Doctor Who Reviews - "The Dalek Contract" And "The Council of War"
THE COUNCIL OF WAR rating: 5
At the Doctor's request, Sergeant Benton is investigating ghosts and missing people in Kettering, while undercover as a local councilor. And that's how he comes to meet Margery Phipps. An alien incursion in the town hall leads them on a journey to a terrible future where Margery discovers how she changed a world, and the life of a whole civilisation hangs in the balanceSTARRING: John Levene (Sergeant Benton), Sinead Keenan (Margery Phipps) Good ole Sergeant Benton. He was always a sturdy background character who may not have done much, but what he did do was generally pretty neat. He started out in the Second Doctors era, rose to prominence during the Thirds, and largely vanished after that. Thankfully, hes back in audio form, for this, the finale of the second-to-last season of the Companion Chronicles. I very much enjoyed this story. The feel was that of a nice secret agent-type plotline from almost any 1970s TV series, and it was a role that Sergeant Benton fills nicely. It was good to see him getting his moment in the sun, and it was a bit of a surprise to notice that this was the first time the character had been on his own, as well as, from what I can tell, the first time Levene had worked with Big Finish. He did a truly excellent job, and though the CC line is coming to an end, I do hope theyll find a way to give him more work. Perhaps in the Second Doctor early years line thats coming up. As for the plot itself, while the outcome was a bit more timey-wimey than I would have liked, and while the whole thing put me in mind of a certain original series Trek episode, I still really enjoyed it. Its nice to see the Law of Unintended Consequences explored, especially as that is something that Who in general tends to leave aside. All in all, a very good story and a good purchase. If youre a fan of the Third Doctor and want a good place to start with some CC stories, this is a great choice.