Big Finish Doctor Who/Recap/057 Arrangements for War

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Following the fallout from Parts 1 & 2 of Project: Lazarus, the Doctor decides, on Evelyn's insistance, to go someplace where they can just be. No villains to thwart, no Daleks to flee from.

They set down on the planet Világ. The Killorans, a race of warlike cat-people, will invade the planet in a few weeks, but the Doctor plans for them to be well gone before then. He tells Evelyn that there's no reason for him to interfere, as the invasion will be swiftly repelled by a soon to be formalised alliance between Világ's two superpowers - Galen and Malendia, cemented by the marriage of Galen’s Princess Krisztina and Malendia’s Prince Viktor.

However, a violent protest leads to a chain of events that may divide the planet and prevent victory against the Killorans.

Arrangements for War contains examples of:

  • Busman's Holiday: Sort of. Although nothing completely out of the blue occurs, both the Doctor and Evelyn still find themselves caught up in Világ politics.
  • Cool Old Guy: Governor Rossiter.
  • Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: The entire story is one big Romance, between both Rossiter and Evelyn and Krisztina and Marcus.
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Rossiter is played by Gabriel Woolf, better known as the voice of Sutekh from Pyramids of Mars, and the Beast from The Impossible Planet. He uses his deep voice and villanous experience to great effect as he falls in love with Evelyn, does his best for his planet, and basically be a stand up guy.
  • Heroic BSOD: When Krisztina and Marcus are pointlessly gunned down, the Doctor just loses it and is just barely stopped from rewriting Vilags history entirey to save them by Evelyn.
  • It Never Gets Any Easier: The main crux of the gulf between Evelyn and the Doctor, as she is overcome by the death that follows in his wake, and his apparent flippant attitude to it all.
  • Kingmaker Scenario: Rossiter is Governor of Kozepén, a small country between the two superpowers, and is seeking to use his independant credentials to form an alliance between the two.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Suskind of Malendia opposed the peace talks due to the two countries having been at war for centuries. Once the Killorans invade and he realises the alliance is worth putting aside old grudges, he instantly pledges his support.
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