Big Finish: The Companion Chronicles - Old Soldiers Review
The Brigadier recounts one of his war tales in this Companion Chronicle. But did it offer enough blood and thunder, or was it just a storm in a teacup?
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| The CD cover for "Old Soldiers", designed by Simon Holub. |
Starring Nicholas Courtney & Toby Longworth.
Written by James Swallow.
Directed by Nigel Fairs.
One of the most beloved characters in all of Doctor Who history was, of course, the Brigadier. Despite seeming like a character who wouldn't fit in a Doctor Who story, the Brig rapidly became a fan favourite thanks, in no small part, to a wonderful performance from the late, great Nicholas Courtney. His relationship with all the Doctors he encountered was truly a highlight, and it was only natural that he was a big part of a large number of early Big Finish releases. And one of the most interesting of these is "Old Soldiers", one of the earliest Companion Chronicles. Focusing on the consequences of leadership and responsibility, this is a story that packs a huge, understated emotional wallop. As well as exploring aspects of UNIT that weren't touched upon on TV in the 1970's, this provides us with the Brigadier's definitive look back upon his time with the Doctor, and, in particular, his true thoughts and feelings about the man who changed his life in so many ways.
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| The late Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, in a promotional photo for "The Claws of Axos". |
The basic plot of "Old Soldiers" sees the Brigadier following a desperate call for help from an old friend, Colonel Konrad, to a German UNIT base where ghosts are appearing in the walls, and the Colonel has been driven out of his mind. Something has been unleashed which threatens the world, and only the Brigadier and the Doctor can stop it. I love this basic premise: it taps into a number of themes the TV series was playing about with at the time, and builds up UNIT as an international organisation, which, at the time, the show could only really do to a limited degree. What's nice about this story is that it moves Lethbridge-Stewart into the position of lead, and shows off the Brigadier's intelligence, without the Doctor. He is able to investigate a problem, even if he does need the Doctor to understand the more technically minded aspects of what's going on. Occasionally, I think the Third Doctor's era did sometimes lean into making the Brigadier look a little dim. Here, however, his razor sharp intellect is on display, and writer James Swallow allows the Brig the chance to take centre stage. Through the Brigadier's investigations, we also get to see not just his intellect, but also his fierce moral core. He is naturally appalled by the events at Kreigskind, and that's what sets him so apart from other soldiers we see in Doctor Who. He knows that, despite the terror that UNIT faces, the one thing he won't allow to be lost is his humanity, and he fights for that. The story focuses upon this aspect quite a lot: the morality of conflict, and whether it is acceptable to sacrifice some, or all, of ourselves in order to defeat an enemy. Like all the best drama, this doesn't really posit an easy answer to that question, instead preferring to leave it to the listener to make their own judgement. Of course, we know where the Brigadier stands on the issue, and this is what makes this a perfect story for the character. The Brigadier is forced to examine his own choices, his own judgements, and work out whether he has made the right call. It's what the Companion Chronicles excel at: putting their lead characters under the spotlight, and seeing what makes them tick. Added to that is plenty of atmosphere that makes this a compelling listen, and an examination of the fallout of "Doctor Who and the Silurians", and this story is very much onto a winner. A story like this is perfect for examining the consequences of something so devastating like the end of that story, and it fills in a key gap that the show never touched upon much afterwards. What makes this particularly interesting is that, this time, we are viewing the consequences of the decision from the Brigadier's side, rather than the Doctor's, which is the point of view one would expect people to go with. Instead, James Swallow looks at a man who, on the outside, is cool and collected about the choice, but, on the inside, has to live with what he has done, even if he thinks he made the right choice. Maybe it's the reason why you never see anything like this happen again during the UNIT days. As well, Swallow makes the 'ghosts' interesting and a little bit different from the usual fare: there's no clanking chains, or legions of the undead. There's something a little bit unsettling about them, especially once the revelation of their true origin is discovered.
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| The Third Doctor and the Brigadier, in happier times - in fact, a promotional photo for "Terror of the Autons". |
As well as the Brigadier, we get a whole host of other characters populating the story, all of which make unique contributions to the narrative. Konrad, the Brigadier's old friend, is one of the most interesting: a man so strong willed, he managed to survive a terrible ordeal, but it cost him that iron will to do it. In many ways, what makes Konrad interesting is his similarities to the Brigadier: he has the same devotion and dedication to his men, but he has been steered down the wrong path by men like Schrader. Toby Longworth pulls double duty in this story, as both characters, and is able to differentiate each one well enough so as not to pull you out of the drama. It helps that each one is written with enough distinction, so Longworth is easily able to pull off such a challenge. Schrader is the perfect establishment figure: clipped, short-tempered, and refuses to accept any challenge to his world. But underneath, Longworth gives him this added dimension, just a slight tension in the voice that makes him sound very afraid, of both the ghosts and the responsibility that's been forced upon him. Other than the two military officers, the only other two characters are really the Brigadier and the Doctor. Nicholas Courtney is as wonderful as you would have expected: his rich, fruity voice brings this type of story to life perfectly, and his impression of the Third Doctor is pretty good as well. Courtney gets the right qualities of Pertwee's voice in order to produce quite a decent mimicry, and, together with James Swallow's pitch-perfect characterisation, helps to bring this Doctor back to life. And, of course, Courtney returns to the role of the Brigadier like he had never been away. It's such a shame that, after this story, he only had the chance to record one more Companion Chronicle, as I think he would been one of their finest narrators otherwise. He has all the right qualities to turn this story into a great fireside drama, and director Nigel Fairs draws all those qualities out at the right time. It's a wonderful bit of work that ties all the great elements of this story together, and that includes the wonderful sound and music work from David Darlington. Darlington is a long-time composer for Big Finish, and, as such knows exactly what will and will not work on audio. Unlike "The Blue Tooth", he treats this like a full-cast production, and, as such, this has a full soundscape. It does make a difference, even on a story like this, as it just helps to immerse the listener even more in the story and everything that is going on.
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| The Brigadier got the chance to appear in the show one last time in 2008: alongside Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) in The Sarah Jane Adventures story "Enemy of the Bane". |
Overall, "Old Soldiers" is easily my favourite story from the first two series of the Companion Chronicles. It showed all the potential of what the range would become in future seasons, while giving a much-loved character and an even more-loved actor the chance to do something very different to the standard fare both the Brigadier and Nicholas Courtney were probably used to. A smart and intelligent script, pared with two consummately skilled actors and an amazing production combine to make a memorable story that shows more sides to the Brigadier than many other stories before it. For anyone who loves the Third Doctor (as I do), you cannot afford to miss this one. It is simply standout, and still, to this day, is a high point for the Companion Chronicles range.
You can get "Old Soldiers" from Big Finish Productions' website:
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