Oh My Giddy Aunt: The Doctor is not saying that he is to continue teaching his companions how to fly the TARDIS, just that she is a stubborn old girl and she likes going where she likes going. He speaks Russian but it is clearly not his mother tongue and so it is very easy to identify him as a spy. Even at this early stage of his life it must be tiresome for him to constantly have to prove that he is not. A man who looks like a tramp and a guy in a skirt, they really are the unlikeliest group of spies that you could imagine. The Doctor cannot feel pity for somebody that was willing to sacrifice one of his friends at the drop of a hat.
Handsome Scot: This story is much more about Ben and Polly and Jamie is relegated to being the Doctor’s sidekick and seeking out food. But given Hines’ double duty playing both the Doctor and Jamie perhaps that isn’t such a bad thing. Hines flitting between the two characters continues to amaze me.
Lovely Lashes & Able Seaman: ‘Be lucky, Duchess…’ Ben is asking for trouble by suggesting that Polly isn’t bad for a woman driver. I like it how Ben refers to previous adventures to give context to where they might have arrived this time round, it helps to think of their escapades as a continuing series of adventures. They’re straight out of the TARDIS and having a snowball fight. It’s always worth remembering how much fun this pair were to be around. It might have been nice for Ben to have had a romance on the telly, or at least to catch the eye of somebody and make Polly jealous. His gentler scenes in this story bring out a softer side to the character that was rather appealing. Maybe they should have been braver and had the Duchess and the Sailor get it on. The chemistry between them was unquestionable. In a great moment Ben makes a slip and accidentally mentions that they travel in time and his companion wants to know how the conflict ends. It’s lovely seeing these characters cocking up in history because we so rarely got the chance to see that on screen. Polly expresses the very dark thought that if they had gone with the Doctor and Jamie, at least they would be dead too. Ben genuinely thinks he is going to die at one point and thinks of Polly before he prepares to go.
Standout Performance: I can’t help but notice that, whilst sounding very like Michael Craze, Elliot Chapman has much more humour in his portrayal of Ben Jackson. Craze played up the aggression and suspicion in the character much more where Chapman has a lighter air about him. I’m not complaining (because I might even prefer the character this way) but it is noticeable. I also enjoyed Anneke Wills playing Tatiana as Polly at the climax as she tries to convince her ‘friends’ to take her with them by slipping in under the radar.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘They say that if you meet your double, one of you die!’
‘Meanwhile the German tanks were making their inexorable way towards the Night Witches base…like an unstoppable force they were coming.’
Great Ideas: A tank being pointed right at the TARDIS and fired! What is it about the Second World War and the second Doctor that feels perfectly authentic, especially given that the historical stories were phased out during this time? Could it be that the mammoth ten-part story The War Games has identified the little clown with this devastating conflict irreparably. Given Polly’s doppleganger it is perfectly plausible to think that Polly is a spy that has come to take her place. An honest answer is given when asked if they can beat the Germans: no, because they have more power, more weapons and more troops. You have to remember that the outcome of the war was far from a foregone conclusion and I suspect the majority were of the opinion that the Germans would ultimately win. I really liked how Ben was able to escape to help Polly because he had made a friendship with one of the Night Witches. It makes the earlier scenes between them have more impact.
Audio Landscape: There’s some handsome action in the first episode, which is perhaps a little too over described when Helen Goldwyn conjures up the dazzling sound design Toby Hrycek-Robinson to plant us right in the action.
Musical Cues: There’s a terrifically atmospheric score, which is more about creating an air of disquiet than mimicking a new series full orchestra soundtrack. There are moments where it sounds remarkably like the second assignment of Sapphire and Steel.
Isn’t it Odd: What is it about turning up places where exact duplicates of the Doctor and his companions feature? It is a bizarre phenomenon that reaches from the Chancellory guard on Gallifrey to Cranleigh Hall. Let’s not beat around the bust it usually leads to an interesting performance from the actor chosen to play the doppleganger and it’s a fun convention. But the frequency with which it happens beggars belief. It’s almost as if the TARDIS – that can witness all of time and space in an instant – deliberately seeks these people out. The Doctor even says as much. The joy of audio is that Anneke Wills doesn’t have to play this character and we can still believe that she is the spit of Polly. The idea that somebody would be the spit of one of the Doctor’s companions and sounds just like her too is stretching credibility.
Standout Scene: The end of episode one, which features a lovely (if predictable) cliff-hanger where Polly appears to be dragged out of the wreckage of a plane. In a moment that I found fascinating rather than dramatic, Polly bursts into tears at the thought that Doctor and Jamie have been killed by the soldiers. It really hit me that so much of season four is placed for entertainment value rather than dramatic value (but then what else can you do when you are faced with the terror of Professor Zaroff’s killer Octopus). I would have liked some stories in this vein where the stakes were high. When you watch The War Games it goes to show just how much high drama can be mined from both the era and the WWII. Very sweetly, Ben tells Polly he will look after and nothing will happen to her, realising they are now stranded here.
Result: ‘If you betray us, Ben and Polly will be executed…’ The Night Witches were a corner of history that I knew nothing about and I have to say I’m very pleased that Doctor Who took the time to educate me about them. Russia’s involvement in WWII may have been well documented but I certainly wasn’t exposed to any of that literature at school or in any subsequent movies or novels I have read so much of this material came as a refreshing take on a well-worn period. And how nice to listen to a Doctor Who audio that favours atmosphere over action and gives over time to characterise its guest cast with care. It’s always nice when we head to another part of the world because there is a chance to hear some different accents to the norm and the Russian actresses all give very impressive performances. I’ve read criticisms that not a great deal happens in The Night Witches and it is true that it is a little short on incident given its two-hour running length but I found the production, the performances and the interactions between the characters more than compensated. Elliot Chapman and Anneke Wills in particular shine in a story that affords Ben and Polly some decent character development and Hines’ second Doctor continues to excite. Episode three was my favourite with the two Londoners apparently marooned in World War II and having to come to terms with what that means. At times it is like Troughton is really taking part, it’s truly the most loving recasting Big Finish has happened upon. The dialogue is naturalistic and helps to make these characters seem real and how nice to avoid the pitfalls of so many historicals that dive into your typical Doctor Who SF nonsense instead of leaning on the drama of the historical setting. The Night Witches isn’t the best Doctor Who historical or even the best Troughton era audio, but it is a superb production, beautifully acted and written with care: 8/10
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