The Historical Adventures (TV)

It astonishes me to this day that there are some Doctor Who fans that will not give the black and white era a chance. Doctor Who has never been about flashy effects or fast paced stories; it has always been about exploring the world of imagination and storytelling. The mighty engine of storytelling of Doctor Who is a portmanteau of styles and ideas that makes me feel quite giddy to consider as a whole. Think of it. The 26 seasons of the original ‘classic’ series (featuring the creeping menace of the black and white years, the hardware of Pertwee, the gothic horror, drawing room comedy and hard SF of Baker, the schizophrenic nature of the 80’s). The experimentation of the New Adventures (reaching such heights as the deliciously playful Conundrum and the gripping Just War). Nostalgic fun in the shape of the Missing and Past Doctor Adventures (with still some space for some truly haunting novels of which The Witch Hunters, The Infinity Doctors and Cold Fusion shine brightly). The daring of the Eighth Doctor Adventures, first in continuing a series of books about a Doctor we hardly know and then having him destroy his home and lose his memory (with novels Father Time and The Adventuress of Henrietta Street exploding with style). The glorious Big Finish Adventures, giving Colin Baker a chance to rock like we always knew he could and giving Paul McGann a chance to explore the character further. The Telos Novellas, possibly the greatest selection of Doctor Who works in print. The Cushing movies. The BBC audios. The long lasting and occasionally utterly stunning comic strip adventures of every single Doctor to date. One of the great advantages of coming to Doctor Who afresh is the wealth of material you can explore and enjoy and discuss. Doctor Who chronicles the imagination of hundreds of writers, directors, musicians, actors, producers and artists (including the set designers, costume artists, make up artists) for nearly 5 decades. It is a force to be reckoned with.

Not to belittle everything that came after but I genuinely feel that the historical adventures that took place in the shows first four years encompass everything great that Doctor Who can offer. They are about as perfect as the show comes. Most of them were produced under exceptional circumstances, each episode rehearsed over a week and squeezed into cramped and stifling BBC studios for two hours on a Friday night. Sydney Newman’s remit to educate his young audience ended up having almost the opposite effect, the historical adventures features some of the most adult material the show has presented. You can feel the influence from behind the scenes, the season one historicals (100,000 BC, Marco Polo, The Aztecs, The Reign of Terror) are crammed full of fascinating facts enforced by Newman, season two was more experimental with the introduction of laugh-a-minute Dennis Spooner as script editor (The Romans, The Crusade, The Time Meddler) and the third season historicals have more bite than earlier seasons put together with Wiles and Tosh ensuring that these adventures hurt (The Myth Makers, The Massacre, The Gunfighters). Season four is the exception, where the historicals were being bled out of the series formula and the last few stabs at this genre were focussed more on fun (The Smugglers, The Highlanders). The BBC were experts at pulling off historical drama so lets take a walk through these dark, dramatic, dangerous, hilarious, witty and adventurous times…

The trip of a lifetime begins with that first step into a humming police box on a foggy winters evening. Ignoring the first episode (as spectacular as it is) the initial step back in time turns into one of the most disturbing. We might shrug our shoulders these days with the thought of walking through one door in London and stepping back out to prehistoric Britain but in 1963 this was a radical concept. Ian and Barbara are used as our eyes and ears in this alien environment and it is their horrified reactions that make this such a disturbing experience. The Tribe of Gum is portrayed with absolute conviction with power struggles, starvation and fear of the beasts in the forest, details that really helps to convince the viewer this is for real. Jacqueline Hill’s performance is especially good, wide eyed wonder as she steps from the ship onto the sandy plain but screaming hysterically once she has been locked up in a cave of skulls, hunted through woods and trips and falls on a dead tiger. Her near breakdown really sells the dangers the travellers are facing. The first story has a treasure trove of little details that are worth mining; the ambiguity of the Doctor’s near murder as he picks up the rock to help Za ‘draw a map’, his cunning in tricking Kal into admitting he killed the old woman, the brutal fire lit fight in the last episode, the dash for the TARDIS at the end (never since has simply reaching the ship felt like such an achievement). The crew may have well have landed on an alien planet for all the otherworldliness this story exudes but the fact that the schoolteachers evolved from communities such as this is just the icing on the cake. Some people say kicking off the show with a story featuring grunting cavemen was a mistake but watched in the dark alone, Doctor Who was rarely as terrifying as it is here and the sheer nausea of the culture shock is phenomenal.

However the first cultured step into history comes two stories on with the sumptuous and detailed Marco Polo. The thought that only three stories (two of those partly complete) from the first two years have been wiped and Marco Polo is one of them is a criminal injustice. Recently the telesnaps have been recovered from the director so we have had a chance to see what a triumph this was for everybody, highlighting the set and costume designers especially. A truly epic journey, we follow Marco Polo through the Roof of the World (the Himalayas), the Gobi desert, the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes, Shang-Tu and finally Peking. The thought of attempting to recreate an embarkation worthy of a series of movies in the hot and poky Lime Grove studios with a limited budget was possibly suicidal for the series. But just look at those photos, the story is lit beautifully, the sets are lush and appear very spacious, the costumes radiate colour and charm even in black and white and listening to the audio everybody is putting in a glorious performance, the music is utterly charming and the pace never lets up. The script is one of the most ambitious in the series and allows each of the regulars a chance to shine. Ian, after three stories of being the baffled science teacher finally gets a chance to be the macho man of the series and really steps into his role as protector here. He faces up to Tegana in a number of wonderful scenes. Barbara gets a truly horrific moment where she is tied up by bandits and they roll dice to see which of them will slice her throat open. In a rare chance to see more to Susan than a drippy teenager her relationship with Ping Cho radiates warmth and chemistry. The Doctor faces off with the mighty Kublai Khan in some gloriously funny sequences, the two of them playing backgammon for high stakes (he wins the material wealth of Burma for one year!). Throughout we gain a new regular in Mark Eden’s Polo, a thoughtful and delicate performance, initially distrustful of the regulars but growing to like and finally to protect them in his quest to return home to Venice. His narration of the story gives it a classical edge and makes the audio even more easier to follow. Certain scenes, even with just the telesnaps and audio to go on are very powerful: the urgency of the singing sands, the Doctor waking up to a slowly condensing TARDIS, Susan grabbed by Tegana just as they are about to escape, another concluding fight that ends bloodily. Marco Polo is a massive departure from the rest of Doctor Who, a lyrical, educational epic that forgets about alien monsters and villains and sees the Doctor and company truly experiencing the beauty and horror of history. A gem.

