Big Finish The War Master Series 5 Hearts of Darkness review

In February 2020 Sir Derek Jacobi and Paul McGann reunited at Moat Studios to record the fifth box set of The War Master series: Hearts of Darkness. It’s an epic four-hour space opera co-written by David Llewellyn and Lisa McMullin who have created a complicated and audacious story that jumps back and forth in time as the Master is recruited by the Celestial Intervention Agency to track down the Doctor.

I really can’t believe it’s been 11 years since Sir Derek Jacobi was in Utopia from series 3. His layered performance as Yana, impatient, fussy, ingenious, almost kindly and then those last ten minutes the switch to cold hatred, upon opening the fob watch,  had me convinced he was a Master to be reckoned with. It was with regret that his tenure seemed over so quickly. This boxset, therefore, is a welcome addition to expanding further on this Master’s life before he hid as a human.

“Recruited by the Celestial Intervention Agency to track down his oldest enemy, the Master finds himself thrown into a mission that will take him into deepest Dalek territory. Abandoned on the planet Redemption, he assembles a crew and acquires a ship – the journey that follows is certain to test them all… and not everyone will survive. But space pirates and living corpses are the least of their worries. Their biggest threat remains at large: A Time Lord who likes to call himself ‘the Doctor’.

5.1 The Edge of Redemption

I should say the pre-credit sequences for each of the adventures are particularly strong with moments where you just want to know more. I loved the instant build-up of intrigue as Narvin ( played by Sean Carisen) gave the Master the mission to seek, locate and maybe destroy the Doctor.  Although the Master seemed more than willing to undertake the mission with an absent Tardis to find. There was a certain symmetry and I did get classic Who tingles of Tom Baker’s Doctor being recruited by the Timelords aka Genesis of the Pepperpots.  The Master is given a card with a million credits to gather his crew and it just reminded me of the teleport ring. Edge of Redemption is a setup story in a lot of ways but its a sparky script from David Llewellyn.

Assembling the Master’s crew was actually a lot of fun to listen to as we meet some peculiar and wonderful accomplices in Captain Morski, Kricket and Ilya. on a heist style adventure.  It also raises interesting ideas which go through the boxset about how people are displaced in war and the morality that takes over them to survive. Redemption is defined as the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil or the action of buying one’s freedom and Edge City on Redemption is a lawless place and some displaced refugees can’t wait to get off the planet.

Find the Doctor… stop the Doctor… and if necessary, kill the Doctor!

Naric 

5.2 The Scaramancer

Lisa McMullin writes the second story as the Master escapes into space with a crew abroad on the Domdaniel spaceship on his way to the Lahar system. The Master meets trouble in the form of more than one woman who knows him or of him including a space pirate called the Scaramancer named after a dragon. I like that the Master’s reputation seems to precede him. These pirates have a far more brutal reputation than the 1960’s tv counterparts and there’s a battle of wits for everyone to survive. Guns and sabres are drawn as the treasure on the ship is something far more valuable than gold and riches. There are flashbacks to the past to a terrible place called the Siege of Saracasar and there are some unexpected revelations as the Master meets an assassin called Dorado.

Morski now would be a really inconvenient time for you to die

The Master

5.3 The Castle of Kurnos 5

David Llewellyn takes over writing for the third instalment and we are pulled away by Sir Derek Jacobi’s narration from the Domdaniel and the larger Time War damage to the recent past and to the person as its revealed how the Master and the Doctor became interconnected in their latest adventure on Kurnos 5. The quasi-medieval planet is a bleak wilderness and an unexpected change of pace. It’s in many ways a traditional gothic tale of windswept landscapes, unethical men and experiments on the local inhabitants. Paul McGann takes charge as our main character in this story and brings a worried tone as the Doctor on the trail of the Master. He is working with a temporary companion Kilda, a village elder. It’s a personal quest for Kilda with high stakes for her family.

At this point, I should add plaudits to composer Ioan Morris for some stunning music suites for each episode. Each of them is really evocative and haunting. I don’t know if he also wrote the War Master’s drumbeat episode music but I love the variation on the main Doctor Who theme. When the 8^th Doctor finally confronts the Master it’s a well laid if diabolical trap that falls into place. The Master’s hero-worship of a Gallifreyan scientist is pushed to the limit. The Master is quite terrifying and Jacobi’s evil laugh just send shivers down your spine. The Master and the Doctor together in the same place doesn’t go well or unnoticed as the Celestial Intervention Agency arrives to arrest the Master.

5.4 The Cognition Shift

So, we arrive at the conclusion of the boxset on the planet Nastrond, a “nasty” planet of the corpses which King “Kirios” rules. Lisa McMullin concludes the boxset as the Master and the Doctor are finally set to meet again after the events on Kurnos 5.  The journeys from The Edge of Redemption and The Scaramancer now slot into place as the Master and his companions of fortune, land in a god-forsaken place. Paul McGann and Derek Jacobi are fantastic playing different aspects of their characters. Their confrontation becomes rather epic as the action moves apace and the cognition shift plot explodes into action. The story sets up some future events as well.

What I really liked so much is this boxset could have just been the Doctor and the Master squaring off against each other again with the rivalry that’s developed with each encounter. There is a bit of that as they are two former friends, on opposite sides but in some ways, the Master and the Doctor are aspects of the same coin. They know each other so well now that they can anticipate each other’s moves so the events are part of cause and effect. Paul McGann can do no wrong in my eyes as the curious anti-war 8th Doctor and Derek Jacobi carries his Master beautifully with all the skill and experience of his acting years.

The Master’s wit at times really makes me like him but then there are switches to a lack of compassion where he is completely untouched by the spectacle of destruction and displays a cruel indifference. As my introduction to the War Master series its a seamless transition from tv to this audio. Jacobi plays his character with the same impatience and vast intelligence we know he has but its moderated because the Master needs the help of other people to get what he wants. Derek Jacobi really understands the Master has a block of ice where his soul should be.

The Daleks are mentioned but not seen which is something I’m really pleased about. I mentioned before how I don’t think they work purely on audio as something of their presence is missing. There is time spent through the characters we meet with an exploration of how the ripples of the Time War affect the worlds on the fringes of the universe. Having four hours to explore that impact produces an interesting study of emotional depth to the story. The actions of a Timelord can change lives irreconcilably. Most of the supporting characters are victims of one type or another. Characters rise. Some characters fall.  Others are entirely untouched and go with the flow.

The supporting cast is very strong and I particularly liked Colin McFarlane’s Morski, smuggler, captain of the Domdaniel, a crewman with the Master who appears in three of the four episodes. A questionable view over his morality at times but he goes anywhere for the right price. Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo plays the Scaramancer with huge gusto and energy which I loved. The Scaramancer and also Ilya, are hugely damaged, bitter, angry people. They are playing strong women in spite of what they have gone through. The glimpses we get of their pain are raw and for the Scaramancer her guilt never goes away so she has to face her choices later.

In conclusion, this is a boxset that would encourage me to go back and buy the earlier War Master series. To describe the plot of Hearts of Darkness in detail, if you haven’t heard it already. would ruin the enjoyment for you dear reader but there are plenty of twists and turns It’s a bit like when you see The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie in the theatre and you’re asked not to give away whodunnit but I hope you will be wanting a second listen to Hearts of Darkness straight away.

If you’ve already listened to this story what did you enjoy most? Post your comments on here, the BBBP Discord server or on Twitter. Let’s talk!

Sir Derek Jacobi shines with Paul McGann in a mind-bending story with so much to enjoy 8.5/10