Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Philip Martin

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: January 2014

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 20th January 2014

Future Britain is bankrupt, its corporate owners facing financial ruin. Fortunately, the Universal Monetary Fund, and its slimy representative Sil, are willing to give its President a multi-billion credit bail-out... but terms and conditions apply, and Sil's proposed austerity measures go far beyond mere benefit cuts.

Responding to a distress call, the Doctor and his companion Flip land in a London whose pacified population has been driven largely underground. But the horrors down there in the dark are as nothing to the horrors that await them at ConCorp HQ, where a young biochemist in Sil's employ is working on a permanent solution to the nation's terminal unprofitability.

Because in the final account, Sil plans to make a killing...

* * *

Written as a direct sequel to Mindwarp, Antidote to Oblivion has a lot more in common with Philip Martin’s first entry for Doctor Who, Vengeance on Varos, and that is both its strongest and weakest point.

Like Varos, Antidote to Oblivion has a strong political message this time, focused rather bluntly on the economy and financial crisis. I say bluntly as the story is so obvious with what it is discussing you can almost see it being pointed out by red flashing headlights throughout. 

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it allows for a very enjoyable run of black humour even if the plans of the Government become somewhat ludicrously insane towards the end. I assume what Martin is getting at is that desperation can make even the most moral of people commit the most monstrous acts. 

Whatever issues I had with the story I cannot say entirely the same for the main cast.

Colin Baker plays the Doctor fantastically and his interaction with Sil really brings out the very best of the Sixth Doctor’s character.

As for Sil, played wonderfully once again by Nabil Shaban, he lifts the whole piece up. Shaban’s delightfully slimy and villainous performance is the real highlight of the whole story. 

Lisa Greenwood returns as Flip and despite a spirited performance she is let down somewhat by the material. At times she is reduced to generic companion dialogue throughout the script but Greenwood is so charming in the role that you can overlook it. Flip is certainly one of the best companions Big Finish have created and I want to see much more from her, especially as she was so good in her first run of stories in 2012.

Despite some great performances from the supporting cast, their material is not as interesting as when the action shifts back to the main characters. That isn’t to say the material they work with is bad, on the contrary it is interesting but because Sil’s presence is so huge in the story that whenever he isn’t around I found my interest waning.

Antidote to Oblivion is not a bad story, but it feels at times that Philip Martin is treading on much too familiar ground. If you like Martin’s previous Doctor Who stories then you will not be disappointed. I was just hoping for something more.