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The Sound of Drums Format Reviewed: TV Review The Sound of Drums is the penultimate episode in the third series of the new television adventures of Doctor Who. By now we have been re-introduced to the Master, newly regenerated into the body of John Simm, famed for his role in Life on Mars. We also have two companions still in Martha Jones and the enigmatic Captain Jack Harkness. The Holmes-Moriarty relationship of the Doctor and the Master is therefore set to be again explored, as is the relationship between the old adversaries in the universe post-destruction of the Time Lord Race. The Sound of Drums starts with The Master stealing the Doctors TARDIS and leaving Utopia alone. The Doctor then reactivates Captain Jacks teleporting wrist device and they travel back to Earth with Martha, therefore escaping the Futurekind on Utopia. On Earth, they find that the Master is being elected to office as Prime Minister, under the guise of Harold Saxon. He managed this through mind control from a global network of satellites, the Archangel network, that work through mobile phones. Coupled with his arrival 18 months earlier in the timeline he managed to engineer a back story and get himself a wife. An alien race then appear, the Toclofane as introduced by The Master, and a meeting is set up with them and the American President. The Doctor, Martha and Jack also manage to get themselves aboard the flying fortress for the meeting, with Marthas family having been kidnapped by The Master and are also present. The Master thenreveals his trap, and orders the Toclafane to kill the President. The Doctor tries to intervene but is caught, despite them having perception filters made from TARDIS keys that mask their presence. The Master then reveals his plan with the TARDIS having been turned into a paradox machine, tearing a hole in the universe that the Toclafane stream through in their millions. The Master then uses his laser screwdriver to age the Doctor in the same way that Professor Lazarus regained his youth. Martha then steals a private word with The Doctor, before teleporting back down to Earth on a mission. Somewhat similar to Utopia, there is really not a seperate story here, just continuity through from previous episodes drawing to the crescendo of the sireies finale. Again, like Utopia, this episode really cannot therefore work as a standalone story and can only be considered in context with the surrounding episodes. What this story and the overall storyline does have though is a feeling of the epic, really a big ending to the whole of the three series that have been aired. A real sense of drama is built and continues to be built throughout this story in a very positive way. The direction and editing of the story must really be praised, as this is largely accomplished through this, alongside the performances of the cast through a tension filled script. The cast is quite full and busy for The Sound of Drums, and contains a lot of cameos by celebrities that we will not comment on here. The main cast though has a real shining light in it, John Simm as Harold Saxon or The Master. His energy and charisma largely outshine everyone else in the cast, most noticably outshining David Tennant as the Doctor. Alexandra Moen as Lucy Saxon doesn't really have much to do alongside Simm, other than be kissed and romanced by The Master. Equally, Captain Jack and Martha, played by John Barrowman and Freema Agyeman respectively do not have massive roles in this episode. The re-introduction of Marthas family is also in the background, as Simm and Tennant play the strong leads in the story. One cannot praise Simm highly enough though for his performance here, it was magical. There are some plot holes and facets of the story that will annoy fans of the classic series in The Sound of Drums. This aside though, the episode is really good fun and does engross the viewer. The tension and atmosphere that is built is the best of the new series so far, even eclipsing the finale of series 1 with Christopher Eccleston. This may be due to the reintroduction of The Master as a character, alongside the excellent casting of John Simm in the role. The main praise must however go to the fact that the main plot lines had been largely kept secret, and the fans had a real chance to speculate. Speculation, theory and counter theory breeds tension and excitement in the stories, and all throguh the episode we are treated to the building of that tension through to the finale in Last of the Time Lords. Overall, The Sound of Drums cannot really be considered as a seperate episode as it is in no way a stand alone story. It is so reliant upon Utopia and Last of the Time Lords, as well as the overall plot threads that have been built over series two and three. This said, the mood, tension and atmosphere are built and set perfectly to engross the viewer and consequently The Sound of Drums will live in the memory for fans as a good episode. Rating:  |