Battle Scars

"You were dreaming about the war."

Writer: Selim Ulug
Format: Audio
Released: July 2019
Series: Short Trips 9.07

Featuring: Ninth Doctor

Synopsis

Nightmarish memories of the Boer War. Crippling debts. An unconscious stranger in the garden. Arthur Daniels is beset with problems. Little does he know that his proposed solution could be the biggest problem of them all: a voyage to America aboard the RMS Titanic.

Verdict

Battle Scars was an excellent audio adventure that explains a really quickly little anecdote in Rose. The fact that Big Finish can put together a whole story to show how the Doctor came to meet the Daniels family in 1912 based on one picture from the first revived episode is just extraordinary and it does have me questioning if there is anything they can't turn into a story! I'm not entirely sure on how early this fits into the chronology of the Ninth Doctor, but with the dreams of war and how he seemed to crash land and display some semblance of post-regeneration effects by being out cold for a decent period of time, I'd like to think that this was set shorty after the events of The Day of the Doctor where we saw the War Doctor regenerate. There's just one little loophole there and that might be with how quickly the Doctor would have readopted his name as he uses it immediately. Connie was an absolutely tremendous character and I adored her relationship with the Doctor. It didn't take him long to come to the conclusion that she was fantastic and it was really nice for that to be the case. One thing I have to mention negatively about the story was Nicholas Briggs and his impression of Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor. It really wasn't great and seemed to be far too generic of a northern accent, but thankfully his narration was excellent and it made the story a thoroughly enjoyable one. Meeting both Arthur and Edith was good and I liked how the pair differed on their reactions to the Doctor and how he was getting to know Connie. The 3 April 1912 setting being established was terrific and I liked how that didn't seem too significant at first. The business rivalry of sorts between Arthur and Spence worked really well and seemed to fit right into the era of the early twentieth century. The former was in a spot of both with his business and finances borrowed off the latter, but I wasn't expecting it to have been created by alien technology! The idea of Spence acquiring an alien device from Cardiff was very good and obviously something that had found its way through the Rift. Connie's humour was wonderful throughout and it was lovely to hear how she was both a polite and well-mannered young lady that was also a little mischievous. The Doctor's reaction when invited to stay and finding out that the family were set to voyage on the Titanic in a week's time was magnificent because you could instantly just feel his inner conflict. After everything that had happened recently in the Time War, the Doctor didn't want to play god again. But then Connie provided an incredible metaphor that would allow the Doctor to save just one family, perhaps foreshadowing events in The Fires of Pompeii, as what if a dozen cats were due to hunt a hundred mice. Connie would save all she could and that's where the Doctor saw the light in a marvellous moment. She really was an outstanding character. The Doctor pondering of how memories of war can harm in its aftermath was quite powerful and the links with his personal involvement in the Time War and 1912 society still having the Second Boer War firmly in their memories were great. The Doctor going with Connie to investigate the damage to her father's ship, the Newcastle, was intriguing and I liked what was found. The Doctor was in full inquisitive mood and quickly found that Spence's offices were the only buildings overlooking Arthur's ship. I also loved how fascinated Connie was with the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor going to confront Spence about the damage he had obviously inflicted was good and it was nice for Connie and him to talk Spence into giving up the loan and paying for repairs to Arthur's ship. The concept of business coming before war sentiment was quite shocking, but the Doctor invoking fear by knowing the powers of the alien gadget and operating it on low power worked well. The conclusion of the audio was terrific with the Doctor leaving in the TARDIS, but he didn't let Connie stay empty handed. He'd left behind a copy of The Time Machine, a book I am desperate to read, and an incredibly helpful inscription letter where he told her to always be fantastic. He also revealed that he'd taken the family's Titanic tickets and we heard their reaction to the newspaper report that told of the Titanic's sinking. That was a very powerful moment. The Doctor had his second chance to make things better, and now the Daniels have a second chance as well. Overall, a fantastic audio adventure!

Rating: 9/10