Conflicts of Interest: The Edge of the War

"If things are fixed then everything is broken."

Writer: Jonathan Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: April 2023

Series: Fifth Doctor Adventures 5.02

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis 

France in the summer of 1936. The village of Villy is in a state of contentment, tinged only slightly with unease. A kilometre away, construction is underway on a large underground fortification, part of the Maginot Line project which has seen the building of a series of defences against future invasion.

A young artist has arrived in the village to paint the landscape. Her name is Nyssa and she has taken a room in the local inn, run in its owner's absence by a young Australian woman called Tegan. But she's not the only newcomer. A detective called the Doctor has just got in from Paris. And he has quite a mystery to solve...

Verdict 

The Edge of the War was a very strong story to conclude the Conflicts of Interest set of Fifth Doctor Adventures! This has been a really enjoyable set with the new approach of having two three-part stories which worked very well here. Of course, I’ve still got the Interludes bonus story to come from the set, but for the main focus this was great stuff! I’m always a fan of a war theme and whilst this story wasn’t actually set during wartime, 1936 is a precarious year in European history with the Nazis in full control, the impact and effects of the First World War still felt and the Second looming. It was a good setting for interference in time because of everything that could be changed, but from the first part that wasn’t actually the way I thought the story was going. I thought part one was excellent and definitely the strongest of the three with Nyssa and Tegan stealing the show in roles they weren’t entirely sure were theirs. Nyssa nearly slipping up and naming Tegan was a fun moment when they were acting differently, with Nyssa positioned as an artist and Tegan running a bar. That was really good and their respective meetings and relationships with Barbier were nicely done. He was quick to offer newcomer Nyssa a tour of the local sights but also wanted to make time for Tegan which was nice for her. She was quick to pounce on his interest in Nyssa though as she wasn’t convinced he would’ve made the same offer if she wasn’t a pretty woman as apposed to a middle aged man. I could hardly blame him! I actually thought the arrival of the Doctor was the catalyst for the story dropping from being superb to merely great which is ironic and very unfair on Peter Davison. His Fifth Doctor is fantastic but I think more time with Nyssa and Tegan playing their roles would have been beneficial. Once the Doctor arrived we knew the illusion would soon be up and we’d be working towards a solution, but I actually preferred it before that. The concept of a time meddler in the form of the Count was fantastic and whilst I thought the cliffhanger to part one was quite underwhelming with the Doctor just asking what was going on, the one at the end of part two where the Doctor seemed to add everything up in deducing that the Count was a Time Lord and the mansion his TARDIS was terrific. The truth soon after in part three was even better though as the Count had no idea what a Time Lord was! That was not what I expected to hear and I’m surprised how much I liked that considering my love of the Doctor encountering Time Lords. Meeting a new one would have been good but I think it actually worked better for the Count to just be from the future and coming to the past to save a small village was a better story. It had more meaning. I thought some of the guest characters here were really strong with Jean-Baptiste an obvious standout. His turn at the end shocked Tegan which was quite the turn of events as the truth continued to come out. The concept of time reversing was brilliant and that obviously had the Doctor worried considering Madama LaChappelle had lost count of how many times it had been used. The village was now in torment as they couldn’t be left to peace or to die with things just getting reversed time and time again. Her realisation of her wrongdoings was good and she had a strong heart to heart with the Doctor at the end. The Doctor overloading the brilliance machine of the Count’s was good to see it destroyed and the clutch loosened on the village. Tegan was only on the edge though so time was reset rather differently for her. By the time the TARDIS re-emerged for the Doctor and Nyssa to get to safely, she had been waiting for a year! That was an extraordinary finish and I can’t quite fathom how she would have been feeling to be left behind again. I wonder how that will play into any future boxset featuring this trio. Overall though, this was a really good audio!

Rating: 8/10