Recap / Big Finish Doctor Who Specials UNIT Dominion

A special four hour long release, released October, 2012, featuring the Seventh Doctor, Raine Creevy^note From the Lost Stories, Elizabeth Klein^note A former adversary/companion from the main range and... the Other Doctor.

The story begins simply enough, as UNIT, lead mainly by their scientific advisor Elizabeth Klein, finds it acting as the first line of defence against a whole new spat of alien invasions. Thankfully, help has arrived in the form of a tall, bald, oddly dressed, ridiculously camp man calling himself "The Doctor".

Meanwhile, the Seventh Doctor and Raine find themselves pulled through the dimensional barriers to arrive on a barren, dying world. Following a short visit by his aforementioned bald, future self, where he's told explicitly not to help the planet's residents, Seven decides to jump in to the mess and get to the bottom of it all...

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UNIT: Dominion contains examples of:

• Another Dimension: Unusual for Doctor Who, this story involves quite a bit "other realms".
• Apocalyptic Log: The story starts out with Elizabeth recording one.
• Apocalypse How: Slowly becoming a potential X-5.
• Batman Gambit: The Other Doctor tells the Doctor not to do something, which means he sets out to go do something
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: Gigantic creatures similar to giant Stagbeetles the size of double decker buses.
• Buffy Speak: The Other Doctor has a knack for this, naming other beings stuff like "Mind leeches", and "Skyheads"
• Call-Back: Both past and future - UNIT makes mention of "The Omega Incident", and in turn when Raine suggests the reason the dimensions are leaking is because the Time Lords may not be around in the future, the Seventh Doctor snaps "Don't be ridiculous!"
  • Dr. Klein is scientific advisor to Unit, something the Third Doctor was before her before he went sauntering off.
  • The Other Doctor mentions Lethbridge-Stewart and the fact he's probably retired. He then calls him a splendid fellow.
  • In a Continuity Cavalcade the Doctor's password string is: Yeti-Inferno-Kettlewell-Zygon-Krynoid-Kraal, followed by mentioning "Axons, Autons, Sea Devils and lovely velvet jackets.
  • The Doctor muses about times he could have gone to his past and warn them about their future;
  The Doctor: Avoid the South pole when the Cybermen turn up, step away from that Spectrox!
  • Dr. Klein has a weird sense of déjà vu about knowing someone called Johann before.
  • The Other Doctor has been to Terserus.
  • A Tissue Compression Eliminator shows up.
  • The Other Doctor's TARDIS' temporal grace is fully functional.
  • The Other Doctor mentions the Key of Time.
  • At the end, the Doctor gives Elizabeth Klein a Space-Time telegraph showing that he trusts her.
• Call-Forward:
  The Doctor: Maybe I will grow arrogant in my old age and forget the rules, or far worse think I'm above them!
• Chekhov's Gun: The Forcefield Technology noted by the Other Doctor comes back in the climax of the story.
• Deadline News: John Star, the Intrepid Reporter that has been around since the Other Doctor arrived, gets trod upon by one of the gigantic stag beetle like beings.
• Deadpan Snarker: Klein is one by nature, but the Other Doctor really brings out this part in her character.
• The Dog Bites Back: The Other Doctor's misuse of alternate dimensional beings leads to Arenzal betraying him.
• Flying Face: One of first "invasions" consists of about two-dozen giant^note As in, at least big enough for three people to sit on flying children's heads. A lot is made of just how damned odd an invasion this is.
• Foreshadowing: The Other Doctor is shown to be ever-so-slightly more selfish and callous than viewers are used to, which he claims is a result of his deciding to focus on saving the entire planet rather than the individuals around him. But in reality, it's because he is known as The Master.
  • The Other Doctor describes Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart as a splendid fellow, and hypnotizes people.
  • UNIT has accounts of Lethbridge-Stewart working with three different Doctors. Even at once meeting meeting two, possibly three at the same time.
  • He even uses his classic catchphrase. Almost.
  • More broadly, this version of the Master is excellent at Cold Reading, and a second listen reveals how well he used it to impersonate the Doctor.
• Fusion Dance: Of the Doctor and the Other Doctor.
• Giant Spider: An invasion of them... that spray lava.
• Have We Met Yet?: The Doctor meets the Other Doctor for the second time the first time while the first time is the second time for the Other Doctor.
