It was more surprising still when he then agreed to pop along to Big Finish and expand on his brief TV appearance and take us into the Time War itself. If Big Finish had wanted the BBC to cast an audio-friendly Doctor then they really couldn't have asked for a better choice, Hurt's voice alone is enough to make you stand up and take notice and is perfect for this troubled and battle-scarred Time Lord who refuses to take his name. Whilst it's undoubtedly sad that he's gone, it feels like we were very lucky to have Sir John in the Tardis in the first place.
The news will make the upcoming release of Casualties of War all the more poignant as these three adventures will, presumably, be his last in the role. As that approaches I decided to pop Agents of Chaos back on for a second listen.
As usual, spoilers will follow. There are enjoyable plot twists to be had in this box so it's well worth listening before you read this, or anything else, about the stories.
Agents of Chaos begins with The Shadow Vortex by David Llewellyn. I was probably anticipating this tale more than most since I'd read that it was to be set in Cold War Berlin. Not only did I really enjoy visiting Berlin, but I'd also studied the period a little bit and thought it was ideal fodder for the War Doctor's adventures.
On first listen I couldn't help being a little disappointed, however. I was left feeling a little cold (no pun intended) and wasn't sure the events really mined the potential to be had from the setting. Not only that, but I was put off by the accent of Kruger, played by Timothy Speyer. This felt far too 'Allo 'Allo! for my liking (apologies for the dated cultural reference) and detracted from the seriousness of the action.
Yet, on this second listen, my mood had thawed a little. The accent still feels like an unnecessary caricature and that's especially a shame since the character of Kruger himself really isn't two-dimensional. Llewellyn has offered us a fairly rounded Stasi officer who is far from a generic 'bad guy'. The War Doctor sees enough good in him to enlist him as an ersatz companion and we briefly get to see into the mindset of a man traumatised by his own experiences in the Second World War, someone who can't bear to be a teacher because his pupils remind him of the soldiers who died in that conflict. I'd argue that this complexity and richness of character is lost behind the accent but it should be applauded nevertheless.
The story itself involves the Doctor's attempts to thwart the efforts of Agent Zannis - ably played by Neve McIntosh of Madame Vastra fame - who is working for the Daleks. The choice he has to make to end her plan shows the ruthless side of this incarnation as someone who, albeit reluctantly, has to make tough choices to fight the war.
The tale ends on a decent cliffhanger, with Cardinal Ollistra taken prisoner. This sets up the rest of the box, with the following two stories more closely linked.
The Eternity Cage brings the Sontarans to the party. I might be alone here but I thought it was refreshing to have the Sontarans back as a militaristic warlike threat after the jollity of Strax that we've become accustomed to in recent times. It's quite fitting that they should want to muscle in on the fight and they come perilously close to doing so.
Andrew Smith's story keeps us guessing long enough about how they were able to harness time weaponry and capture both Ollistra and the Dalek Time Strategist (who share a fun exchange as respective plotters). There's an ongoing thread of suspicion about both this and whether there's a 'mole in the camp' for the Doctor and his rescue party that keeps you on your toes throughout.
Eventually we learn that they are manipulating the power of a Time Lord who is 'stuck' mid regeneration...and that they're less in control than they thought. This all leads to another moral dilemma for this most put-upon of Doctors, leaving him to weigh up the least worst of the resolutions. The fact that he rails against his choice shows he's still the same character deep down.
Also in this story we're introduced to Kalan, a young native who helps the rescue team with the sort of wide-eyed innocence of a Lord of the Rings character. His description of the Sontarans as 'moon heads' and the Doctor as 'grey beard' adds a certain fairytale element to the events that is fun and thrusts Kalan into the 'short term companion' slot.
This is certainly a box set of twists and cliffhangers and the Eternity Cage again leaves us on a bombshell. This time we learn that the villain in the camp is actually Honeysuckle Weeks' Heleyna, the Cardinal's right hand woman and she literally kicks the Doctor out of a Battle Tardis to (apparent) certain death.
Of course, he's scooped back into the Battle Tardis at the start of the Eye of Harmony, by Ken Bentley, for the finale. This is a taught, character-driven story in which the Doctor and Kalan team up to track down and stop Heleyna (who now has Ollistra hostage).
It's all set inside the Battle Tardis - think Journey to the Centre of the Tardis but better - and sees Heleyna try to help the Daleks destroy the source of all of the Time Lords' power. There's a fair old chunk of pseudo-scientific gobbledygook here but if you can stay with it - and I just about managed it - there's a sufficiently epic air about the whole thing to carry it off.
Heleyna makes for a well-rounded character and we learn that this is her attempt to reverse the Time War and bring back her grandfather, a pacifist who railed against starting the conflict in the first place. There's a nod back to the first box and Ceratrix here and it's good to have a villain that we can sympathise with. It's a nice role for Weeks too who, until the final story, was very much playing the sort of role she's known for in the likes of Foyle's War.
It all makes for a fairly bleak ending really, with the Daleks thwarted but Heleyna dead and Kalan also dying. In his attempt to save his young companion, the Doctor even draws the Daleks and the conflict to another innocent world. A thought he's left musing as the box comes to a close. It's clear from his mood here that the Doctor is closer to the state of mind we find him in during the Day of the Doctor; desperate to end the suffering that the Time War is bringing to so many worlds and innocent people.
Overall, Agents of Chaos is another highly entertaining foray into the events of the Time War, playing neatly with the idea of double agents and their motivations. I'll even forgive that accent as a result.
Sir John may have left us, but not before leaving his mark on Doctor Who. His classy performance here is a real treat to enjoy and celebrate.
Catch up with my reviews of the rest of the series with the links below:
Only The Monstrous
Infernal Devices
