the TARDIS displays

its preference for the

grimy, the odious and

the dangerous ONCE

AGAIN. finding himself

lost and alone in the

dark heart of a HUGE

spaceSHIP, the Doctor

has no IDEA that a

cosmic catastrophe

is waiting to happen...

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Last of

the Titans

JANUARY 2001

(1 EPISODE)

The first Doctor Who Magazine freebie is a whimsical yet

moving tale. Sylvester McCoy narrates the half-hour story himself

(just as Paul McGann did in the TV Movie) and it works very well indeed in this medium, especially given that the Doctor is travelling alone and initially has no-one to talk to. In fact, certain elements of this story reminded me very much of the TV Movie, particularly the writer’s characterisation of the world-weary seventh Doctor and the breaking of the teacup at the end.

Nicholas Briggs writes and directs this one, as well as starring as

the main protagonist, Vilgreth, and so it comes as little surprise that the episode is a moody and atmospheric piece set in the bowels of a ‘Planet-Eater’ (a gigantic spaceship capable of devouring entire planetary systems). Briggs has to be given a lot of credit for Vilgreth,

both in the writing and the performance. A resurrected ‘Titanthrope’,

Vilgreth is portrayed as a kind and sympathetic figure, a prisoner of

his own tragic nature. Having this huge, lumbering alien entity speak

with a West Country accent is a bit hard to swallow though - once

the initial amusement has worn thin, the voice begins to irritate.

Nevertheless, Last of the Titans is surprisingly impressive for a magazine giveaway play and acts as a wonderful trailer for Big Finish’s seventh Doctor audios. McCoy, as ever, is brilliant as the sombre and brooding Champion of Time, even without a companion for him to manipulate. The inclusion of the first episode of Storm Warning on the CD is an added bonus and serves to whet the appetite for the eighth Doctor’s arrival on audio. All things considered, Last of the Titans is a fantastic little gift, gratefully received.

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

This play’s blurb offers no guidance as to when it takes place and there is no conventional production code to assist us. All we have to go on is that the TARDIS console room is described as being the TV Movie version, placing it between The Settling and Cat’s Cradle: Time’s Crucible, during the “Klein Trilogy”, or post-Excelis Decays. Considering the tone of the piece, we feel that the latter is much more likely.

As the authors of Project Lazarus have stated that their story takes place after Excelis Decays, Last of the Titans has been placed in the next available slot.

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