Sometimes bigger is better. There is something to be said that in the perceived version of the restrained, understated British character, less so very often is more. Classic Doctor Who glided along quite nicely for multiple decades by following this long held precept. In fact, it made those all-too-rare glimpses of outward emotion, such as companion farewells in The Green Death or The Hand of Fear that much more special.
Then again, the Tour is not averse to a big, loud, especially LOUD villain if it is played with panache. This can, and has indeed, gone wrong in the past, witness the OTT performances given by actors in stories like The Horns of Nimon or The Underwater Menace which were so cringe-worthy that it made you wonder if they actually knew what show they were performing in.
The central performance in The Devil’s Chord was meant to be big and loud–‘operatic’ would seem to be an especially appropriate term. Knowing the boundaries for such a brassy and forward character could so easily have gone wrong, but the undercurrent of menace, a direct continuation from The Giggle, somehow still worked nor did it wear out its welcome. And there was so much imagination out front, equally bold its execution, made watching The Devil’s Chord an unexpected joy.
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Having said all that though, and knowing full well that we put ourselves squarely in the ‘grumpy old fan’ camp, we do wish that the musical coda to The Devil’s Chord could have been something akin to a DVD or Youtube extra, and not part of the overall story. The tonal shift taken was joyful, interesting, and completely superfluous.
Images and caps for The Devil’s Chord are now online.