A popular story, The Aztecs capitalises on one of the biggest strengths of the shows first two years, Barbara. Susan was probably supposed to be the audience identification character from the original line up but none of her reactions ever seem particularly realistic to me (Simon is very fond of doing Susan impressions…”OH GRANDFATHER!” “BARARA….ARGGGGHHHHHHH!” and such like). No it’s Barbara that I usually always side with and understand, from her hysteria in 100,000 BC to her desperation when exploring the Dalek City and her flirting with Ganatus to her glorious tirade at the Doctor in The Edge of Destruction (“Accuse us! You ought to get down on your hands and knees and thank us! But gratitude is the last thing on your mind…or any kind of common sense either!”). She is the most sensible but also the most emotional of the crew (the difference with Susan is her emotions have range). In this story Barbara is mistaken for the God Yetaxa, a potentially silly situation but pulled off with absolute seriousness. The story grabs the viewers interest in the first few seconds and never lets go and has a little bit of something for everyone: Barbara’s ethical dilemma allows for some stunning acting showcases, there are a number of fight sequences for the bloodthirsty viewer, political drama ensues with Tlotoxol attempting to discredit Barbara, the Doctor gets involved with a gentle Aztec lady for those who enjoy a bit of romance and all the while the story is teaching us about a genuinely fascinating period of history. At four episodes the story has a great pace and once again looks superb with some of the most impressive landscape backdrops ever seen in the series. The tone and dialogue convince us that the travellers have wound up in Mexico but visually it is stunning too with a lovely main set centred around the tomb of Yetaxa and also a lush garden set for the Doctor to enjoy his romance. A new Doctor Who genre is created here, with the dilemma of experiencing and wanting to alter history. It would be played for laughs just one year later but Barbara’s conviction in wanting to start the destruction of everything evil the Aztecs do so everything that is good can survive when Cortez lands is gripping, especially when she defies the Doctor’s wishes in doing so. It is moments such as the confrontation between Hill and Hartnell at the beginning of episode two that made the show so compelling to watch. Susan is (mercifully) written out of much of the action but Hartnell is also given the chance to stretch his wings. You cannot fail to laugh when he accidentally drinks some cocoa and gets engaged but more surprising is how much he seems to enjoy his relationship with Cameca. There is another great fight at the end of the tale and Barbara’s realisation that she cannot make the differences she wanted but she managed salvage one mans soul is a touching ending for a stylish tale.

After three deadly serious historicals season one ends with a more light-hearted affair, albeit with a razor sharp edge. Having enjoyed studying the French Revolution at university this was a period I always thought the show was made to explore. Politics, warfare, fabulous clothes, overconfident peasants, heads being lopped off, bread riots, Royalist uprisings, insurrection, raids…it is a minefield of real life drama. Odd then that this story chooses to simply sample the period rather than get the travellers involved in main sweep of events of the Revolution. 1794 is eight years into what historically would be called The French Revolution and The Reign of Terror chronicles the end of Robespierre’s days so we’re coming to the period at the end of the party, so to speak. Dennis Spooner wrote a cracking script regardless and one which concentrates on the seedier aspects of French life at the time; Ian is left in a jail cell with a rotting corpse and Barbara and Susan are carted off to have their heads cut off. There is a lovely twist halfway through that sees Leon Colbert reveal himself as a spy for the Revolution which throws much of the previous action in a different light. But it’s the comedy that really stands out as something not really attempted to this degree before and scenes such as the Doctor facing up to the tyrannical road work overseer and bamboozling the jailer feature a confident and charming William Hartnell on form. I do feel this story runs out of steam in its later episodes but the first two or three continue the high standards of the earlier historicals with some delicious cliff-hangers (the Doctor choking in the burning building is pulled off with surprising style) and a nervous feeling of a noose around the necks of the time travellers. William Russell and Jackie Hill are still going strong but it is clear from this story that Carole Ann Ford is merely a dead weight, storytelling wise. She spends most of the story screaming, ill or unconscious. Maybe they should have given her the chop here. The Reign of Terror is a nice piece but Spooner would get another (and superior) crack at it next year.

With The Gunfighters, The Romans is the funniest thing the show has produced. It is a story where everything gels and the performers all seem at their peak. Come and watch Barbara kidnapped and sold in a slave auction, bought by a kind old Christian and slobbered over by Nero, Emperor of all Rome. Delight in the Doctor being mistaken for the famous lyre player from Corinth, Maximus Petallian, and getting caught up in courtly intrigue as he fights of an assassin, performs musically at a grand banquet and almost gets thrown in the arena with the lions. Balk as Ian is bought and put to work in a slave galley, his ship torn to pieces by a storm and forced to fight as a gladiator for Nero’s pleasure. Laugh as Vicki proves a hopelessly inept shopper, chats with the chief poisoner and almost kills Nero. It’s a story with a wicked sense of humour that approaches history with a cheeky sense of whimsy whilst still exploring its less than salubrious aspects. Vicki has usurped Susan and she is much more fun, O’Brien and Hartnell proving a winning double act wondering around Rome like a pair of mischievous trouble makers. Barbara is in trouble as usual but this time it is all played for laughs as she is pursued through the cloisters of the palace by a fat, bumbling and very horny Nero. The third episode trips into farce and it is astonishing how well this works, despite being as far from the ‘educational’ historical we have been used to. I find Nero’s giggling glee quite scary and this mixture of laughs and chills makes the story an unusual mix. There’s so much going on and so many marvellous lines and witty moments that it is all over before you know it. The running gag of the time travellers missing each other continues to delight for four whole episodes, preceeding Partners in Crime by 40 odd years. One of the bubbliest, unconventional and delightful televised adventures.

From high comedy to Shakespearean drama (with six episodes of SF madness in between) the juxtaposition of The Romans and the Crusade proves the variety of riches these historicals can provide. David Whitaker’s script was so good Spooner and Camfield didn’t alter a line (which was a given in this period of Doctor Who) and even heavyweight actor Julian Glover was impressed. It’s another obvious choice for a historical adventure but what surprises is how honest and adult the material is. My favourite sections involve Barbara once again, kidnapped early on (it’s almost as thought she enjoyed making Ian sick with worry!) and held by the loathsome El Akir, she samples the best (a wary but delightful conversation with Saladin) and worst (“The only pleasure left for you is death. And death is very far away”) Jaffa has to offer. Her pursuit on the streets climaxes in the truly haunting image of her clinging a dagger and terrified that killing the girl clinging on to her might be more humane than letting her fall into the hands of the guards. Jackie Hill is just too good at these moments of pathos. The Crusaders and Saracens are both portrayed with dignity, both sides holding one hand out in peace but keeping the other on their swords. Episode three (which thankfully still exists) must rank as the best episode of the year features one stunning scene after another. The Doctor’s outrage at Leicester’s brutish behaviour allows Hartnell to bark with real relish but even he is topped by Glover and Jean Marsh who produce probably the most vicious and dramatic confrontations in the shows history, the dialogue stings and the delivery is just superb. With lovely direction touches such as the pan backwards to reveal Saladin contemplating in the shadows and delightful characters as Ben Daheer and the Chamberlain, it is not until the story ends that you realise it doesn’t actually have a plot. With moments of genuine drama and a stellar cast strutting their stuff, this is another captivating piece of Who.

Dennis Spooner takes another stab at writing a historical with the charming and cheeky 1066 adventure The Time Meddler. Recycling ideas produced in The Aztecs but having more fun with them he treats the viewer to the first peek at another member of the Doctor’s race. The Meddling Monk is a brilliant character and something of the antithesis to the Doctor, who delights in executing bold plans to improve history for the better. Peter Butterworth gives a lovely performance, at times contemplatively silent but mostly a mischievous little tyke set upon doing anything to wind up the Doctor. There are number of gorgeous Doctor Who moments, hilarious and imaginative, the sight of atomic canons on the cliff tops of Northumbria, the jumping grammar phone pretending to be a monks singing and the Monk’s wish list (number 8 is ‘Meet King Harold’). Douglas Camfield is once again in the director’s chair and atmosphere is the name of the game and he makes the use of rolling clouds and sound effects to transform the studios into a coastal village. The story is a game of two halves, imaginative and bouncy when it is dealing with the Monk but at times slow and stilted when focussing on the Vikings and their raid on the village. However the former gets more screen time and affords Hartnell and Butterworth to clash heads, their chemistry so good they got a rematch a year later. It is a slight story but one which offers possibilities to the series (the cliff hanger to episode three where Vicki and Steven stumble into the Monk’s TARDIS is gob smacking) and has enough wit and style to make the four episodes slip down like smooth ice cream. Spooner’s dialogue is a highlight, funny and lively.

