It occurred to me earlier that, with this year being the 50th
anniversary of one of the greatest shows ever, audio company Big Finish has a number
of ranges dedicated to telling a large number of Doctor Who stories every year.
Hell, at the moment, I’m currently subscribed to 4 monthly ranges – that’s 4
Doctor Who stories every month on audio alone! Fortunately, I subscribe well in
advance, but for those who can at best afford only one cd per month, out of each month’s releases, what would be the best ones to buy? That
is why I’ve written this: the first in what I hope will be a regular review of
the monthly output of a number of ranges of Doctor Who that Big Finish
releases. A great way to further blog and discuss my favourite show, and, to
those who can afford it, to perhaps help some decide what would be the ideal releases to listen to, including a
couple of recommendations, one for the new fans and one for those who appreciates their serious continuity.
Main Range
The Wrong Doctors
What better way to kick off the 50th anniversary
year than by having a multi-Doctor story? But this is a “multi-Doctor” story
with a difference. It does feature two Doctors, but instead of the usual take
of having multiple incarnations argue with each other, we instead have
something quite original in which its two versions of the same incarnation, at two different points in life. Really thinking
about it, this is probably the most full-on multi-Doctor story we’ve had from
Big Finish – others have involved either clones, doubles or the briefest of exchanges (yes, this
includes The Four Doctors, although to be fair, that’s still a cool story). But
here, we have two Doctors, one older and wiser than the other, arguing with
himself. Himself. Thank you, Big
Finish, for finally having the balls to do something like this.
Bear in mind though that this isn’t just about the gimmick
of having two Sixes. This is a tribute to two things. The first is Mel Bush, of
which this story pays a lot of respect to, as the Sixth Doctor finally tries to
meet her. Tries and spectacularly
fails as…well, I’d rather not go into detail, as (a) I wouldn’t want to spoil
too much here, and (b) it’d just be too difficult to explain even if I did want to spoil it (especially for
those who haven’t seen The Trial of a Time Lord). We get it all here – her home
of Pease Pottage, her excellent memory, her knack at computers and her travels
with the Doctor – all are important to the story here, and it’s a testament to
Matt Fitton’s writing ability that none of it feels forced whatsoever. I’m not sure I completely understood the plot
all the time, but it didn’t matter: there were numerous well drawn out
characters, especially the villain, Mr Petherbridge, brilliantly played by Tony
Gardner, to really draw me into the world of the story, at least.
There’s something else that’s great about this story though,
and what really makes it a good one
to kick off the anniversary year – the Sixth Doctor. Specifically, the Sixth
Doctor of the Big Finish adventures at least, with a few nods to even beyond
that. (Including BBC novel Business
Unusual, where the Sixth Doctor really
meets Mel for the first time – yes guys, amazingly, this story doesn’t contradict that story
whatsoever.) The contrast of the two Doctors is amazing – yes, they’re the same
incarnation, but still quite, quite different. Whereas the younger Doctor is
his usual “bolshy” self as we saw on television, his older self is definitely
mellower by comparison – both of which are of course amazingly portrayed by
Colin Baker. We’re reminded that really, this is a Doctor that we never really
saw on television, at least not with this amount of development. He is the Big
Finish Doctor – a kind, intelligent, at times sombre but mostly happy incarnation who is,
at least in the audio medium, considerably popular. There is no finer way for
Big Finish to kick off such an important anniversary of a show nearly half a
century old than to celebrate just what they (and indeed other formats of the
expanded universe) can do that the tv series couldn’t or wouldn’t – take the
scattered seeds that were left untended in the tv series, and let them grow. And that includes the potential brilliance of the Sixth Doctor. 8/10
Companion Chronicles
The Flames of Cadiz
Marc Platt? Writing a story that’s purely historical? Can it be true? Indeed it is! And, even better
folks, compared to the usual 1 disc release of the Companion Chronicles, this
is the special 2 disc release that comes every January, so it feels even closer
to the more fleshed out 4-part historicals of the early seasons.
I was pretty impressed with this story. Partly for how much
it draws you into its historical setting, with its fleshed-out characters, both
regular and of the story in particular, giving you a good insight in what it
was like living in the time of the Spanish Inquisition, specifically near the
time of the Spanish Armada.
Another thing I was impressed by was how much Platt nailed the era of the kind of story this would’ve taken place in, tv series wise. The dark tone of the story showing the
horrors of history, the well fleshed out companions of Ian and Barbara being
caught up in it, sometimes being caught up in the sheer thrill of it, and
of course, just how alien, dark and
mysterious the Doctor is at this point – one of the best traits of a great deal
of Platt’s stories is reminding us that the Doctor is an alien, not just
biologically but psychologically, seeing people, events and morals completely
differently to how a human would. This is a key aspect to the first Doctor at
this point, so it’s no surprise that Marc Platt has written a number of stories
for this particular incarnation, even one set before the beginning of the tv
series. (One Companion Chronicle I’m especially looking forward to that’s
released in November has the simple title of The Beginning, a story involving
the Doctor and Susan leaving Gallifrey. Naturally, I’m greatly looking forward
to listening to such a story.)
