To close out Classic Doctors New Monsters’ second boxset, we’re back with the 8th Doctor and his Time War chronicles. Unlike other stories in the series so far, however, Big Finish decided to do something different with the concept and create a loose sequel to Night of the Vashta Nerada, an earlier story from the set.
Landing on the secretive Synthesis station, the final story sees the 8th Doctor up against a very familiar foe, one that has now been weaponised for war.
As the Time War rages, Cardinal Ollistra of Gallifrey seeks to create ever more dangerous weapons to deploy against the enemy.
When the Doctor stumbles across Synthesis Station, he discovers that the Time Lords have sponsored a project to weaponise already-lethal creatures. But in doing so, Eva Morrison and her team have unwittingly used a colony of Vashta Nerada with a very unfortunate history of humanoid contact.
The Doctor finds himself leading a desperate race for survival, in which the shadows may be the least of their worries…
Big Finish Synopsis
Day of the Vashta Nerada makes for a fantastic final act. Part claustrophobic base-under-siege, part reflection on the amorality of war, it manages to add to two different strands of EU lore without detracting from the actual story.
For the most part, the horror aspects of this story are solid, if not particularly groundbreaking. As you might expect from this genre, the story sees its cast fighting for survival as they navigate a scientific research station filled with Vashta Nerada swarms, only to be picked off one by one. It’s a simple plot, but one that Fitton doesn’t waste, as he adds from what was built from the Vashta Nerada’s original TV and prequel appearances.
In this story, the Vashta Nerada have had several upgrades in preparation for their deployment in the Time War, from increases in size to an elimination of their aversion to light. Adding these new dimensions to their fear factor helps not only with the horror the story tries to convey but also keeps these antagonists fresh, as they’ve made multiple appearances with the same abilities by this point.
What elevates this story from simple horror, however, is something that I’d never thought I’d praise a story for using: a Time War background. As the Doctor investigates the Synthesis station’s experiments, the question of ethics crops up surrounding the morality of manipulating a species for the sake of saving lives. It’s a morally grey area, which is something that the Time War does well, especially when it comes to divisive opinions of Ollistra’s pragmatism and The Doctor’s unwavering principles. It’s an interesting debate throughout the story that adds a much-appreciated layer of complexity, even if the story muddies this argument by keeping the Vashta Nerada as merciless killing machines of anything and everything in their path.
In many ways, Day of the Vashta Nerada mirrors its earlier prequel. Both have elements of horror and a penchant for killing their cast members one by one. What sets this adventure apart, however, is how it builds on the Vashta Nerada’s abilities and how it layers complexity on its simple storytelling by adding the moral (or perhaps amoral) underpinnings that come from a horrific event, such as the Time War. All of which ultimately creates an unmissable adventure.
My Rating: 9/10
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Check out the previous review in this range, The Carrionite Curse.
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