An overlooked gem in the myriad of styles in season three, The Myth Makers is one of the great lost Doctor Who stories. Donald Cotton’s two scripts for this season were both loaded with fantastic one liners, a real appreciation for their period and colourful and engaging characters. Thank goodness one of them still exists but unfortunately it is not this one. Even I ignored this story for a long time blind to the fantastic time this story offers. Humour and horror walk hand in hand and the first three episodes are surprisingly whimsical with some truly risqué scripting. An idea that has been used since but rarely to this effect, the Doctor walks in on a Greek/Trojan fight and is mistaken for the great God Zeus. You’ve got to love how the Doctor plays up to the fact and how all the other characters poke fun at his attempts. Vicki meanwhile falls into the arms of the Trojans and falls for King Priam’s son Troilius. The heart of the story is the Doctor and Vicki either side of this ten year conflict, their captors longing for them to end the stalemate. As much as I adore O’Brien (given a solid role in her last adventure) and Hartnell (especially the thought of the Doctor cramped in the Trojan horse as it is wheeled up the hill to its place in history) there are a number of guest performances that are worthy of mention. Barrie Ingham’s weedy and cowardly Paris is hilariously inept (his whispered taunting of Achilles is a particular highlight) and Frances White is brilliantly melodramatic as his prophetess sister Cassandra (HOW DAAAARREEEE YOU!”). Cavan Kendall imbues Priam with dignity and Francis de Wolff’s Agamemnon lives up to his mighty reputation. The final episode has a funereal atmosphere as only a story where we already know the ending can and Priam’s praise of Vicki for banishing the Greek army is laced with bitter irony. The slaughter at the climax is like a knife to your gut after all the frolics of the earlier episodes. A superb script allowing Vicki the chance to depart with real gravity.

The joy of these historical adventures are their introduction to periods we might not have known anything about and the fascination brewed up in me by The Massacre makes it one of my favourite Doctor Who adventures. That’s no easy achievement. Another trip to Paris (what is about that city and spilling blood?), this time the year is 1572 and there is a discontent in the air since the Catholic King’s sister has married a Protestant Prince. The story uses politics and religious intolerance like no other, tightly focussed on the major players in Paris at the time, using its early episodes to introduce and explore the characters and their idealism and building up to a dramatic assassination attempt and the concluding with terrifying Massacre of the title. Each of season three’s Historicals ends with a bloodbath but this is the most powerful because Steven’s reaction is so vicious. It is his entanglement in the Parisian politics that make this story so interesting, allying himself with the Protestants and slowly uncovering details of the Catholic plot to murder the Huguenots. The story throws in an old chestnut, the merciless Abbot of Amboise is the spitting image of the Doctor but it wisely amputates the Doctor from the action so we are never sure if this is the Time Lord or not. Hartnell’s performance as the Abbot is utterly chilling, word perfect and his mere presence generates an air of disquiet (his first appearance is beautifully built up, banging his cane on the floor impatiently as nervous apologies are made to him). Highlights include Charles’ hysterical reaction to the attempted shooting of Admiral de Coligny and the his mothers biting admission to it, the astonishing cliff-hanger which sees the Abbot dead in the street, the adorably cute Ann Chaplet whose potential murder strikes Steven as a step too far in regards to the Doctor’s callous observation of history and of course the Doctor’s heartbroken soliloquy at the conclusion as he is abandoned in the console room. This is the story the proves how adult Doctor Who can be without losing its ability to teach and entertain but more importantly it proves (if it were needed) what fine actors both William Hartnell and Peter Purves are.

From near fatalism to high jinks, The Gunfighters has been tarnished for too long by Doctor Who stalwarts, practically unseen for an age but revealed as a well observed and hilariously funny romp when it was released on video. I can’t wait for the DVD release. I’m not the biggest fans of Western’s but if they were all as bawdy and riotous as this I would have enjoyed them all the more. Its all a case of mistaken identity again when the Doctor is tricked into the guise of the infamous Doc Holliday and before he know it he is lining up four of the most infamous gunslingers in the West against the saloon bar with a pistol! The story follows the usual western traditions with a twist, the outlaw this time is a lovable rogue, the innocent party is jailed in the sheriff’s office, the sherrif’s brother and goonish bartender shot dead…it toys about with the clichés playfully. And the jokes are just sublime, the very idea of the Doctor asking for a glass of milk in a saloon bar, his reactions to being subjective to western dentistry, Steven and Dodo forced to entertain the Clanton’s, the Doctor’s outrage at everybody giving him guns…it is one very funny moment after another with Hartnell relishing the chance to spread his acting chops. Contrary to popular opinion this is very well made as well with some lovely split level direction, atmospheric lighting and sumptuous sets. I even enjoy the much scorned Ballad of the Last chance Saloon which narrates the action in a new fashion with even more gags. There is a shootout at the end of The Gunfighters that looks as slick and well paced as any action sequence that comes after it. With its perceptive sense of humour and its feel good nature, this is a triumphant comedy that deliciously pulls off a Western in a BBC studio. Because it has spent so long being lambasted and it never fails to make me smile, I give it full marks.

Onto season four, where not a single entire story still exists. The biggest difference between The Smugglers and The Gunfighters, both of which are light hearted, is the companions they feature. With Steven (a terrific companion but past his usefulness now) and Dodo (who barely registered) now surgically removed from the series (with very little subtlety in either case) we are now travelling with swinging sixties Polly and cockney sailor Ben. Both of which help to bring this tale of pirates and hidden treasure alive in fresh and entertaining ways. Polly is so enthusiastic about the idea of time travel but gets her first lesson when accused of murdering the church warden. Ben is just a babe, a real hard nut who has no problems standing up to the dodgy characters they meet here and never better than in the scene where he attempts to convince Tom that Polly has been possessed by the spirit of the Doctor. Just one story away from his departure Hartnell shows no signs of the reputed tiredness or even forgetfulness, indeed this is one of his strongest performances as the Doctor (and that is saying something), forming an instant rapport with his new friends and smooshing his way with the pirates. The telesnaps reveal the usual high standards, some realistic sets and a wealth of sumptuous location work. The soundtrack is delightful, lots of back stabbing and politics. I would have liked a few more historicals in this vein, perhaps not as educational as they were originally intended but colourful and exciting and a pleasure to experience.

Hardly deserving of its reputation as a forgettable that murdered the Historicals, The Highlanders is a surprisingly dark tale with moments of levity. Any story that introduces Jamie and has the good sense to have Ben walking about in wet, figure hugging clothes is okay in my book! The Jacobite rebellion is brought to the screen with a surprising amount of gusto with some vicious fight scenes and lovely, dark touches such as the cell which fills with water and the attempted hanging. It’s probably Anneke Wills’ strongest story as Polly who gets to have a blast manipulating Algenon Ffinch and enjoying a nice, spiky relationship with Kirsty. Troughton is playing the Doctor for laughs but he’s marvellous, his outrageous disguise as Doctor von Wer works a beaut, especially during the fantastic scene in episode two where he manages to tie up Solicitor Grey and practically knock out his clerk. Like the Smugglers it doesn’t really have anything profound to say or do beyond entertaining you for four episodes but as a Troughton historical it feels wildly out of place and hence is worth treasuring.

