Doom Coalition (2015)
Get ready for power couple Liv and Helen!
After the Lucie Miller EDA reboot came to an end, we entered the Big Finish boxset era. Technically, Dark Eyes comes before Doom Coalition and is worth a listen for Liv's introduction (to the EDAs. her real introduction is in Main Range story Robophobia. of course), if you're going into the world of the Eighth Doctor cold and you're not starting with Lucie or Charley, I'd start you here.
And because this is my blog and I didn't really like Dark Eyes all that much, that's what I'm going to do!
After the success of the four stories in four boxset format from Dark Eyes, Big Finish decided that they needed to do that for everything. Doom Coalition is centered on a renegade Time Lord called the Eleven who has escaped a high security prison because he's evil because all eleven of his regenerations live inside his head and come out as a split personality telling him to murder people. Honestly, I myself don't find that to be a great look on a villian to make him evil because of his personality disorder and unfortunately a lot of DC does come across like that, but what it is worth listening to is for Helen, Liv, River, and various other Time Lord shenanigans.
Doom Coalition is a complex story and you kind of have to pay attention for sixteen hours, but there are some standout stories in there and you get some fun Gallifrey stuff too - for all the times I cringe at the Eleven, there is something in there to make me not hate it, Caleera being a good example as a young Time Lord who get manipulated in quite a heartbreaking way. It's an exciting boxset range with a lot of action, explosions, and end of the universe stakes, but it's also balanced by some really tender character moments for Liv and Helen which for me is the best bit.
The highlights:
- The Red Lady
- Scenes from her Life
- Absent Friends
- Ship in a Bottle
The lowlights
- The Eleven: As I mentioned, the Eleven kind of sits uncomfortably with me. He's a lot of fun and I think the idea of regenerative disorders is fascinating, but I really wish they had been more generous with the portrayal of mental disorders here.
Once you've finished DC, it makes sense to continue on into Ravenous and Stranded which are both four story four boxset series. Personally, Rav is my favourite of these three boxset series, but DC is quite necessary as context for both.
Instead of going forward, you can also jump back to Dark Eyes, Lucie's first story Blood of the Daleks, or all the way back to Storm Warning. It can be quite rewarding to listen to all of Eight's stories from Storm Warning on, but that is quite a mammoth task.