Omega

There are lots of things I could say about audio play Omega. One of them is "hmmm". Another is "er...". And also that there are spoilers, big spoilers below.

The kindest I can be is say it tried to do something very good, not very well.

Its working on a smart premise - that Omega did somehow survive with the Doctor's body, and bits of his mind into the bargain. Along the way, its trying to say something about the nature of fact, fiction, storytelling and history, how they intersect and how we perceive them. Or something. Which is a smart thing for a time travel show to work with, and they do have some interesting things to say, but I never felt engaged. An underlying theme should be subtle, not thwacking you over the head.

I've always liked the idea of Omega. He's a raving loonie in Three Doctors who commands no sympathy; in Arc of Infinity, he comes over better. This should have redressed the balance. It didn't. The performance was good, but I still feel this is a character that deserves another chance.

Part of this was the very bizzare twist that revealed the Doctor had not been in the house for the previous three episodes. Once I had it worked out, the story got rattling a bit more, and I daresay the rest would be more interesting in retrospect. Omega's brain-breakdown was one of the most compelling parts - confronting the voices, flashbacking to yet another version of stories we'd already told, all with his voice flickering between the two actors.

I spent quite a lot of time feeling I'd missed episode 1 - things like the absence of a companion, and wondering how much of this Omega-Rassilon backstory I'd missed. The former makes sense now - as for the latter, I remain confused. The only way to approach something as big as Doctor Who is chronologically. Not his chronology but ours - in the order things were published. Picking as I am, I can never be sure exactly how much continuity I'm missing.

I like the Doctor's chat with Omega, when he compares himself to him. That was an interesting idea. I was also amused when Sentia began frothing about Omega's lovely blonde hair and vulnerable expression.

Maybe my problem was the Fifth Doc isn't terribly well characterised. Its a funny thing to say, because I've always thought difference between doctors was mainly down to performance. I stand corrected, because his dialogue would at times have sat a lot better with Paul McGann's 8th Doc - it's effervescent, wacky and loveable.

So 6/10 from me, for being...a strangely hollow, underwhelming experience, that has already washed so entirely away I find reviewing it hard.