Beautiful Things written by John Dorney and directed by Lisa Bowerman

What’s it about: Jago, Leela and Ellie take a trip to the theatre to see Oscar Wilde’s new play and discover something sinister during the interval. Meanwhile, bodies are turning up at Litefoot’s lab, while Wilde meets his biggest fan…

Theatrical Fellow: ‘If I wasn’t a gentleman and several feet taller I’d knock your bally block off for that!’ Jago has brushed the whole Abigail affair under the carpet with a gentleman’s stiff upper lip and now believes it just wasn’t meant to be. When John Dorney woke up in the middle of the night and had a moment of inspiration about Leela meeting Boudica I wonder if he had the same sort of flash of stimulation in having Henry Gordon Jago and Oscar Wilde join forces? Think of witty ripostes and whimsical banter that would ensue! He can be bought by pretty much anything and happily admits it. Jago (naturally) is the only one who really enjoys the play as a ‘worthy work of Wildian wit!’ He’s displayed acting talents in the past but cannot bring himself to suffer the indignity of playing a common barman and gives something of a lifeless performance! He’s more of a Dickens chap and was beside himself when Little Nell died. He describes the London Underground as ‘that newfangled thing!’

Posh Professor: Claudius Dark cannot buy his affections and unlike Jago a complimentary ticket to see Wilde’s latest output will not appease him. He takes a similar dislike to Oscar Wilde – I guess it is the florid language and the egotism of both men that he objects to! Litefoot takes no pleasure in Gad’s fate but he was a murderer and received his just desserts. He finds it appropriate.

Noble Savage: Leela has her knife on standby to face off Litefoot’s building men, she finds the flash of her blade is enough to fend off their advances! Leela doesn’t need soft beds and clean sheets, she sleeps under the stars nestled by a strong tree. Animal hides and the hard earth are good enough for her. Leela admits that the journey to Brighton was all at Dark’s behest so I can only conclude that she has had a chat with the Doctor already and he has revealed all. In the middle of the play Leela comments that if she had a Janis thorn she would have stabbed herself by now! Leela hops on the back of a cab which reminded me pleasingly of The Talons of Weng-Chiang. They know that Leela hasn’t returned home because her flower bed has not been slept in! Leela is saved from the process because she is too literal minded – saved by her own lack of intelligence! She’s the only person in this century who finds the idea of a building that is bigger on the inside than the out rather commonplace.

Dark Doctor?: ‘They don’t know me from Adam’ ‘Adam who?’ Dark has unveiled his way into Jago & Litefoot’s lives and they find this character quite suspicious and treat him so. They’ve got enough enemies and they don’t require Dark’s on top of them! He’s like a grand puppet master giving all of the regulars a little tweak here and there to have them move in the right direction and solve the mysteries that he needs them to.

Standout Performance: Alan Cox acquits himself brilliantly as Oscar Wilde, playing the part with a sort of resigned sadness that life is far too predictable and nobody can engage him on his own level of wit. It is only when a handsome stranger offers a nefarious deal that you hear any real emotion creep into his voice.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Why must they play the witty lines as witty lines? They’re far less delightful that way…’ – such an economic way of introducing Oscar Wilde and a champion line to boot!
‘The poet dost vent his soul through his quill!’
‘Oh Gad! It’s Gad!’
‘How do you create something that is bigger than the planet?’ ‘And the universe?’ ‘Conceptually…’
‘The entirety of existence swallowed up birthing the most exquisite artistic creation in history!’
‘There is no beauty here. I have seen your books, your pictures, your music. A random stream of information. Billions upon billions of words and pictures, notes pouring out without craftsmanship, without artistry. Anything of worth buried beneath the weight of witless gibberish you might search for a lifetime and find nothing.’

Great Ideas: Litefoot is genuinely under the impression that his building work wont be completed unless he supplies endless rounds of tea! Wilde is appalled at the idea of being called possibly the greatest word smith of the age – possibly? Litefoot sums up Wilde’s work as being about terribly grand people being terribly witty about things that mean terribly little. And Leela says there is nothing likable about any of the characters. They both have a point but they also forget to mention how terribly funny the man is and that can paper over a lot of cracks in my book! Young men are being found, handsome ones and thoroughly brain dead as if their lives have just stopped. We haven’t had an honest-to-God investigation of this nature for ages with Litefoot putting his old grey matter to work to solve grisly murders. At the same time Leela, Ellie and Jago are on the hunt for the young man with no scent! There are plenty of puns to be had around the exclamation/name ‘Gad!’ Litefoot realises that Gad and his father are in fact the same man, one 20 years old and quite infirmed. A youth debauching and murdering whilst his sins of the passage of time are absorbed by an avatar. The Picture of Dorian Grey is about an aristocrat who owns a painting that sickens and ages for him but in this case Gad has a human receptacle to pour all of his poisonous feelings and symptoms into. They are trapped in an infinite library with every possible book and every possible painting – literally entire volumes of exactly the same book with a single word difference in each one! Dorney has taken the idea of the TARDIS and transplanted into a very different, far more menacing structure. Gad couldn’t create something from nothing and so the library has been taken sustenance from peoples minds and as it gets bigger the more it takes, even from him. The advantage of a conceptual space is that it can follow you always. I always baulk at the fresh and interesting ways that writers come up with to put the Earth in danger and the way the library will eat through everybody’s minds so hungrily and leave a lifeless planet with a bloated concept is the most imaginative I have heard in many a year. What is up with these insane artists that want to make such grand gestures to the world to prove that they existed in such pain? As Wilde says so eloquently – what is art without morality? The perception of beauty is not something to risk the weight of the world on and Wilde departs, not able to walk in Jago & Litefoot’s terrifying world any longer. Hardwick and Kempstone make their presence felt at this story’s conclusion…who are these villainous coves?

Audio Landscape: Banging, Litefoot clambering over detritus, wheezing breaths, crackling fire, pub bawdiness, horse and cart on cobble stones, beautiful birdsong in Litefoot’s garden, footsteps, gun shots, throwing the gun, punching, maniacal laughter, a steam train puffing, the London Underground.

Standout Scene: Jago is beyond excited to make Wilde’s acquaintance as it is the best chance of hobnobbing he’s had for an age! Alas their battle of English leaves Jago out-alliterated and he bafflingly replies to the master of verbal swordplay with ‘I’m afraid you’ve lost me.’ Very funny stuff.

Result: Beautiful Things is an example of business as usual in the world of Jago & Litefoot but I don’t mean that in a negative way because this is about as perfect a representation of this series as you could find. It’s a gorgeous homage to The Picture of Dorian Grey which starts out resembling the SJS audio The TAO Connection (a sick man, his male companion and young men dying by supernatural means) but soon becomes an enthralling mixture of labyrinthine concepts and artistic criticism with some delicious Sapphire and Steel ideas thrown in for good measure. What makes this so Mary Poppins (that’s practically perfect in every way) is that the essentials of this series are so strong and well realised by writer John Dorney they simply add the finishing touches of sublimity to an already sensational script. You’ve got the joyous coming together of Jago and Oscar Wilde, Claudius Dark making his presence felt more keenly, Leela continuing to shine in this setting with her animal instincts at their sharpest and Litefoot back to his investigative ways showing off his deductive skills and brilliance. The dialogue throughout is acuminous, the interplay between all the characters had me howling with laughter and imagination that has gone into creating library that eats peoples imaginations has to be applauded. The inclusion of Wilde ensures there are some intelligent comments about his work and reminds us that this period of history had its own memorably famous characters – I wonder which one the intrepid investigators will look up next? It’s a confident, polished production that could happily have slipped into any of the first three seasons with a little tweaking but that isn’t a bad thing. This isn’t generic Jago & Litefoot and yet Beautiful Things is the epitome of why the series continues to shine: 10/10

