In Remembrance

"No one fights a Dalek and lives."

Writer: Guy Adams

Format: Audio

Released: July 2018

Series: Class Vol 2.02

Featuring: Ace, Miss Quill, Charlie

Synopsis

When an alarm is triggered at Coal Hill Academy, Quill and Charlie encounter a mysterious intruder prowling around school premises. Worse, they also encounter a Dalek. Their only hope of survival lies with the stranger: a woman who calls herself 'Ace'...

Verdict

In Remembrance was a fantastic story to conclude the second volume of audio adventures of Class from Big Finish! I must admit that I’ve been taken by surprise with the first two boxsets of the spin-off range and whilst I actually expected stories featuring all of the main cast together, the approach of splitting everyone up makes sense considering the episodes are set between stories we saw on television. I’m a big fan of Miss Quill and it was fun to have her alongside Charlie for this finale given their troubled and complicated relationship. They were investigating mysterious goings on at Coal Hill and I loved the idea of someone breaking past the school alarm, but Quill had her own alarm system in place because she would be interested in anyone that could bypass the traditional systems. I thought that was fun and really strong characterisation. Finding that the person who broke in was Ace was delightful and it was excellent to hear a familiar voice from the world of Doctor Who in this series. With Ace barely introducing herself, a Dalek also tore through the tear to arrive and really give credence to the episode! Quill seemed to have extensive knowledge of the Daleks which was great and Charlie not sharing that, showing no fear because he didn’t think the Daleks could even conquer stairs was magnificent. Of course, given the connections this story had with Remembrance of the Daleks and the historic permutations that had for the Daleks and stairs, that was really nicely done. Ace and Quill laughed at his comments because they knew just how deadly the Daleks were, but before they could continue their humour Charlie was taken through the tear! On the other side he was met with a destroyed Dalek on the other side along with a soldier guarding. It was wonderful to have him going back to 1963 at the time of the Dalek battle that took place during the Seventh Doctor era. I thought the relationship between Quill and Ace was very strong and definitely a highlight of the episode, with their connections to the Doctor being very different indeed. I liked how Ace realised the Doctor that Quill knew would be different to her own incarnation, and it was lovely for Quill to show some sort of respect or acknowledge she was impressed by the fact that Ace had attended the Academy on Gallifrey. I think there’s a lot of potential for Quill’s character in the wider Doctor Who universe but I’m not sure I’d be in favour of her featuring heavily elsewhere given the recast of the actress. Ace realising that she knew where Charlie went because the displacement was effecting her memory and she recalled meeting her during the time of the Hand of Omega ordeal. I was really impressed with Sophie Aldred differentiating the age of her characters seamlessly, and it was fun for her to meet Charlie again as her younger self. The Dalek being from 1963 was superb and provided a lot of potential. Quill’s sentiment to the Doctor and not being a fan of what Ace described to her about his actions with the Hand of Omega and how it started the Time War was intriguing, and it was a little difficult to argue with really! The ingenuity of the Dalek in researching on the internet and accessing UNIT files was tremendous and it soon gathered what occurred during the Shoreditch Incident. That set in play its course of action and wanting to change the past based on the knowledge gained from the research! That was impressive and I liked how even Quill admired the effort. Charlie seeing a police box in 1963 and thinking it was the Doctor’s TARDIS was delightful and a lovely throwback to The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith. Quill continued to provide humour with Ace’s plan of the deodorant can to destroy the Dalek was marvellous and just a lot of fun! The Dalek attempting to appeal to Quill by offering the chance to get Charlie back was good, and you could tell she was accepting with gritted teeth given her inner turmoil. But it was better than death! Quill linking Daleks to men who like to brag about their genitalia and how they’re often misleading was amusing and a nice way to keep with the adult them. She helped the Dalek and even wrapped Ace up in a hose to ensure she didn’t interfere, but she did have a safety net by refusing to repair the Dalek’s gun following Ace’s explosion. Quill going back in time with the Dalek was a little surprising, but she knew it would die anyway and that’s exactly what happened in quick fashion given the divide in the Dalek ranks! I thought that was slightly risky and a little bit like cheating from a writing perspective, but it was nice to know she had a plan all along to get Charlie back. Overall, a brilliant adventure to conclude the series!

Rating: 9/10