Reaching the third story in the Classic Doctors New Monsters series, the focus turns to the 7^th Doctor, as he faces his formidable villain from NuWho. Arriving on a Pharma Corp satellite planet, his instalment lands him in the middle of a worldwide hostage situation.

The Sycorax have invaded, and they are out for blood!

In the far future, humanity has a remedy for everything. Whatever the problem, Pharma Corps has the answer and a designer disease tailored to every human’s blood-type. Zanzibar Hashtag has no need to be sad, scared, stressed, or depressed ever again.

That is, until vicious aliens arrive on her space station intent on opening its Vault. What will it mean for the human race if the Sycorax take control of what’s inside?

And when the Seventh Doctor arrives on the scene, can he convince Zanzibar to care about her life long enough to help him?

Big Finish Synopsis

Placed after Judoon in Chains, Harvest of the Sycorax had the unenviable task of following a stellar development of the CDNM concept. To its credit, however, the story does start on the task rather admirably. Goss’ pitch for a Sycorax sequel comes with some interesting plot ideas. Having the Sycorax hold a bank-robbery-style hostage invasion for the key to every possible human genetic code is an inspiring mashup. More than that, though, it also fits perfectly with this fighting force’s motivations, as they exploit weaknesses in other species’ DNA, turning it into a weapon.  

While these are interesting concepts, the story never gets past the façade of these ideas. As The Doctor is introduced and the story moves into the main body of action, it quickly becomes apparent that there wasn’t any substance beyond the first spark of genius.

Those who end up suffering as a result are the Sycorax. Bloodthirsty warriors with little interest in mercy, they remain one-note throughout their second appearance. Their only moment of development (if you can call it that) is having their language translated via the TARDIS. However, I’m not sure that giving them goofy-sounding voices in English helps this story’s case.  

Elsewhere, the story also struggles with its other themes surrounding overmedicating for normal emotions. During the adventure, we learn that the members of Pharma Corp medicate themselves for any strong cause of emotion or pain. Through the Doctor’s companion for the episode, and on-planet resident, Zanzibar, these themes crop up as she learns to live without these medications.  As she adapts to these new swings of emotion, her journey does a good job of identifying the necessities of having a full emotional range. However, the parallel this journey intends to create with broader societal issues is never fully explored. As it stands, it comes across as quite superficial, intent on blame rather than exploring the underlying cause.