One more thing I enjoyed about the story was the added layer
of how dangerous it can be wanting to meet your heroes. An old story perhaps,
but still a classic, especially when it’s done as beautifully as this. Because
some men may disappoint, perhaps inevitably, but still be great men. Not
necessarily good men, but still great.
This is a fantastic story that really feels like it could’ve
been shot and filmed in 1963 (well ok, maybe 1964, the second story hadn’t even
finished in ’63), and is another nice way to kick off the anniversary year – a story
that does a great job at reminding us just how wonderful both the first TARDIS
crew and their stories really were. 9/10
The Fourth Doctor
Adventures – Season 2
1. The Auntie Matter
And so another season begins for one of the series’ most
popular Doctors! Last season was set during his time with Leela, which overall
I thought was a pretty strong start, including just the right balance between old
school and modern day storytelling, with 4th Doctor stories that
fitted perfectly in between the gothic horror of the Holmes/Hinchcliffe era with
the lighter scifi of the Graham Williams era, in a faster pace and further expansion
of companion Leela, all stories brilliantly performed by Tom Baker and Louise
Jameson, acting as though it had only been a matter of months since they worked
together and not over 35 years (in the roles of the Doctor and Leela, at
least). So that first season has set a very high standard. What of the second?
The second season has gone for a different approach, taking
place later in the Fourth Doctor’s life as he travels with Romana in her first
incarnation. One thing that comes across clearly right from the start is how
easily these two make us believe that no time has passed at all since we last
saw the pair on screen, especially with Mary Tamm as Romana, who plays the role
with the same intellect and strong attitude that we saw in the tv series. It’s
a tragic and shocking loss to think that she’s been gone for over six months
now, as her performance here was so full of life, you could really believe that
she could’ve easily done it for many more years.
The first story is a bit of a fun if basic romp, taking
place in 1920s England and featuring androids, body stealing aliens and ultra-posh
Englishmen who can’t pronounce their r’s. Overall, it’s a nice start to the
season, but I’m eager for darker and meatier stuff that is surely yet to
come. (Or at least, another Doctor Who story featuring the great, great, great David Warner and of course, the
reunion of Jago & Litefoot with Four.) 6/10
Destiny of the Doctor
1. Hunters of Earth
The Flames of Cadiz isn’t the only First Doctor story this
month. We also have the beginning of a brand new series, specially made to not
only celebrate the 50th anniversary but to also be more welcoming to
new listeners who haven’t discovered the wonderful classic Doctors and their
stories. This is an unusual series that Big Finish is involved in as (a) the
narration for the stories is done in the third-person, unlike the Companion
Chronicles which usually use the first-person narrative structure, and (b) due
to being co-produced with AudioGo, the later stories will involve Doctors from
the New Series, which Big Finish aren’t normally allowed to touch. So it’ll be
great to have a series with Big Finish involvement that’ll allow them to make
great stories for all the Doctors, not just the first eight.
So how is the first one? Definitely an interesting opening,
as it begins not long before the very start of the series. It’s very reflective
of both the era and of the very time of when the original series began, in days
of when random violence between groups like mods and rockers would break out.
And violence is very much key to this story. This is a very dark and
disturbing tale in which Susan finds herself not only distinctly branded as an
outsider, but dangerously targeted for it. There are some really creepy images –
particularly one of Susan being completely surrounded while people try and
throw rocks at her – but along the way, the story occasionally soaks in the
lighter aspects of 60s culture, too. There’s also a small but vital moment in
the story that’s very clearly important to the arc of the whole series. Mostly
though, it’s a fantastic standalone story that gives us a glimpse both of Susan’s
life (the Doctor is more of a background presense here) before the start of the
series as well as 60s life in general. This is a really great jumping on point
for anyone who’s yet to discover the joys of the classic stuff. 8/10
Recommendations
For the newbie: Hunters of Earth
If you know nothing of classic Who or even new Who and are
wanting to buy a story that you can just switch on without worrying about any
background knowledge beforehand, this is definitely your safest bet, as being a
jumping-on point is what this particular series was designed for in the first
place. It’s also a great standalone
drama to boot, so you should fully enjoy it. Another story to enjoy that's also not too bad continuity wise is The Flames of Cadiz.
For the continuity
obsessed: The Wrong Doctors
Starting with direct references to previous companions,
thorny tv continuity issues and even an out-of-print novel, this is definitely
one for someone with at least a basic knowledge of the Sixth Doctor. It’s not too
bad, and it is a wonderful celebration of the life that the Sixth Doctor has
had in audio form at least, but that’s exactly it – it’s paying tribute to over
a decade of this incarnation on cd, and while you hardly need to know all of
it, it helps to know just how much this Doctor has changed and why to fully
appreciate it.
No comments:
Post a Comment