Jago in Love written by Nigel Fairs and directed by Lisa Bowerman

What’s it about: Escaping the shadowy presence of the mysterious Professor Claudius Dark, Jago, Litefoot and Leela take a holiday in Brighton. There, Jago meets and falls for music hall singer Abigail Woburn, a relationship that threatens to split the infernal investigators apart, as dark forces gather on the beach…

Infernal Investigators: I think it is worth stepping back a little bit and seeing what makes this series work so well as we enter Jago & Litefoot series four – a feat that would have been impossible had it not been for the perspicacity of David Richardson for seeing the potential in using the two characters in a companion chronicle and for Andy Lane who set the bar so high with his first script The Mahogany Murderers of which all of the subsequent writers have been trying (and to their enormous credit succeeding) to capture the magic of that initial excitement as the format clicked into place so vividly. To take two guest characters from a one off drama in a serial science fiction show and give them their own platform is something that could surely only happen in Doctor Who? Over the first three seasons we have seen the intrepid duo tackle everything from haunted graveyards to zombies and time fractures and they have managed to get through it with their friendship getting progressively stronger and back in time for tea and muffins. If you think this is a cosy series that revels in machiavellian machinations then you might be in for a shock – they’ve murdered regular characters (Ellie’s astonishing development), changed the format (Litefoot & Sanders), introduced one of the best Doctor Who companions (Leela), told stories in the form of storybooks, tackled issues as damning as suicide pacts and handled trips into the future as deftly as their recreation of the past. It would seem that the writers have gone out of their way to prove that this series has a format as deft and malleable as Doctor Who itself. With its constant innovation and atmospheric tales it is no wonder that the series is getting more popular as it goes along rather than diminishing its impact. With one verbose, ruddy, clownish, theatre owner and one well spoken, charming, warm pathologist, a cockney barmaid, a noble savage and now a sinister enemy waiting in the wings it would seem that this series is developing a set of regulars to rival the best of anything else that Big Finish has produced. And with standout writers John Dorney, Matthew Sweet, Justin Richards, Andy Lane the series is in fantastic hands…all bound together by director Lisa Bowerman and producer David Richardson who treat it as a labour of love. If you haven’t tried this series yet you don’t know what you are missing out on…check out my reviews, check out other reviews online…everybody can’t be wrong. Any season that is fronted by Trevor Baxter, Christopher Benjamin, Louise Jameson, Lisa Bowerman and Colin Baker is a formidable beast indeed.

Theatrical Fellow: Is there anything more sublime than listening to Christopher Benjamin get his tongue around some humorous and smart alliterative dialogue? Jago feels as happy as he has ever been whilst perusing the prom at the seaside with a fine lady on his arm. Jago enjoys recounting stories in a much more florid (and far more entertaining) way than Litefoot…in his words the demon that assaulted them was sent straight back to hell! He comes over all queer when he first spots Abigail and Leela fears he has been possessed by a demon. Wonderfully Jago has the nerve to suggest that Arthur Conan Doyle reaped his inspiration from his nocturnal and nefarious adventures with the good Professor. Abigail asks why Jago puts up with the way that Litefoot and Leela look down on him but he suggests that when you have found somebody that you can really call a friend you are willing to put up with any kind of nonsense. I love the way he accidentally burbles out that he was going to propose to Abigail and thus completely ruining the surprise. He sees his life without her as a grey one, a life without meaning. Like a proper gentleman he gets down on one knee and proposes properly but needs help getting up again because he has a gyppy knee!

Posh Professor: He does have a certain standing in medical and economical circles and wonders if that is how Dark has heard of him. Litefoot is appalled by Leela’s forthright suggestion that Jago wishes to mate with Abigail! When he hears Jago offer to fork out money on Abigail he wonders if he has hit his head harder than he thought! Baxter is compelling when he looks into a mirror and sees that nothing is there and starts smashing them like a man possessed. He reveals that he saw somebody who meant a great deal to him a long time ago in the mirror…but it could never be.

Noble Savage: ‘I am not a madam!’ Nigel Fairs turning up to write for Jago & Litefoot is fortuitous because he happens to have much practice in writing for Leela and scripted one of her finest audio adventures in the companion chronicles range (The Catalyst – check it out because Jameson is absolutely spellbinding). Leela has no need of money and she can run faster than any missus! She would never go home when there was the smell of a hunt in her nostrils. The Doctor used to speak of a place called ‘holy-day’ where warriors can rest from their battles and prepare for the next. She thinks it is good to learn from the wisdom of the old. She’s fully prepared to tackle this cupid who has slain Mr Jago! There is a slight degree of prejudice to her character, thinking that Abigail is diseased because she has Alopecia and would not be a good match for Jago because of it. This uncivilised madam is not afraid to get her hands dirty and slaughters a beast when it threatens her friends.

Dark Doctor?: I honestly thought that this series couldn’t get any better and then they bloody well slap my favourite Doctor (or at least the performer) into the series! I have long championed Colin Baker’s outstanding contribution to Big Finish and I have heard him mention in many an interview that he wished he had taken part in some of the classic Doctor Who adventures like The Talons of Weng Chiang. Now is his chance to do so and his plummy, eloquent voice fits the period perfectly. Given a sinister, manipulative role in a Victorian drama series, Baker shows what a versatile actor he really is. What’s interesting about Claudius Dark’s introduction is how he has managed to send a message to both Jago & Litefoot in their exact speech patterns. Almost as if he knew them already…and then he asks ‘don’t you recognise me?’

Standout Performance: Didn’t you read my write up on the series?

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘There’s only one Queen of England and she despises Brighton!’
‘This has nothing to do with you – bald one!’ – hahaha!

Great Ideas: With the addition of new cast members and in the midst of a storyline you might think that this is wrong place to hop onto this series but there is a handy recap told via Jago to Abigail that reacquaints old listeners and gets new ones up to speed with regards to the characters and settings. Setting the story in Brighton is another delight because it is a town I know intimately. I loved the atmosphere as we are first introduced to Abigail – a right proper knees up in the local theatre with a piano being assaulted and a voice that could charm the larks from the sky! Every mirror in the place cracked? A trip to the funfair offers a potential viewing of circus freaks…its funny but I saw something similar on TV the other day – The Jerry Springer Show! Spirits of a couple trapped between worlds with unfinished business was also played out in Buffy’s I Only Have Eyes for You but its such an evocative concept and transfers so well into this period setting I wont complain. George and Mary both died on 14th August, 1887, perishing in the snowstorm that Gypsy Nancy predicted. Mary was trapped in the mirror whilst George didn’t realise he was dead and searched all of Brighton for his beloved. Cue awesome scenes of Litefoot and George re-enacting their reunion, an oddly homoerotic moment of supernatural skulduggery!

Audio Landscape: Thunder rumbling, rain pouring, seagulls screaming in the sky, the sea rolling, applause, bawdy theatrical atmosphere, smashing glass, a man crying, footsteps, screaming, snow whipping up a storm, a steam train chugging off, a delicious screaming conclusion for Abigail…

Musical Cues: Absolutely on the ball. Light and bubbly during the theatre scenes, reticent and unpredictable when things get spooky and triumphant when Jago & Abigail get engaged. Its business as usual and if that seems like a jaded compliment it isn’t meant to be, that man Howard Carter is perfect for this series.

