctive soundscape for these cast of characters. I don't know how to describe it, but there's this foreign film quality to the Clutch and the Galyari. It's so richly textured and the story's very nuanced and thoughtful. The Doctor returns to the Clutch to frighten the Galyari into submission every so often, but in doing so, has ended up creating a mythos that's taken on a life of its own. It's a story that goes: "Yes, yes, lives were saved and evil was thwarted. The Doctor triumphed... and then civilisation marched on." It's very interesting sitting in as an audience member, the story going: "Who do you believe? The Galyari or Evelyn?"

I think it manages to beat The Trial of a Time Lord at its own game in how it's all about the nuances. Evelyn's shock at his behaviour and her condemnation of his actions are left fairly obvious, but nestled in there are these lovely little moments of charm that keep things from becoming too alienating. There's this lovely little bit of acting, for instance, when the Doctor hears about the recent attack on the nursery from Shol. You can just hear the facade slip and just a scene later, the Doctor's blustering has started moving towards investigating these mystery killings. Behind the mask, there's this genuine concern for the Galyari and it's as much a little nod from Colin Baker as it is the writer. As such, his moral outrage at Voshkar at the end feels very much like the closing of a circuit.

Here is our Sixth Doctor, rallies Big Finish. Battered, bruised, but not unbowed. Does he have the capacity to be grotesque? Yes. Is that who he is as a person? Not even remotely. Some serious kudos to Forward for managing to do the hardest part of the journey: try to turn us against the Doctor and then effortlessly bring us back by the end. Walking that tightrope between retaining the alienness of his character and still keeping his most Doctor-ish traits intact.

It's a wonderful success and a wonderful release. Very recommended as an informal "season finale". And just in time for a golden Jubilee.

Spoiler ...

I absolutely loved this, as I did Simon A Forward's other stuff for Big Finish. Russel Stone's music, sound design and the whole idea of The Galyari. Colin's performance tipped things over the edge for me a bit though. Fair enough, the Doctor appeared to 'go bad', but for the first and only time in BF, I felt that Colin hugely over-played the EVIL (capital letters to echo the performance). Other than that - why don't we hear from Simon Forward at BF anymore?

Ah! Thank you

Great stuff. Some terrific world-building and the Doctor is presented well. Only drawback is amidst all this Evelyn doesn't get much to do.