Arrangements for War

"Innocent news reports breed instant panic."

Writer: Paul Sutton 

Format: Audio

Released: May 2004

Series: Main Range 57

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Evelyn

Synopsis 

Onboard the TARDIS, nerves are strained.

After escaping the Forge and the murderous clutches of Nimrod, the Doctor and Evelyn have things to talk about. The Doctor's attitude towards death is a subject that these days is too close to Evelyn's heart, and eventually she demands to be set down somewhere where she can be free of him for a while. 

And so they come to Világ, where the Doctor's meddling lands him in the middle of a truly dangerous liaison and Evelyn meets a man who wants to change the course of her life forever. 

Love is everywhere. But then war is too.

Is it time for Evelyn to leave the Doctor? Or is the choice about to be taken out of her hands?

And who is to say what is the beginning and what is the end of love?

Verdict 

Arrangements for War was a brilliant audio adventure and arguably one of the most significant of the 57 adventures that I have thus far listened to on my exploration through Big Finish's Main Range of stories. There's no big return of a past villain. There's no regeneration. There's no alteration to the TARDIS team. But I would argue that this story has the biggest exploration into a character in the entire Classic era, or at least what I've covered of it so far. Evelyn and the Sixth Doctor both have a huge amount of depth added to their characters here and after the emotion and horrors that occurred in Project: Lazarus, the pair finally realise that what they need more than anything is each other. The ending of this audio is really nice in establishing that and it was only at that point that I was convinced Evelyn would be remaining as companion. I did have more than one thought that this was her final adventure and I think one benefit of being this far behind in the Main Range run is that I am absolutely spoiler free and I really don't know when companions will come and depart. Just take the arrival of C'rizz in The Creed of the Kromon for example - I had no idea a new companion was joining the Eighth Doctor and Charley so that added a lot to the story. Had Evelyn departed here, I think it would have added a lot to the story and offered a different perspective in reflection on its events. This story was quite a long one (I mean in terms of the length over which it took place, not the two hours running time which is pretty much the norm for a full cast Main Range adventure) and I think it definitely allowed Evelyn the time away from the Doctor that she needed. In saying that though, it also allowed the Sixth Doctor some reflection on recent adventures such as Doctor Who and the Pirates and the aforementioned Project: Lazarus where people needlessly died. The Doctor could understand why Evelyn was upset with his actions and apparent lack of grief but as future incarnations have coined, the Doctor doesn't have time to stop and grieve. I must admit I was on the side of the Doctor in regards to that here as with all the death that he has seen in his lives, I wouldn't want to stop and think about. Moving on is his way of dealing with it and I think Evelyn should try and understand that. Evelyn though wasn't in her best condition after the revelation about her heart and I think it's extremely intriguing to have an elderly companion who is dying. It's going to be interesting to see how the Doctor deals with that because it will be new to him. Evelyn found a way to deal with everything that here though in Rossiter who she grew to be extremely fond of, and the feeling was definitely mutual. He was a really nice guy and the relationship he had with Evelyn was excellent and exactly what she needed. The setting of Világ was really good and it seemed the perfect place for relaxation, that was until the Doctor meddled and turned what was peace into a war and the needless deaths of two more young people. The relationship between Mortund and Krisztina was fantastic and it was clear from the start that the pair were immensely in love with each other. The Doctor and Pokol's relationship was much different though as they really did share many indifferences. I thought Suskind was pretty good and whilst it was very important to have a good plot around the development of both the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn, it was the relationship between the TARDIS pairing that this story was all about. I'd love to go into its many similarities with Game of Thrones but I'll spare that. The Doctor and Evelyn hugging at the end was a great end to what has been turbulent times for the pair and I think in future stories they will both be stronger characters as a result. 

Rating: 8/10