Doctor Who: Antidote to Oblivion

Writer: Philip Martin
Director: Nicholas Briggs
Script Editor: Alan Barnes
Cover Illustration: Damien May
Music & Sound Design: Fool Circle Productions
Producer: David Richardson

Starring Colin Baker & Lisa Greenwood
Released January 2014

The opening of this new trilogy of Doctor Who audios from Big Finish Productions sees Flip (Lisa Greenwood) having to drag Colin Baker's sixth Doctor away from a well-deserved rest and into the story practically kicking and screaming. Frankly he would've been better off staying put.

A shallow look at a future Earth that doesn't offer half the intrigue or nuance of William Gallagher's Wirrn Isle, the closing story in this pairing's first trilogy, Antidote to Oblivion is a real chore to get through. With stilted dialogue where characters end every sentence with the name of whoever they were talking to and a plot with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, this is not even popcorn fodder. 

The basic story is that a few centuries from now, Britain is no longer a country but a company, ConCorp. Faced with the problem of overpopulation, the President has enlisted the help of Sil, from TV stories Vengeance on Varos and Mindwarp, and he in turn has in tow the daughter of genetic scientist Crozier from the latter. Together, these two plan to create a virus that will wipe out 90% of the population - for a fee of course. 

This idea in itself is not irredeemable but the execution is severely lacking. The virus requires a Time Lord's DNA or something, which is how the Doctor gets roped into the matter, and this basically takes well over two hours not to happen, as we know it won't. Sidelines such as an infected water supply and a couple of vapid locals only serve to delay matters. Given this is supposedly built around a showdown between the Doctor and Sil, they have very few scenes together and most of the ones they do are just Sil showing up just when the Doctor thinks he's escaped. 

Lisa Greenwood seems more comfortable in the role of Flip but the character as written often sounds stilted and out of place. This is far from Flip's story but Greenwood still makes the most of a severely underwritten part. Nabil Shaban returns once more as the slippery Sil and almost single-handedly energises a production which is otherwise populated almost exclusively with hushed tones and lofty conversation. None of the remainder of the cast make much of an impression, though Dawn Murphy hams it up sufficiently as Crozier's daughter Cordelia that she too could have stepped straight from mid-eighties Doctor Who.

The standout performer, as ever, is Colin Baker. Accustomed to making the best of a bad lot and having long since honed his characterisation of the Doctor to his liking, he rises above the material here to keep the four long episodes listenable.

The remainder of the production is good enough, though the score is often overly grand. And it seems I can't go two minutes without Nick Briggs popping up as some lacky or other lately (often the same one by the sound of it).

Crass, protracted and above all boring, Antidote to Oblivion has little working in its favour. As a company that has perfected the art of mining fans' nostalgia, it is hardly surprising Big Finish want to bring back the only villain originated in the Colin Baker era that he faced twice. But it would seem that is not enough to hang a story on, at least when it means Philip Martin is in tow. I only listened to this again as part of my trawl through the Lisa Greenwood stories, and safe to say it was my last time.

If anyone wants the CD I'm open to offers.