Doctor Who: Symphonic Spectacular (2015) Review

DWSS_Jacket
Murray Gold’s music for Doctor Who has been one of the more divisive aspects of “new” Doctor Who ever since the series reappeared in 2005. When it’s performed live, however, it really gets time to breathe.
While the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular has been going for a number of years now, last night was the first chance I’d had to attend one in person.
(Editorial disclaimer: I attended last night’s concert with a ticket provided by the PR arm of BBC Enterprises. Make of that what you will.)
Now, if you’d said to me in 2005 when the series was just being rebooted that ten years later I’d be sitting in the Sydney Entertainment Centre… sorry, the Qantas Credit Union Entertainment Centre (sigh) along with a few thousand other fans simply to listen to the music, I would have looked at you very strangely indeed. Sure, I would have thought, lovely idea, and I remain a staunch fan of the series, but that’ll never happen.
But that’s exactly what I did last night, in an audience largely bedecked in fezzes, long coats, Tardis dresses and pretty much everything else in-between. Just a few long scarves, though, because, like the previous Symphonic Spectaculars, this is very much a show that’s about the music of the new series, written by Murray Gold and conducted by Ben Foster, who does a stellar job both conducting and keeping the pace moving along, because he shares a lot of the narrative (such as it is) with the star turn of the night.

THAT WOULD BE ME, RIGHT? No. Not quite. Now be quiet, or I'll get out the gold dust.
THAT WOULD BE ME, RIGHT?
No. Not quite. Now be quiet, or I’ll get out the gold dust.

The star turn in this case is the lovely Peter Davison. I interviewed him for Virgin’s inflight magazine, and used some of that interview in a piece you can read right here. Peter’s a fascinating casting choice, because while he’s a “Doctor”, and one of only two to have the distinct cachet of appearing in the new series, he’s still very much of the old series.

I should point out I have no problem with that whatsoever, but it does mean that a lot of his patter, outside of a few city-specific gags, relates to an imaginary fear of being replaced by Colin Baker. He’s funny in the role, and the audience warmed to him for the most part, but there wasn’t much doubt that they’d have roared much louder for a new series companion or Doctor.
The latter seems unlikely, and even the former might be a bit of a push, what with Melody Pond being a regular on Arrow and Amelia Pond having taken up with Thanos of late. Maybe if Arthur Darville escapes Treasure Island?
But in any case, this is an event about the music, and here again I’ve got to return to the theme of fans not liking the music because while it’s undeniably striking, it’s sometimes employed in actual episodes in a way that makes dialogue hard to discern, or draws viewer attention out of the action at hand. Naturally, the level to which it does this is up to the individual viewer and the capabilities of their viewing platform. On a personal level, I’ve noticed it in some episodes and less in others, but I wouldn’t say that there’s an absolute consensus on which episodes are poorly affected by it. Fandom not agreeing on something… because some things never change.
There's never an Abslom Daak around when you need one. (and with that, the semi-obscure quota for this review was filled.)
There’s never an Abslom Daak around when you need one. (and with that, the semi-obscure quota for this review was filled.)

The Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular reverses the music to story equation, using familiar story clips to illustrate the music, rather than the other way around. As such, it’s rather spoileriffic if you’re not up to date on your Doctor Who watching, especially as a lot of the focus is on the most recent Peter Capaldi season.
Good to see Bernard Bresslaw still working. (one for the old school fans there...)
Good to see Bernard Bresslaw still working.
(one for the old school fans there…)

This, I’d say on the basis of no genuine research whatsoever, didn’t seem to be a problem with the majority of the audience last night, all of whom ahhed and clapped at the appropriate moments, as well as enjoying the inclusion of a number of new series monsters at appropriate junctures.
I wonder. Did Silurians have Australian equivalents back when they ruled the earth? Monotreme Silurians?
I wonder. Did Silurians have Australian equivalents back when they ruled the earth? Monotreme Silurians?

I’ve got to say majority, however, as on the way out I overheard somebody complaining about it all being “a bit confusing”, and being told they should watch some episodes. Hmm. Yes. I’d say if you’re going to drop concert ticket prices on a concert, familiarity with the source material would probably help.
Rocking the Silence.
Rocking the Silence.

In essence, the format gives the music the chance to shine, because outliers aside, you’re already familiar with the stories and can use them as reference points while the orchestra and choir does its thing. For the Australian tour, local operatic soprano Antionette Halloran provided the lead female vocals, and did so in quite superb style. Likewise, it’s hard to fault the symphonic orchestra or the symphonia choir

No sign of this track, though.
If I wanted to be critical, it would be nice to have a track or two from the classic series, aside of course from the theme tune (and even that’s the Murray Gold arrangement), especially given the prominent role Australian composer Dudley Simpson had in composing classic Who music. The most you get is a side gag from conductor Ben Foster.

Then again, we might have ended up with this.

One final observation to make, because for me it was the cutest moment of the entire evening. Just up from me was a small child and her mother, sitting on the aisle. The aisles are where various monsters wander up and down as the music plays, including Terry Nation’s most famous creations, the Daleks. As they advanced, the little girl was entranced… then concerned… then scared… so she jumped into her mum’s lap for a reassuring cuddle.
But she didn’t take her eyes off the Dalek for even a second. She was wide-eyed with amazement but just ever so slightly worried that it might be real. I’m a fully grown adult and I’ve been a Doctor Who fan since I was around her age, and that moment, above all, was just about the greatest moment of the night for me because it was completely adorable and entirely relatable.
If the music of Doctor Who, and a handy prop with wheels can elicit that kind of reaction from a younger fan, I reckon they’re doing alright.

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