Physician, Heal Thyself: Rather wonderfully the Doctor shows up to save the day expecting to find his companions locked up and in need of rescuing and instead finds they have already taken care of everything and are waiting for a lift. If that was the point of the story then it was a point well worth making.
Liv Chenka: Where Charley decides to accept the situation, Liv is as defiant as ever and always looking for ways to escape. Liv is the smart one, the one who figures out what River is doing and the one who gees everybody up to take a crack at escaping. There’s some heavy flirting between Liv and River in the last few scenes, which was unexpected but not unwelcome.
Edwardian Adventuress: Is it a delight to hear Charley back in the fold after all these years? You bet your ass it is. India Fisher sounds a little reserved at first (and I’m not surprised, she started off this whole audio adventure for the eighth Doctor and now she’s being dropped in the middle of somebody else’s series) but she’s soon back in full on pluck mode. Charley knows she is a time paradox and recognises a rogue Time Lord when she sees one. The gag about Charley switching cells between the eighth and sixth Doctor’s was a riot and I love the fact that she has no idea why. She realises that the Doctor doesn’t just need her, he needs all of them.
Hello Sweetie: It seems to be John Dorney’s intention that River is seen as mother of this little collective of companions, and that she speaks for them. That seems fair since she is the only person to have actually married the Doctor. Any friend of the Doctor’s is a friend of hers. She has a high tolerance to torture, but screams alarmingly when she’s in pain. River is a smart cookie and she’s responsible for bringing a specific number of the Doctor’s companions together with the skills to escape. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, River is so much more tolerable on audio out of the hands of her creator. The sexual angle is brought down to a less creepy level, she’s smart without showing off, witty without being smug. Alex Kingston is playing the same character but she feels so much more refined.
Bless Bliss: It’s a surprisingly merciful encounter with Bliss where she is merely unmemorable rather than actively annoying. She manages to hold her own amongst some strong personalities, which surprised me.
Standout Performance: When Frazer Hines, Katy Manning, Louise Jameson, Lalla Ward and Matthew Waterhouse turn up for one-line cameos I just knew this was going to be a whole barrel of fun. Matthew Heffernan is infuriating as the Nine but the point is he is supposed to be. I found myself alternating between finding him annoying and genuinely very funny so I think he got the mix just about right. His ‘you hang up’ scene with himself is delightful. Who on earth was the older female companion that I didn’t recognise? Looks like a hidden spoiler for the upcoming fourth Doctor schedules.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I find the whole chronology so confusing! How did you get out of E-Space again?’ asks the Nine of Romana II!
‘Like I always say…faking it’s a waste of time!’
‘They’re amazing all the time…this is just a drop in the ocean.’
Great Ideas: The Nine is never sure which is which between Helen and Liv, a complaint I remember making when they first started travelling together. In a glorious moment of meta continuity, the Nine mentions that he couldn’t have taken Adric out of time after he left the Doctor, at least not without a shovel. Well, I laughed. When talking to Charley he says he is in no hurry to pick up ‘that maniac’ and I think we all know who he means. Gloriously, River suggests that the Doctor’s companions are even more impressive because they survive these adventures without the ability to regenerate. She says they are the most impressive of collectives and putting a dozen of them all in one place is very foolish. If you conspire against the Nine he will order his drones to fire. If that means execution then so be it.
Isn’t it Odd: I could have done without the Nine’s cameo in the pre titles sequence because it would have been much more a surprise when the police box turned up to save Helen and Liv and the Nine emerged. It takes everyone quite a long time to figure out that the Bliss the Nine invades is from before she met the Doctor. Given that she doesn’t know who he is surely that’s a given. Oh wait, I just thought it could a Bliss from another dimension given how she was introduced in a whole bunch of Time War, timeline altering madness.
Standout Scene: Was that an appearance by Katarina in the climax? I love the fact that she has appeared so briefly in Doctor Who that in order for us to understand who she is her most memorable line has to be utilised.
Result: Fanwank of the highest order and a huge love letter to the companions of the Doctor; past, present and future. It’s extremely adept that so many classic Doctor Who companions should cameo and then the story focuses primarily on the eighth Doctor’s audio companions. Having Charley, Liv, Helen, River (and even) Bliss interacting and combining their talents to bring down the Nine is terrific fun. The last time I saw the companions of the Doctor spotlighted this well was in The Stolen Earth and whilst this doesn’t quite top that for sheer glorious wankery, in its own quieter way it is just as good. The Doctor is absent and I think with the advent of the companion heavy episodes like Blink and Turn Left, the box sets of Charley Pollard and River Song and extraordinary number of companions he has amassed over the years that the stories don't always have to be directly about the him. And for a show called Doctor Who that does show how much we’ve moved on. The supporting characters are more than strong enough in most respects (I'm sure we could all point out one or two companions that DON'T work for us). A big thumbs up for the Nine who was written in a deft and witty way here, loving his entanglement in Doctor Who history and having fun collecting companions as playthings. I hope he returns soon. What I really liked was the celebration of what it is to be a companion of the Doctor, the bravery of facing the danger without regeneration, confronting things that outside their sphere of understanding and remaining loyal to a man who has uprooted them from their normal lives. These guys are special and this is an hour dedicated to saying that. There are a number of Big Finish stories that are a chore to get through, this was a story that wanted to keep going: 9/10
Liv Chenka: Where Charley decides to accept the situation, Liv is as defiant as ever and always looking for ways to escape. Liv is the smart one, the one who figures out what River is doing and the one who gees everybody up to take a crack at escaping. There’s some heavy flirting between Liv and River in the last few scenes, which was unexpected but not unwelcome.
