Excelis Dawns

"I will accept that unique destiny which is coming to me."

Writer: Paul Magrs

Format: Audio

Released: February 2002

Series: Excelis 01

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Iris

Synopsis

That terrible old reprobate and transdimensional adventuress Iris Wildthyme has gone and locked herself up in a nunnery on the savage world of Artaris. Here she is discovered by the Doctor and the reasonably brutal warlord Grayvorn. Together – with a peculiar nun they pick up en route – they must travel the forests and swamps of this ghastly world in Iris's double decker bus in order to tussle – to the death – with a horde of flesh-eating zombies for a mysterious and holy relic of unfathomable value and questionable pedigree. 

But what is the Mother Superior's part in all this?

Verdict

Excelis Dawns was a really good adventure to kick off the Excelis saga! I have been really intrigued by this collection of stories for quite some time and here I am twenty years later finally listening to it. I like the idea of a recurring theme and visiting at different points in time with a different incarnation of the Doctor, so starting here with the Fifth Doctor was really strong. I loved the dynamic of having Iris Wildythme with him in essentially the role of companion and it was a stellar debut performance from Katy Manning in a role very different from her usual one of Jo Grant. The hints at the relationship between them in the past were just so much fun and it's delightfully unique to hint at something of love for a Classic Doctor. Peter Davison and Katy Manning gelled brilliantly together and the Doctor-companion dynamic was present in an extremely fun way. It was a little odd for the Doctor to have affection to someone wanting gin on their shopping list and always wondering where her cigarettes were. That brought a decent sense of realism but she just seems so far away from being Gallifrey. Her double decker bus TARDIS was terrific and the Doctor helping repair it and just have a little sideways hop into the Vortex was really good. I enjoyed the setting of Artaris and the prominence of Excelis as the mountain was intriguing. I was not actually expecting it to not be the main focus of the setting, but Artaris sufficed well. It was quite poignant to take Grayvorn into the future by a millennium and see Excelis reduced to nothing, and I was a little surprised by the Doctor's actions in believing that this future could still be changed. That seemed a shift in the usual tactics. Jolene was a strong character and her being a fellow sister worked well. The Doctor's reaction to hearing Iris was in the guise of a nun was magnificent, but his stunned one to her claims of being there at events such as The Web Planet, The Three Doctors and The Invasion of Time was brilliant. I'd love a bit more backstory to her claims there as that has a great potential for a fun alternate adventure. I'm also going to have get reading Iris's adventures too as the idea of her and seven incarnations in the Death Zone at the hands of Morbius sounded magnificent! Grayvorn was a strong character and I enjoyed the narrative style of him and the Doctor leading it, but the narration didn't persist which helped. The search for the relic that was the Beloved was really good and I loved the idea of it being concerned with the afterlife. This story taking place during the events of Frontios for the Doctor was fun and the impact of Earthshock still being felt by the Doctor following Adric's death was really well done. At this point, he was at least willing to listen to the concept of afterlife. I thought it was a bit cheesy that the Beloved turned out to be a handbag that belonged to Iris that literally contained Heaven and Hell and an artefact she'd misplaced a long time ago, but it did spark a fun reaction from the Doctor. The tussle at the end resulting in death and the artefact long gone once again was an intriguing move, especially with the reveal at the end that Grayvorn and Jolene were far from dead. The enigmatic nature of Mother Superior worked well as well and I hope that gets expanded upon as the saga rolls on. Overall, a great audio! 

Rating: 8/10