Standout Scene: I was waiting and waiting for Abigail to turn out to be a malevolent presence and was genuinely surprised when she turned out to be exactly what she appeared to be. It has the rather touching side effect of making Jago realise that love is impossible whilst he leads such a reckless life and it comes down to his chaotic adventures with Litefoot or a relationship with Abigail. When a heart is torn in two like that it is impossible not to sympathise but when it is lovable old Jago its almost unbearable. Nothing is going to tear him from the good Professor’s side so he has to lose his one chance at love. Sniff…sniff… And then the last scene reveals that things were more sinister than they seemed after all…

Result: After the experimental nature of series three we are back in the more comfortable, atmospheric ambiance of series one and two and it’s a winning formula that continues to please. With the added value of Leela and the spooky atmosphere of this series at its height, Jago in Love offers plenty of witty dialogue, jump out of your seat moments and a touching exploration of our favourite theatrical impresario under Cupid’s spell. With a trip to the seaside, the theatre and the funfair there are plenty of opportunities for Lisa Bowerman to immerse us in that glowing Victorian ambiance that the series flaunts so engagingly. The performances are as gorgeous as ever - its lovely to get to see the tender side of Christopher Benjamin, Louise Jameson fits this series like a glove now and delivers some pitch perfect observations and ripostes and Trevor Baxter gets the chance to play some chilling scenes as Litefoot in a very unusual role. Mirrors stealing souls, photographic skulduggery, disembodied voices, snarling beasts and possessed Professors…Jago & Litefoot is back and its at its entertaining best: 9/10

Sponsored walk for cancer research!

Simon and I did our sponsored walk for cancer research today from Eastbourne to Brighton...it took nearly nine hours and we walked 22 miles! Fortunately the weather was on our side and it was glorious! Here are some of the snaps!

If anybody is in the dontating mood the link is here and there is still lots of time! http://www.runningsponsorme.org/joey-simon

The Wrath of Iceni written by John Dorney and directed by Ken Bentley

What’s it about: Britain. The height of the Roman occupation. The Doctor has brought Leela to ancient Norfolk to learn about her ancestors… but has no idea how much of an education she is going to get. Because this is the time of Boudica’s rebellion. When the tribe of the Iceni rises up and attempts to overthrow the Roman masters. As Leela begins to be swayed by the warrior queen’s words, the Doctor has to make a decision: save his friend… or save history itself?

Teeth and Curls: The Doctor expressing his admiration for Noel Coward’s brave attitude towards life feels very right on. If he wants Leela to learn about her ancestors it is better to do it in person, to use his time machine to continue her education. This Higgins/Doolittle angle has really been stressed this season and I’m pleased as it was an original approach to the Doctor/companion dynamic that was dropped in the fifteenth season. If there is one thing that he thinks is truly evil on the Earth it is Morris dancers, they are right up there with the Daleks (nice, subtle mention before their return next month) and the Cybermen. There’s a wonderfully quiet aside the Doctor makes about not being able to let Leela go and I wasn’t sure if he meant that he couldn’t because he feels responsible for her savage nature now or because he had grown too attached but it was very intriguing in either direction. They are wandering wayfarers wending their weary way! Its clear that Tom Baker’s strength on audio lies in his eccentricity because he sounds a lot more comfortable expressing himself as a fool (‘hey nonny nonny honk honk!’) than he does a dramatic character but to his credit he has a good stab at engaging with the tougher material. Interesting to see the ‘wherever I lay my hat that’s my home’ fourth Doctor wanting to leave as soon as possible due to the upcoming slaughter. He describes himself as Doctor ‘of no fixed abode.’ He does hate a set menu, even in history! Of course he would stop the massacre if he could. When the Doctor quietly ponders on whether he can save one life, if not make an impact on the massacre that is to come it is a fine dramatic statement but its one that we have heard in The Aztecs (‘you did save one man…’) and The Fires of Pompeii (‘just someone please…it doesn’t have to be anybody important…’). Its such a shame that familiarity should hamper the story and to somebody who doesn’t know Doctor Who inside out it wouldn’t make a difference…but Big Finish is a niche product only purchased by fans who understand this series inside out (or at least I presume they do) so this reworking of old ground will lack the impact of something truly original. I love the idea of the Doctor as a doomsaying prophet, it worked in The Masque of Mandragora and it works here. What doesn’t is his odd flippancy and parlour games whilst he is locked up, for once you wish he would stop trying to be witty and take the situation serious on the outside. His distraction technique pretending to be the sort of man who is hired to test the ability of the guards by being captured and escaping is very funny. Leela saved her life and he feels inclined to return the favour.

Noble Savage: ‘This is wrong!’ There is so much dramatic and comic potential in Leela that she is pretty much the ideal Doctor Who companion. Social and verbal misunderstandings are what made her such a joy in The Talons of Weng-Chiang and here she is similarly funny when she dismisses Noel Coward because she sees his surname as a badge of dishonour. She understands the sounds of warfare when she hears them and will not be restrained by the Doctor – her independence and refusal to be disciplined is one of the things that really makes her stand out. She charges in a saves Boudica with no nerves and at one point no knife, killing indiscriminately to save the life of what she thinks is an innocent woman. A warrior woman whose family were tortured and whose people were oppressed – Boudica’s spec is that of Leela’s when we first met her in The Face of Evil so it is easy to see why she was so taken by her story and so readily joins her cause. She genuinely believes that Boudica has suffered gravely at the hands of an invader and deserves justice and because it is the Doctor who has told her this story she has no doubt to its veracity. His cold reaction to her willingness to get involved makes her question her relationship with him and what little she understands of his character. Leela finds Boudica’s cause just and pledges herself to serve her. She firmly believes the Doctor is on the side of right, even if she doesn’t agree with his impotence here. Its almost a shame that we learn that Leela’ threats to torture the Doctor were all a ruse so she could pass him her knife and escape because that would genuinely be pushing the series into new territory. And Leela is the one companion that I could believe in that sort of development of. Just flirting with the idea is exciting but the story should have embraced it. Her message was to tell the Doctor to go and to leave her here, that she has made her choice and she will stick by it. Even with her doubts, Leela is an honourable woman who will stand by her pledges. When she finally refuses to fight it is a moment of triumph, turning on Boudica and condemning her for her bloodlust. Her name means nothing because she needs no portents to aid her fight. You get the sense that he fight with Boudica is the most important one of Leela’ s life because she is literally fighting the woman she once was (a mindless savage lost to violence). She will either die or emerge victorious as a stronger, conscience stricken warrior.

Standout Performance: Louise Jameson is such an astonishing actress and she is perfect to bring juicy material like this to life. Is this the only example of the companion giving consistently better performances than the Doctor. Certainly not for Big Finish – I genuinely believe that Philip Olivier is ten times the actors that Sylvester McCoy is. Jameson grabs this opportunity with both hands and gives Leela’s journey here a real shot of emotion. Her instincts and her loyalty are torn in different directions and she what she is left with is a conscience that will not be satisfied whichever way she jumps. When she finally confronts Boudica on the battlefield Jameson was so riveting I had goosebumps. In comparison Tom Baker does his damdest to appear business as usual in some scenes (and I don’t buy that as a ‘Doctor under pressure trying maintain his spirits’) which guts them of their dramatic potential. I found his flippancy during the scenes where Leela and Boudica visit him in prison to be especially damaging to the tone of the piece. However his quiet pondering in episode is excellent, you get a real feeling that he is an age old traveller who is tired of always doing what is right. And yet his ‘I’ll say what I like you verminous, flocculent, prophetic mongrel…’ is appallingly delivered – the Doctor sounds bored rather than angry! Also a huge round of applause to Ella Kenion, who I have seen in various comedy shows over the past few years (including the legendary Catherine Tate Show) and it is fantastic to listen to her grapple with something meatier and more dramatic. It would take an actress in a million to clash with Louise Jameson's Leela and come out of the scrap with their dignity (and scalp) intact and Kenion proves more than up to the task.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Money is the best way to subdue a population…’ ‘Invasion by gold?’
‘And Rome claimed to be a cultured civilisation…’
‘We all have our treasons!’
‘Hangman? Possibly a little portentous in the circumstances…’
‘If it is my destiny then telling me cannot alter it.’
‘Let us ride into history!’
‘He’s as dead as a Dodo is! Or going to be…in about 600 years.’

