Doctor Who: Project: Lazarus (2003)
Cavan Scott & Mark Wright
Big Finish #45
Starring: Colin Baker, Maggie Stables, Sylvester McCoy
Two years before this release, in Big Finish’s monthly catalogue, (and previously reviewed here), came the Sixth Doctor story Project: Twilight. It was a wonderfully macabre story about vampires and a secret institute in the heart of London. At the end of that story Cassie, one of the guest characters, had become infected and the Doctor left her in Norway while he found a cure for his vampiric illness. Project: Lazarus, then, is the sequel to that adventure, and Cavan Scott and Mark Wright, writers of the previous adventure, have something shocking in store.
Before listening to this release I had not seen the CD cover nor read anything about it and it would seem a shame to spoil the third episode’s big surprise, but considering its on the cover, I may as well: this is not just a Sixth Doctor story, it is also a Seventh, and yes, they do meet. Not since the very first Big Finish release have we had two Doctors in one tale, and it is wonderful, after the traumatic events of episode two, to see the two Doctors revelling in one another’s company. At least until the Seventh’s suspicions are raised, and suddenly everything is not as it first seems.
There are plenty of surprises in Project: Lazarus, and it is a tough release to review without spoiling its delights. Sufficed to say, then, I enjoyed this release a great deal: there is the humour we’ve come to expect from this range, and the horror. This time, though, unlike the previous release which remained in the confines of a seedy London district, Project: Lazarus becomes cross-country/time adventure, and consequently some of the menace that made that first story so engaging is lost here. The sheer giddiness of episode three, however, more than makes up for this lack.
There are some wonderful set pieces in Project: Lazarus and images that are wonderfully realised: a helicopter airlifting the TARDIS across the Norwegian landscape, the final confrontation between Nimrod and Cassie, the Two Doctors meeting again: but what one is left with at the end of Project: Lazarus is questions – what did happen to Cassie’s son? Has Nimrod escaped? And just who is in control of The Forge when we hear the computer awakening at the end? Scott & Wright seem interested in story continuum, not ending, but if the story is as vibrant and exciting as the first two instalment have been, then I sincerely hope they produce more.
