{"id":40631,"date":"2024-01-29T00:20:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T00:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/?p=40631"},"modified":"2024-01-27T14:24:30","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T14:24:30","slug":"reviewed-big-finishs-the-war-master-solitary-confinement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2024\/01\/29\/reviewed-big-finishs-the-war-master-solitary-confinement\/","title":{"rendered":"Reviewed: Big Finish’s The War Master — Solitary Confinement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Russell T Davies created a new Doctor so he could have David Tennant and Catherine Tate acting together again, and Big Finish arguably went one better in 2023 by reuniting another all-time great combination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the ninth release in the War Master<\/em> range, titled Solitary Confinement<\/em>, Sir Derek Jacobi got to play the Master against Si\u00e2n Phillips as Mendrix. Fans of both of their careers, or of the history of British television drama, will know they appeared in I, Claudius<\/em> together way back in 1976 to much critical acclaim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having an actor as legendary as Jacobi onboard already lifts every War Master<\/em> release, and pitting him against Phillips again makes Solitary Confinement<\/em>, which has four different writers for its four episodes, an even more thrilling listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The start of episode one, The Walls of Absence<\/em>, is stunning with a great musical score supporting the Master\u2019s well written monologuing before the titles come in. After that, the audience is introduced to Mendrix, who appears to be playing a grandma. How sweet! Except we know this is a War Master story, and Phillips is an actor known for gritty roles. And just as those thoughts come in, their characters meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A beautiful amount of detail is put into the pair\u2019s lines, with the Master as trustworthy as he could possibly seem. He knows who Mendrix is and what she does, so he clearly has a hidden motivation, and you don\u2019t need the ego of the Master for that to come out as Phillips gives Mendrix such an aura of brilliance that you know she\u2019s already figured it out and is entertaining the Master\u2019s limited patience while she tries to return to grandparenting duties. There\u2019s no action here, but it\u2019s two acting greats making you hang off their every line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s then an abrupt scene cut, putting the power-playing between the two in a totally different position; in a new setting, Mendrix is now in something very far away from grandma mode. And she has some bad news to deliver to the Master.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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