• Heroic BSoD: Klein once she realizes what she used to be.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: The Doctor tries to, calmly, talk Pete out of a hypnotic spell, whereas Raine keeps pouring sentiments out about his son.
• Ironic Echo:
  The Doctor: Helllooooooo youuuuuu.
• Just Between You and Me:
  The Doctor: I'm not a megalomaniac! I'm not about to gloat, and tell you my plans!
• Kick the Dog: The Other Doctor reveals Elizabeth's true nature to her and then sends her out to die.
• Large Ham: Alex Mac Queen's Other Doctor's is very over the top, at first.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: The Mind leeches eat everything you know. Everything you know.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: The mysterious Future Doctor is actually the Master. There, we said it. Given that Alexander McQueen's been on a number of episode covers with "the Master" in the title by now, it's not really a secret anymore.
• Mauve Shirt: Hauptmann Johan.
  • Later Maynard Phillips dies trying to close a security bunker door.
• My Greatest Failure:
  The Doctor: Believe me, you'll never forget the death of your friend. Especially if its your fault.
• Mythology Gag:
  Reine: Maybe when you become like him, the Time-Lords won't be around any more?
  The Doctor: Don't be ridiculous!
• Non-Malicious Monster: Several of the creatures from Another Dimension are just out of their own environment and don't understand Earth and lash out in fear.
• "Not So Different" Remark: The Doctor considers the similarities between himself and The Master, when speaking with Klein at the end.
• The Nth Doctor: The Deuteragonist of the story (or tritagonist if you consider Klein). He apparently comes far from the Doctor's future, and so his memory of his past self's life is a bit sketchy - his personality is a mixture of Six's bravado and Three's distaste for military authority. It's not an act. But he's not the Doctor.
• Other Me Annoys Me: The Other Doctor considers his past self a clueless fool, while the Seventh Doctor finds his future self's cavalier attitude very off putting, and hard to trust. With very good reason.
• Pokémon Speak: "Oscar Phillips ... Oscar Phillips..."
• Post-Climax Confrontation: After the dust has settled and all the loose ends have been tied up, Pete comes under a hypnotic suggestion to go and kill the Doctor.
• Pull the Thread: The Doctor with the Other Doctor.
• Pun: A dark one.
  Skyhead: Then... Raine will fall.
• Recurring Dreams: Klein has them repeatedly of the Seventh Doctor.
• Red Baron: Klein insistently refers to the Seventh Doctor as "The Umbrella man"
• The Reveal: Advertised expressly as a future incarnation of the Doctor, yet not played by Paul, John, Chris, David, Matt or the other Peter, viewers knew some sort of revelation about the Other Doctor's origins was in the cards. Of course, he's not the Doctor at all. He is the Master. Hello you.
• Take That Me:
  The Other Doctor: What kind of a regeneration worth its salt makes you look older!?
  • invokedHilarious in Hindsight since Peter Capaldi was been cast to replace Matt Smith. ^note  That said, the regeneration did happen after Matt Smith's incarnation had aged a considerable degree - compared to when the regeneration began, Capaldi actually did look younger. The only reason he seemed to age was because the regeneration was taken slowly and rejuvenated him back to his previous youthfulness before he properly shifted over.
• Taking the Bullet: Dr. Klein takes one for the Doctor, even after all she went through.
• Taking You with Me: The sentient cubes turn red and can blow up. Several of these can perform a Fusion Dance and become a gigantic cube... which can turn red and blow up more.
• These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know: The Dimensioneers' knowledge store on Teserus has Time-Lords safeguard this knowledge.
• Title Drop: Dominion.
• Two Lines, No Waiting: The plot of the Seventh Doctor and Raine's adventures in the dying dimension run parallel to Klein's and the Other Doctor's story of fighting the invasions on Earth, with both coming together near the end.
• The Unsmile: On the giant flying baby heads.
  The Other Doctor: No... That is not a good smile at all...
• We Can Rule Together
• Wham Line: The end of episode 3 (summarised):
  Other!Doctor: [to the Seventh Doctor] I made my TARDIS look like yours because I needed everyone to think I... was you
  Doctor: Terserus...You...You're not me.
  Other Doctor: [to himself] Oh, what a relief.
  Doctor: You're... The Master.
  The Master: Hello you.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Maynard is absolutely terrified of spiders. Too bad there are lava spewing horse-sized spiders from Another Dimension in this story.

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