Great Ideas: Dorney gets things off to a great start by shaping the story as a historical myth and dressing the Doctor up as an vital figure in this tale. The Wrath of Iceni isn’t afraid to show (or rather portray) real violence that goes far beyond anything that even Philip Hinchcliffe would have been able to show and it gives the story a genuine threat. I honestly believe that Tom Baker’s strength lies in his ability to narrate so skilfully these days (its what makes his Target readings such a revelation) and when he recounts the tale of Boudica’s past he is so much more relaxed and absorbing – when he makes the suggestion that her daughters were raped he just stops and the silent is more frightening than any words that Dorney could have put into his mouth. The Doctor being forced to tell Boudica about her defeat because a life is threatened holds up a pleasing mirror to a scene in Genesis of the Daleks. Here he betrays the past whereas there he betrayed the future.

Audio Landscape: Crackling fire, walking over twigs and bramble, marching, footsteps in mud, a horse screaming, stabbing and thrusting, a beheading, chopping, cooking, gunfire, spears piercing the air, swords unsheathed, clashing steel.

Musical Cues: Fox & Yason take up the reins from Jamie Robertson and are typically superb in this biting piece of drama, punctuating the seriousness of the piece with some bombastic stings and dramatic momentum. The score gets more insistent as the story progresses.

Isn’t it Odd: Despite Ella Kenion’s strong performance I found Boudica to be something of a bore. I get that the writer was trying to offer as honest a portrayal as possible by not making the character sympathetic but without a personal stake in her welfare I simply couldn’t engage with her. It felt as if there was a yawning distance between what she was fighting for and what I cared about – all my sympathies were with Leela in this tale and I’m not sure if the story had the full impact it should have because of it. In The Aztecs you feel for Barbara because she is trying to do the right thing but you also feel for Autloc because he is being misled – in Iceni its fascinating to see how Leela sees a kindred spirit in Boudicca but the great lady herself is so harshly portrayed and discomfortingly violent towards all it is hard to see how Leela (who has always shown a protective side towards the defenceless) would empathise. The trouble is I’m not sure this could have been written in any other way without mischaracterizing the warrior queen so perhaps another conflict should have been chosen to explore Leela’s journey. There are certainly plenty of wars to choose from and ones with famously wrong historical figures! When the Doctor starts going on about history being recorded fact and that they cannot interfere its like playing back an old record from the Hartnell era…there is nothing new added to the mix as Leela is seduced by the idea of making a difference.

Standout Scene: It is something of a moment of triumph for Leela to be standing in the midst of battle and death and to be appalled at the slaughter of old men, the infirmed and those that cannot fight back. You get a real sense that her bloodlust has been tempered by a conscience which has been nurtured by the Doctor and that whilst she hasn’t diminished as a warrior (indeed the Doctor’s harebrained adventures see that she gets much practice) she earned herself a soul. This entire season would be worth making just for Leela’s epiphany in this story.

Result: A dramatic tale that deserves applause for giving the fourth Doctor and Leela the sort of material they were denied on television but loses impact by covering some familiar ground with regards to the series. Louise Jameson gives a Doctor Who career best in The Wrath of Iceni and whilst Tom Baker is very good in some scenes he once again seems a little discordant and out of tune with the material as he was in Destination: Nerva, although nowhere near to the same extent. What really works is how the period of history chosen is so pleasingly tailored to Leela and generating tension between her and the Doctor and yet I found myself distanced from the tale because it wasn’t a period of history I was familiar with and nothing presented here made me want to learn more. Direction and dialogue are both top notch and you certainly couldn’t argue with how the material is presented, some scenes are so viciously presented you will be left reeling from the impact. It’s a tale that managed to thrill and frustrate but its definitively pushing the Doctor and Leela into new territory, if not the series and that can only be for the good of this range. A mixed bag then but erring on the side of excellent for the most part and fans of Jameson and those who want to see some riveting development of Leela have to seek this out: 8/10

Wirrn Isle written by William Gallagher and directed by Nicholas Briggs

What’s it about: The year is 16127. Four decades have passed since the colonists of Nerva Beacon returned to repopulate the once-devastated planet Earth – and the chosen few are finding the business of survival tough. Far beyond the sterile safety of sanitised Nerva City, transmat scientist Roger Buchman has brought his family to an island surrounded by what they once called Loch Lomond, hoping to re-establish the colony he was forced to abandon many years before. But something else resides in the Loch. A pestilent alien infestation that the Doctor, beaming in from Nerva City, remembers only too well from his time aboard the Beacon… The Wirrn are back. And they’re hungry.

Softer Six: Isn’t amazing how Colin Baker’s sixth Doctor manages to fall into a comfortable chemistry with his companions so quickly these days? His rapport with Evelyn is second to none, he has a gentler bond with Peri on audio bridging the gap between Revelation of the Daleks and Trial of a Time Lord and he got on with Charley like a house on fire despite the fact that she was clearly keeping secrets. In the opening episode you would swear that the Doctor and Flip had been travelling together for a couple of months rather than just three stories because the interplay between Colin Baker and Lisa Greenwood is so warm and inviting. The Doctor cannot fathom an idea that he has thought being anything other than extremely clever! Much like the fourth Doctor in Pyramids of Mars the Doctor has to be cruel to be kind and informs Iron’s parents that no matter how much the Wirrn sounds like their son he died 15 years ago. He once again becomes the lonely alien wanderer, distanced from the emotion of the injustice and dealing with the practicalities of what is going on. Its great drama for the Doctor to have to beam Iron to his death in front of his mother, constantly having to account for his actions. He never needs the TARDIS to tell him which period of human history he is in, he just needs to test how much patience the people have! He has to point out (in fairness) that the Wirrn mothers are fighting for survival just as the humans are, again he seems coldly distant and fascinating. When the Doctor tells Flip that she is going home and then tells her that is the TARDIS it gave me goosebumps. They’re just lovely together.

Flippin’ Marvellous: Just like the Doctor had a spectacular entrance in The Curse of Davros so Flip gets one here as she transmat’s onto the Earth and throws up all over the floor! She’s so cute when she grabs the heated coat and swears she will never take it off. Flip isn’t a sixties reject and blanches at the Doctor’s attempts to send her to the kitchen but for the chance of hot drink and a warm oven she capitulates. Even other people can see that she doesn’t take any of the Doctor’s nonsense and he clearly respects her for it although she has to correct Veronica on one thing – he is not her father despite how they act. A father/daughter relationship between these two is exactly what has been set up and now it is working so effectively (and intimately) I hope it is not the last we see of them together. Splitting up is never a good idea especially when there are human incubating Wirrn about but when Flip is the lightest of the lot she is the one who can fly the ship to the nearest outpost for help. The Doctor can’t make his mind up whether Flip is the bravest girl he has ever met or simply foolhardy. If people had a hard time liking Flip before I don’t see how they could still feel that way after she crashes, breaks a couple ribs and comes too with dark blood spilling onto the ice. Her blood has frozen her to the ice…and with the Wirrn surrounding. Absolutely terrifying. She is resourceful too, making a splint and forcing herself to walk in the direction of the Doctor whilst trying to think up a decent walking song! Her desperation as the Wirrn try and smash their way through into the way station is really uncomfortable to endure. Once she is transmatted to Nerva City it plays out precisely as The Dominators should have been with Flip trying to convince this indolent society that there is a very real threat on its way. Asking politely never seems to work for her. The murder is hard for Flip to grasp because she has only ever seen it in films where you know it will be alright at the end. Here she is facing real death on a terrible scale. As soon as she realises children are being devoured Flip stops thinking inwardly and starts asking what they have to hand that could help to stop this. I was already convinced that Flip was a keeper but when she thinks the Doctor is going to take her home and accepts that fate despite the fact that she is desperate to stay with him…well she’s just adorable, isn’t she? The Doctor gave her the chance to help people and she apologises for lumbering herself on him…how could he possibly refuse her?

