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The Fourth Doctor Adventures #6.2
Doctor Who: The Eternal Battle
The TARDIS has landed in a war zone. The Doctor, Romana and K9 find themselves traipsing through an inhospitable battlefield. Strange lights flicker in the sky, and stranger creatures lurk in the darkness.
When rescued from an attack by a Sontaran tank, the time-travellers discover they’re facing a far more dangerous foe than the battle-hungry clones. This terrifying fight has been going on longer than anyone can remember… and shows no signs of stopping.
With the TARDIS missing and their luck running thin, the Doctor and his friends’ only hope of survival is to uncover the truth about what is happening on this planet. If they can discover the secret of the eternal battle they might just survive… but it might just mean the end of them all.
When rescued from an attack by a Sontaran tank, the time-travellers discover they’re facing a far more dangerous foe than the battle-hungry clones. This terrifying fight has been going on longer than anyone can remember… and shows no signs of stopping.
With the TARDIS missing and their luck running thin, the Doctor and his friends’ only hope of survival is to uncover the truth about what is happening on this planet. If they can discover the secret of the eternal battle they might just survive… but it might just mean the end of them all.
Audio CD
First published March 31, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 17, 2017
One of the best Romana II and 4th Doctor adventures I heard. They were both captured beautifully. Wonderful bickering and teaming up against the Sontarans. Tom was at his cranky season 18 best. K9 and Romana were fabulous together as always. John probably had the best lines (don't tell Tom). Though Dan did a wonderful job, and stole the show on more than one occasion (grenades). A fantastic and different Sontaran story. Humans and Sontarans fighting each other and turning into zombies and solved in a very Tom Baker's Doctor way. Definitely one I'd recommend.
April 5, 2020
This is another in a number of Sontaran-themed stories that Big Finish brought out at roughly the same time. As in the others, it manages to make more of the race than simple foils or comic relief. In this case, it doesn't do so by adding anything new to them, but by presenting them as the victims of the situation, fighting off the real monsters on a distant planet.
This could quite easily have been a pro-military story as a result, and, indeed, much is made of the Sontarans' heroism and code of honour. (One is reminded a little of the way Klingons were often treated in Star Trek: The Next Generation). But, in fact, it's a story about the futility of war, with the real foe being unstoppable by anything as simple as shooting at them and even the potato-headed warriors being worn down by the pointlessness of it all.
Romana and the Doctor share about equal parts of the story, which also features K9 in a smaller role that mostly consists of him being over-literal about things. The obvious gender-imbalance necessitated by using the race of cloned warriors so prominently is partially offset by having most of the few non-Sontaran guest characters be women, although these are minor parts without much depth to them.
Whether the final resolution is also a weakness is likely a matter of taste. It's the sort of thing that's entirely appropriate for '70s Who but that feels dated over forty years on. Homage or cliche? It's probably both, but for me, this and the dialogue between the Doctor and Romana are capturing the feel of this era of the TV show's existence. Which surely is the point.
This could quite easily have been a pro-military story as a result, and, indeed, much is made of the Sontarans' heroism and code of honour. (One is reminded a little of the way Klingons were often treated in Star Trek: The Next Generation). But, in fact, it's a story about the futility of war, with the real foe being unstoppable by anything as simple as shooting at them and even the potato-headed warriors being worn down by the pointlessness of it all.
Romana and the Doctor share about equal parts of the story, which also features K9 in a smaller role that mostly consists of him being over-literal about things. The obvious gender-imbalance necessitated by using the race of cloned warriors so prominently is partially offset by having most of the few non-Sontaran guest characters be women, although these are minor parts without much depth to them.
Whether the final resolution is also a weakness is likely a matter of taste. It's the sort of thing that's entirely appropriate for '70s Who but that feels dated over forty years on. Homage or cliche? It's probably both, but for me, this and the dialogue between the Doctor and Romana are capturing the feel of this era of the TV show's existence. Which surely is the point.
October 12, 2020
Love this series. Just absolutely love it. Great production value, great stories, wonderful voice actors.
September 10, 2021
Rating between 2.5 & 3
Not a bad listen or story I think but not one that is likely to either stick in my memory or be listened to again
Not a bad listen or story I think but not one that is likely to either stick in my memory or be listened to again
December 29, 2023
Sontarans vs Zombies is much better than the Dalek Zombie story. Like goddamn, this was so fun. Maybe I have a thing for Sontaran Stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2024
More engaging than I expected it to be.
August 16, 2020
The Fourth Doctor Adventures is a range where it tends to have somewhat generic but enjoyable stories but it's little tales like this that really show how brilliant this range can be alongside King of Sontar, Trouble With Drax, and The Perfect Prisoners, but this one, in particular, is my favorite!
An absolutely brilliant story filled with an eerie atmosphere whilst showing a whole new side to the Sontarans that being fear and it's also wonderful to see The Fourth Doctor befriend a Sontaran in this which I thought was strange but wonderful! Some terrific ideas in this with some brilliant characterization for The Doctor and Romana as well as the Sontarans. There is plenty of wit in this whilst also being a bleak story. 10/10
An absolutely brilliant story filled with an eerie atmosphere whilst showing a whole new side to the Sontarans that being fear and it's also wonderful to see The Fourth Doctor befriend a Sontaran in this which I thought was strange but wonderful! Some terrific ideas in this with some brilliant characterization for The Doctor and Romana as well as the Sontarans. There is plenty of wit in this whilst also being a bleak story. 10/10
April 5, 2022
The Doctor and Romanna land on a planet where there is a never ending war.
April 1, 2017
I really enjoyed this, great adventure with old doctor foe with zombies!
And very funny, tom knocks it out the park as does lala & john
And I love the cast interviews!
I've seen lower ratings for this god knows why, I thought it was great
And very funny, tom knocks it out the park as does lala & john
And I love the cast interviews!
I've seen lower ratings for this god knows why, I thought it was great
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews