Doctor Who: Dark Convoy

Writer: Mark B Oliver
Director: Lisa Bowerman
Script Editor: Michael Stevens
Cover Illustration: Mark Plastow
Music & Sound Design: Toby Hrycek-Robinson
Producer: Michael Stevens

Read by Sophie Aldred
Released July 2015

Stories set during the Second World War are tenapenny in Doctor Who, and not exactly unfamiliar to the seventh Doctor and Ace, so to break new ground on both counts is something of an achievement. Dark Convoy sees the TARDIS landing on a British warship in the Arctic circle, its occupants quickly becoming embroiled in a moral dilemma.

As is traditional, the Doctor and Ace soon become separated, and the latter ends up heading out into open waters in a rowing boat to rescue survivors of a sunken vessel with the former remains at the Captain's side, nudging the bigger picture in the right direction. This is a succinct portrait of each's natural habitat but writer Mark B Oliver never makes a point of it, suggesting an affinity for these characters.

The prose is supple and leads the listener through a variety of well-researched locations. It is occasionally over-earnest, bombarding the audience with names of every soldier going and cutting narrative corners to signpost which archetype they might fit, but on the whole this is a compellingly written Short Trip from Big Finish Productions. The Doctor and Ace, as previously mentioned, are well-captured, Dark Convoy winning this listener back round on the Sylvester McCoy incarnation after Project: Destiny was so comprehensively off-putting that it has taken several months to listen to any of his stories.

The music and sound design are expertly woven into the story, thanks to strong direction from Lisa Bowerman, with the score being especially accomplished. The foley chosen usually works well but a couple of scenes stand out; for example, a commotion in the mess following a call to action stations sounds more like someone gradually packing away chairs in a village hall. Sophie Aldred's reading is good enough, capturing the Season 25 spirit of Ace and the Doctor particularly well.

Much better than I remembered, Dark Convoy is definitely one of the stronger Short Trips, which seem to be quite firmly good or bad, without much middle ground. Within the space of a year, Mark B Oliver wrote one of the strongest Iris Wildthyme episodes, Dark Convoy, two Confessions of Dorian Gray, and hasn't been heard of since. I do wonder what happened because on the strength of this, he had a lot more to offer. Dark Convoy won't set your world alight but it's a compelling way to spend an immersive half-hour.