Edwardian Adventuress: Is it a delight to hear Charley back in the fold after all these years? You bet your ass it is. India Fisher sounds a little reserved at first (and I’m not surprised, she started off this whole audio adventure for the eighth Doctor and now she’s being dropped in the middle of somebody else’s series) but she’s soon back in full on pluck mode. Charley knows she is a time paradox and recognises a rogue Time Lord when she sees one. The gag about Charley switching cells between the eighth and sixth Doctor’s was a riot and I love the fact that she has no idea why. She realises that the Doctor doesn’t just need her, he needs all of them.
Hello Sweetie: It seems to be John Dorney’s intention that River is seen as mother of this little collective of companions, and that she speaks for them. That seems fair since she is the only person to have actually married the Doctor. Any friend of the Doctor’s is a friend of hers. She has a high tolerance to torture, but screams alarmingly when she’s in pain. River is a smart cookie and she’s responsible for bringing a specific number of the Doctor’s companions together with the skills to escape. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, River is so much more tolerable on audio out of the hands of her creator. The sexual angle is brought down to a less creepy level, she’s smart without showing off, witty without being smug. Alex Kingston is playing the same character but she feels so much more refined.
Bless Bliss: It’s a surprisingly merciful encounter with Bliss where she is merely unmemorable rather than actively annoying. She manages to hold her own amongst some strong personalities, which surprised me.
Standout Performance: When Frazer Hines, Katy Manning, Louise Jameson, Lalla Ward and Matthew Waterhouse turn up for one-line cameos I just knew this was going to be a whole barrel of fun. Matthew Heffernan is infuriating as the Nine but the point is he is supposed to be. I found myself alternating between finding him annoying and genuinely very funny so I think he got the mix just about right. His ‘you hang up’ scene with himself is delightful. Who on earth was the older female companion that I didn’t recognise? Looks like a hidden spoiler for the upcoming fourth Doctor schedules.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I find the whole chronology so confusing! How did you get out of E-Space again?’ asks the Nine of Romana II!
‘Like I always say…faking it’s a waste of time!’
‘They’re amazing all the time…this is just a drop in the ocean.’
Great Ideas: The Nine is never sure which is which between Helen and Liv, a complaint I remember making when they first started travelling together. In a glorious moment of meta continuity, the Nine mentions that he couldn’t have taken Adric out of time after he left the Doctor, at least not without a shovel. Well, I laughed. When talking to Charley he says he is in no hurry to pick up ‘that maniac’ and I think we all know who he means. Gloriously, River suggests that the Doctor’s companions are even more impressive because they survive these adventures without the ability to regenerate. She says they are the most impressive of collectives and putting a dozen of them all in one place is very foolish. If you conspire against the Nine he will order his drones to fire. If that means execution then so be it.
Isn’t it Odd: I could have done without the Nine’s cameo in the pre titles sequence because it would have been much more a surprise when the police box turned up to save Helen and Liv and the Nine emerged. It takes everyone quite a long time to figure out that the Bliss the Nine invades is from before she met the Doctor. Given that she doesn’t know who he is surely that’s a given. Oh wait, I just thought it could a Bliss from another dimension given how she was introduced in a whole bunch of Time War, timeline altering madness.
Standout Scene: Was that an appearance by Katarina in the climax? I love the fact that she has appeared so briefly in Doctor Who that in order for us to understand who she is her most memorable line has to be utilised.
Result: Fanwank of the highest order and a huge love letter to the companions of the Doctor; past, present and future. It’s extremely adept that so many classic Doctor Who companions should cameo and then the story focuses primarily on the eighth Doctor’s audio companions. Having Charley, Liv, Helen, River (and even) Bliss interacting and combining their talents to bring down the Nine is terrific fun. The last time I saw the companions of the Doctor spotlighted this well was in The Stolen Earth and whilst this doesn’t quite top that for sheer glorious wankery, in its own quieter way it is just as good. The Doctor is absent and I think with the advent of the companion heavy episodes like Blink and Turn Left, the box sets of Charley Pollard and River Song and extraordinary number of companions he has amassed over the years that the stories don't always have to be directly about the him. And for a show called Doctor Who that does show how much we’ve moved on. The supporting characters are more than strong enough in most respects (I'm sure we could all point out one or two companions that DON'T work for us). A big thumbs up for the Nine who was written in a deft and witty way here, loving his entanglement in Doctor Who history and having fun collecting companions as playthings. I hope he returns soon. What I really liked was the celebration of what it is to be a companion of the Doctor, the bravery of facing the danger without regeneration, confronting things that outside their sphere of understanding and remaining loyal to a man who has uprooted them from their normal lives. These guys are special and this is an hour dedicated to saying that. There are a number of Big Finish stories that are a chore to get through, this was a story that wanted to keep going: 9/10
4 comments:
Yeah, yeah, still River Song is better female Doctor that Jodie Whittaker.
Still River Song is more Doctorish that Jodie Whittaker.
A point so dramatic it had to be made twice.
Although I'd love to hear more Leela, I'm glad this didn't turn out to be a cameo show, where everyone have to be the lead. I laughed at River's fun method of memory wiping, than roared some more when she said Jamie is "quite a struggle". Remember when she showed up in Name of The Doctor and then it was implied that she's jealous of Clara? Pfft. She really is better in the audio.
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