The first half of To the Death is light on action and heavy on exposition. Everyone explains what's going on to everyone else, and what turns out to be going on is actually a call back to 2009's Patient Zero, a sixth Doctor and Charley adventure also written by Nicholas Briggs. This choice feels... odd to me. Briggs wants to create a universe-scale cataclysm (setting up a parallel to "Journey's End" to further the ones with "The Stolen Earth" I noted last time out), but in suggesting that this cataclysm will rise from an entirely off-stage threat from an entirely different part of Big Finish's Doctor Who range mutes the threat somewhat. Given that the stated intention of using the Daleks in the last New Eighth Doctor Adventure was to echo their appearance in the first one, Blood of the Daleks, a call back to that story would have been more appropriate instead. It doesn’t help that the Dalek plan is (as usual, admittedly) complete nonsense.

Once the Daleks catch up to our heroes and things begin happening, though, To the Death livens up a bit. It’s almost impossible to discuss this story without spoilers, so I’ll keep it vague: I was surprised. Seriously surprised. Big Finish has a track record of never quite going through with things like this, so for it to happen here is quite astounding, and overall it works. I do have one big quibble: as in many Nicholas Briggs stories (Patient Zero, Blue Forgotten Planet, Wirrn Dawn, The Vengeance of Morbius), the Doctor feels weirdly ineffective here. Sometimes that can work (it does very well in both Sword of Orion and Embrace the Darkness, for example), but for that to happen to the eighth Doctor in the last story of his range is quite unfortunate.

The NEDAs have been around for four years now, and though I've often had mixed reactions to them, I'm still kinda disappointed to see this showcase for my favorite Doctor going. That said, they became stale towards the end, and I'm glad that Big Finish is moving on to a new setup for the eighth Doctor before the whole thing is run into the ground. Appropriately enough, then, To the Death provides a mixed-yet-enjoyable conclusion to the range.

You can read a longer version of this review at Unreality SF.

To The Death is a moderately satisfying end to the fourth season - taken on its own terms, rather good, though not quite as good as I was hoping for. (Then again, most Who finales leave me feeling that way.) It wraps up the story of the second Dalek invasion of Earth started in Lucie Miller, with much drama, death and destruction.

More with spoilers here:

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1685490.html ( )