Standout Performance: I would say this is Lisa Greenwood’s finest hour yet and she gets to truly get her teeth into some dramatic material. The horror she experiences in this story should win even the staunchest critic over.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Porridge! Now that says Scotland to me!’
‘Tell me one thing before I touch your hand…’ – shitting hell! This is seriously creepy!
‘Meet my new family…’
‘Humans! Not so much indomitable but exasperating!’

Great Ideas: I hate to be churlish (no I don’t but I just thought I’d say it) but the family beaming down onto the Earth’s surface in the very first scene does something more emotive and imaginative with the Nerva setting than the entirety of Destination: Nerva. Pair bonding was mentioned in The Ark in Space and it is described here as having a rigid control over their genetic pool. Its been 40 years since they returned to Earth and the human race has lost a lot; population resources are scarce and they are having to do more with less. I love the idea of a story set in Scotland after the events of The Ark in Space around a Loch that is completely frozen – without even trying I can see an atmospheric landscape of misty ice and chittering Wirrn spawn emerging from the darkness. Advance parties were sent out when the colonists on Nerva first awoke to prepare the land for everybody else but all they did was create a mess and vanish…I got a sinking feeling as soon as I heard that. Veronica and Roger are very cleverly written as being on the verge of splitting up but they are forced to stay together through genetic bonding. It’s a really clever way of getting us close to these people and exploring the injustice of the sexual morality of this era. Can I just say that I was tucking into a Rivita with cucumber and tomato on it when the Doctor happily informed all of the diners that they are about tuck into Wirrn mucus! Thanks William Gallagher! My lunch remains untouched. Husks of people eaten through! Bleugh! The economy of the storytelling (very few speaking parts but all well defined) and the growing horror of the first episode is superbly done. Twigs reaching up out of the ice…what a creepy way to describe Wirrn legs breaking through and reaching out to the sky! You can hear them tearing free of the ice as Flip lies there unconscious…my teeth were permanently clenched! When Roger picks up 400 other lifeforms on the ice you realise the scale of the danger. Thirty years on Robert Holmes’ stomach turning concept of the gestating Wirrn breeding inside people and then eating them from the inside out still packs an incredible punch. A purring voice follows Flip wherever she goes and frightens her by telling her she has just looked at him. Its clear as soon as we learn about their dead son that Veronica and Roger are hiding something dark and I was genuinely surprised when we learnt that this was the disembodied voice that was haunting Flip. Iron drowned in the lock when left unattended and beamed into a Wirrn by his father who misunderstood the technology. Nice use of a South African accent at Nerva City, tying in with The Sontaran Experiment. Iron haunting Flip was bad enough but Veronica’s reaction to hearing her dead son talk to her is a deeply unpleasant way of reminding us of how the Wirrn eat away the body and latch onto the soul of their incubators. The subversion here is that this time it is the human corpse leeching off the Wirrn rather than the other way around but its just as unsettling. The Wirrn eat through the power lines to isolate them. Via the transmat the Iron infested Wirrn absorbs Sheer’s knowledge too airing Veronica’s dirty laundry in a very public way as father and son finally meet in a Wirrn host. What an insane, nasty idea having Roger killed by the son that wasn’t his and the man who betrayed him. The Wirrn wants to invade Nerva City and feast on its populace and via the transmat beam he can be replicated a thousand times over so that one hungry, pregnant insect can become an army. Iron is everywhere on the face of the planet, a nightmarish threat for Veronica who is menaced by a disfigured version of her son. At first I thought Toastie was something of a dead character but she used brilliantly in the last episode to remind Veronica that there is something live for. The Doctor gives the Wirrn the chance to breed elsewhere but drunk on power they feel as though they have the entire planet and its populace at their disposal.

Audio Landscape: The transmat beam, a gas stove being ignited, a humming wind, the Nerva binky bonky transmat, the choking micro light, buzzing on the wind, crunchy icy footsteps, twitching mandibles, insectoid screams, the overlapping voices in Nerva city, creaking, cracking ice, applause, Olympic cheer, screaming victims running from the chittering Wirrn, smashing windows, lasers firing.

Musical Cues: Beautifully done as ever with some genuinely creepy atmospherics as Flip is lost and alone on the ice.

Standout Scene: The Wirrn mothers went through the agony of having their own eggs planted in themselves, being eaten from within just to give their children a chance. It suddenly gives the Wirrn a very humane angle whilst still being utterly terrifying. That’s the sort of intelligence William Gallagher injects into his script.

Result: Very scary and insidious listening which is told with a skilfully economic cast and a director who is completely devoted to frightening the pants of you. Flip goes through a living hell in this episode and she does it quite alone without the comfort of the Doctor to protect her. Lisa Greenwood is phenomenal in Wirrn Isle, allowing Flip to be a victim whilst never once forgetting how brave, resourceful and feisty she is. I was doing the audio equivalent of hiding behind the sofa as she was menaced by disembodied voices, hulking Wirrn whilst trying to hold her own broken body together. Like Lisa Bowerman’s best ever direction in A Thousand Tiny Wings, director Nick Briggs knows precisely when to make noise and when to snatch it away and he uses the silences to allow the audience to fill in some nasty blanks before assaulting you with some very unpleasant sound effects. It’s a claustrophobic little thriller for the first two episodes before expanding to answer some of the loose threads hanging at the end of The Ark in Space as we get to visit Nerva City. Suddenly the Wirrn are everywhere like a pandemic of bloated insects gorged with eggs to plant into human incubators. Just like Spare Parts the inclusion of a family unit equates into fantastic drama and the secrets and tragic past of the Buchman’s gives this scare fest a real beating heart. The Wirrn are such an imaginative, menacing threat and Gallagher manages to unlock plenty of their potential whilst flaunting some imposing imagery. This arc has been three for three for old Sixie and his new companion, a truly impressive beginning for their adventures together. Let’s hope we hear more from them soon. Its three very different stories (a character drama, a post-modern mind fuck and a gripping slow burn horror story) but all three of them have been just about perfect in their own unique way. A knockout start to 2012 and I would advise that you listen to this one in the dark. You wont regret it: 8/10

What is your favourite range?

Hi folks! As you can see the poll to your right lists the various Big Finish ranges and I would like to see what the favourites are of those who frequent the blog. The Big Finish Introduction piece (http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2012/02/big-finish-introduction.html) has already become one of the most popular reads on the site and I would like to add your voices to the articles so new people coming to Big Finish can have a more varied view of the company and why people like it. Once you have voted if you could pop me a quick email to joe8simon@aol.com or post on this thread on Gallifrey Base - http://gallifreybase.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124491&page=8 - and I will add your comments to the article.

Thanks for your continuing support with the blog

Joey :-)