Doctor Who: Once and Future – A Genius For War – Review

Once and Future, Big Finish’s Sixtieth Anniversary celebration for Doctor Who continues with A Genius for War, this time with the Seventh Doctor confronting Davros and the Time Lords, who are currently being ravaged by the Time War.

Jonathan  Morris kicks the story off with the Doctor being summoned to Gallifrey by The General, played by Ken Bones and Veklin, played by Beth Chalmers who have received a summons for a rescue by none other than Davros, demand that it is the Doctor who comes to his aid. Davros has been imprisoned by the Daleks on the prison moon of Falkus, in exchange for his rescue, he’ll offer a way of ending the Time War, of course, this is something that the Time Lords can’t refuse.

Unlike the previous story, A Genius for War is pretty action-packed. While The Artist at the End of Time worked because it was a quieter, character piece, this story works because it is the opposite of that. On the surface, this is just another Doctor vs. Daleks story, but Morris makes sure there is plenty more going on here than just that giving us bigger ideas and more moments of contemplation as the Doctor, The General and Veklin have to face their parts in the Time War and what they’ll become.

Of course, Davros isn’t as sincere as he might sound and his plan is surprisingly unique and Morris ties it into the plot thread of The Hybrid from Peter Capaldi’s era of the show, actually helping that plot thread make sense as Davros tries to put Time Lord and Dalek DNA together to create a new species, proving that one isn’t better than the other. While the Hybrid arc wasn’t entirely successful on television, here Morris makes it work as part of a celebration of the entire history of the show, no mean feat!

Sylvester McCoy and Terry Molloy are in fine form too, delivering some very powerful interactions, thanks to the strong material that Morris gives them both. There is certainly plenty of history to chew over as the pair constantly try to outwit one another, this is easily one of the best Davros stories from Big Finish in a long time.

While A Genius for War might not be as rich as The Artist at the End of Time, it is a great improvement on the opening series, exploring more of the degeneration weapon that struck the Doctor at the beginning of Past Lives. This is a tight plot packed with a lot of great ideas, excitement and action which Jonathan Morris handles effortlessly. McCoy puts in a fine performance and Molloy is never anything other than excellent as Davros.

If the rumours of McCoy leaving Big Finish and retiring are true and this is going to be his last interaction with Davros and the Daleks, then A Genius for War is a great way for the Seventh Doctor and his arch-nemesis to duke it out for one last time.

You can pick up Doctor Who: Once and Future: A Genius for War on CD (including digital) for £10.99 and on digital for £8.99 now from Big Finish.