Fans of Sylvester McCoy's Doctor and Terry Molly's Davros will delight in this hour-long reunion of the ages
Doctor Who: Once and Future: A Genius for War by Jonathan Morris is the latest audio adventure from Big Finish [at least it was in July 2023] and it's worth noting that it's not the best jumping on point if you've never listened to a Big Finish Doctor Who audio play before. The relatively short run time cuts straight to the action and assumes the listener is familiar with the Time War, Time Lord regeneration and the Doctor's past encounters with Davros and the Daleks.
To break it down, A Genus for War is a nostalgic trip that blends the classic era with the contemporary. The Time War is a major event in the 2005 continuation of the show where it is revealed that the Time Lords of Gallifrey and the Daleks of Skaro were both wiped out – mutually assured destruction. This, of course, is a simplistic take and not entirely accurate but for the sake of simplicity this is where the narrative takes place.
The stakes are high and the universe-ending theatrics bring with it a heightened sense of tension and intrigue.
Biogenic instability! The Doctor is injured by a weapon causing some form of degeneration. This a plot device that links the Once and Future series of Big Finish Doctor Who audio adventures – part of the 60th-anniversary celebrations. Aside from flitting between other incarnations, bringing a little variety to the voices, this injury is largely ignored. The Time Lords have committed their resources to fighting in the Time War which is convenient because this would be the perfect place to heal such a biogenic injury.
Convenient, yes; good for keeping the pace running full tilt, also yes.
Our Scottish-sounding hero stumbles out of his TARDIS (time machine) and immediately gets cranky with The General (Ken Bones) and Time Lord Commander Veklin (Beth Chalmers). It's all very much in character. He's surprised to be told that this is indeed the Time War and even more surprised that one of his archenemies, the creator of the Daleks, Davros, has requested the Doctor to rescue him from Falkus, a prison moon of Skaro.
The Time Lords have committed their resources to fight the war against the Daleks and conveniently cannot heal the Doctor of his biogenic injury (too busy with the war). Instead, they send Veklin along with the Doctor to save Davros in exchange for a secret solution to end the conflict.
Knowing Davros is not telling the whole story, the Doctor is willing to spring a likely trap to satisfy his curiosity. He needs to know what his rival is up to.
There are ambushes, traps, scheming, the monotone of Daleks barking orders (exterminate!), Terry Molloy's distinct, gravelly, modulated vocals, lasers, and clever exchanges between key players – A Genius for War is euphonious.
Earlier I mentioned this story blends the classic with the contemporary and this is emphasised by the Gallifreyan legend of the prophecy of the hybrid (teased in prose and TV in 2015). It involves a prediction that a hybrid creature thought to be crossbred from two warrior races would stand over the ruins of Gallifrey ...
What if Davros played both sides about winning the war with a hybrid? You'll need to listen to find out!
Overall, A Genius for War is brilliant and is more than just fan service. It works well as a standalone story but without any prior knowledge of Doctor Who you won't get much out of it. Fans, however, will stay for the unlimited rice pudding.