Main Range 40: Jubilee (spoilers)

Week 4 of the Evelyn listen through

notthebigfinishforum.freeforums.net/thread/4220/cocoa-cake-cd-evelyn-listen

Dark humoured, tense, suspenseful, Martin Jarvis chewing the scenery & a unique cleverly weaved Dalek story with a twist, 9/10

It was an interesting story, but I never really got the connection to the TV story. To me, the TV story is quite different.

I think that actually worked well for me here, with the two of them ending up seeming much less tritely one-dimensional characters than they easily could have for it. (Also, I'm getting the feeling that if I were to dwell on things a bit more, I'd probably discover an under-appreciated poignancy to much of this). Bravo to both the author and to the performers that I manage to find a story like this as tremendously engaging (and moving) as I have.

Just listened to this story. It was another one of the 99p downloads that I got in the sale last month. Although Jubilee has been on my list of stories that I've wanted to hear, I had deliberately put it off as I'd seen the TV episode upon which it was based and didn't really come away from that viewing feeling totally enamoured. As a result, I put any listening plans on the back burner (probably far, far longer than I initially intended).

I found Jubilee a bit like the Holy Terror - a deliciously dark satirical piece that makes the listener think. For me, this is what makes Doctor Who (or any piece of drama/literature) worth investing time in. Although the themes of nationalism, patriotism were still relevant in 2003 - I found the whole premise of Jubilee (the English Empire trading off of a victory in 1903) far more relevant in the post-Brexit era than it probably would have been upon release. Without getting into a a political rant (or drowning the Board in politics), the approach of Rochester's government in promoting the Jubilee was very akin to some of the ideas and commentaries that have been spouted since 2016 and the Brexit Referendum. It is quite conceivable that just as Rochester uses fear of the Daleks to keep his brutal regime in power, 'fear' of a variety of other things (terrorism, immigration, poverty, etc.) are used by politicians to support their view of Britain either 'in' or 'out' of the EU.

Similarly, the way in which the story gets the reader to think about the 'portrayal' of History and the 'heroes' and 'villains' within it, is effective. The discussion between the Doctor and Evelyn at the start of the adventure about the role of history and depiction of historical events is well developed here. The Doctor is able to see, quite effectively at the end, that dismissing the Daleks as 'evil' is a clumsy stereotype and the speech (given effectively by Baker) in Episode 4 is striking in comparing the worst of the Daleks with the worst of humanity and pointing out the extent to which the ideas of the Daleks are not that different from the worst aspects of humanity. The reaction of the Doctor to seeing his athletic and muscular physique atop of the Nelson's Column statue is also nicely done and shows that even heroes can be portrayed a little bit too simplistically. Again, with the use of social media (especially the use of Twitter and hashtags) - the story demonstrates the danger of trying to simplify people into the categories of 'goody' or 'baddie' - things are more complicated than that.

For Baker, whose Doctor was seen as 'shouty', 'aggressive' and 'unpleasant' - his character change and development demonstrates nicely how the Sixth Doctor should have been shown. He never loses his moral compass and the outrage he shows, even though he doesn't trust the Daleks, again supports what a great Doctor he could have been. Stables is excellent as Evelyn Smythe and shows what an influential force her character is in developing and, restoring, the Sixth Doctor. The chemistry between the two actors is fantastic and a real joy to hear. It also shows how the Sixth Doctor could have positive relationships - yes they argue, but it is based on respect for each other's intelligence and knowledge. The Doctor never bullies Evelyn here (as he does in the TV episodes) and the scene where the aged Doctor explains he continued to talk to Evelyn's skeletal remains 'until they moved them', underlies the importance of their relationship.

Jarvis comes across excellent on audio. His portrayal of Rochester is quite exhausting to listen to. Personally, I think Rochester comes across as quite, quite mad and shows the extent to which absolute power has corrupted him. There are far too many examples to show the extent to which he is simply mad and I never found the character sympathetic. Even during the Dalek Invasion the idea of him 'enjoying' being a victim shows a shallow, weak and self-centred man, who cares for little else. Miriam is little better and, whilst I like the scheming aspect of her character, it would have been great to have seen her develop her alternative regime a bit more - an excess of coloured bunting isn't exactly a reason for a revolution.

The use of the Daleks works here. The single Dalek, alone and without orders, is just as frightening as the millions of others that exist waiting to exterminate the universe. The fact that Evelyn and the Doctor are the only ones who actually 'fear' the Dalek makes a solid point about trivialising and banalising evil. I found it interesting that the Dalek actually 'respects' Evelyn for fearing it and wish this had been developed more in the dialogue. The pure cunning of the Dalek is shown by the way it manipulates events and gets Lamb to kill Farrow - power is about getting people to do things you would be willing to do yourself. The Dalek's logical point about wanting to switch one group of humans for another is also interesting and just shows the extent to which the characters underestimate the seriousness of the threat. It is great to see an alternative approach with them that harks back to Whittaker's approaches in Power/Evil - the Daleks are more than just 'exterminating' machines.

Great release. Far, far better than the 2005 Adventure. I should have listened to this earlier! It is also a good start to an experimental year of releases for Big Finish.

I bought this in March 2014 when i first discovered the MR 1-50 £2.99 Downloads. It was one of the first three Downloads I chose and it was listening to this that I could not believe what a treasure trove of past releases i was missing. I found it dark and a bit grim (the Doctor as a Prisoner with no legs to prevent his escape? - ugh), As a slice of alternative history it was well realised and commanded my attention too well - i have not felt a need to re-listen to it since though, which is unusual, given my tendency to revisit certain discs over those on the to-do list.

I have since spent over £2,000 on Big Finish (got carried away with the £5 sales back when the postage was 50p), and generated too much of a back-log. That's not a boast - i suspect it's conservative to what many on this forum invest in the range, and I have reined it in this past year to just the occasional release, Like J&L Series 2 for £3.96 to keep them in business. I suspect that the more you have, the more there is 'on-tap' that not all get the attentiveness and concentration on listening that I gave to this and the earlier CD only releases that I bought occasionally from 2003. Perhaps it's just that i have had more on my plate these past few years work wise, but i miss listening to the likes of Jubilee, Spare Parts, Storm Warning and -yes - Chimes of Midnight and being blown away by the way in which they stood out as amongst the best Doctor Who Classic Series and yet no one bar fans had heard of them. Every dozen or so released there are classics like these, that are more than bread-and-butter Doctor Who (not a criticism) but not so clever that many struggle to keep hold of the proceedings. Jubilee keeps it distinctive, memorable and clearly plotted so that you stay engrossed without the audience having to 'pay attention there at the back' for fear of feeling slow witted.

So - yeah - it's a good one isn't it?