Ian McArdell and Tony Jones review this month’s new Doctor Who plays from Big Finish…
Doctor Who Main Range #200 ‘The Secret History’
As well as the excitement of pairing the 5th Doctor with early companions Stephen and Vicki, this story serves as the culmination of the Locum Doctors trilogy.
With Davison’s Doctor promptly convincing Vicki he is the same man, the tale turns to the politics of the Italian city of Ravenna which, in 540 AD, is on the cusp of being retaken by the Byzantine General Belisarius. Separated from Steven and drawn to Constantinople for a meeting with the Emperor Justinian, the Doctor’s enemy finally shows his hand and the previous Doctor swaps are set in context.
Full of period charm, not least the sounds of the chariot races, Eddie Robson’s script treads the line between the serious and the comic with some larger than life characters. The story employs the main cast well, and boasts an impressive guest list, not least Giles Watling as the practical General Belisarius and Tony Millan as his reluctant advisor Procopious, who becomes an ally to the time-travellers.
All in all, ‘The Secret History’ is a comprehensive conclusion to the wider tale of the ‘Locum Doctors’ which has been great fun and, we judge, a success.
For Main Range subscribers this release comes with a Bonus Short Trip story, ‘Sphinx Lightning’ by John Pritchard, which details an eventful post-war visit to Salisbury Plain for the 3rd Doctor and Jo, read by Stephen Critchlow.
The 4th Doctor Adventures 4.06 ‘The Cloisters of Terror’
While the Tenth Doctor may have suffered a fractious relationship with his companion’s mothers, the same cannot be said for the Fourth.
Answering the call to investigate missing girls at a University College, the Doctor finds himself reunited with Dame Emily Shaw, the mother of Liz, who first appeared in 2012’s Companion Chronicle ‘The Last Post’ along with the late Caroline John.
Jonathan Morris’ spins a straightforward tale surrounding the college, a curse and a trio of spooky nuns, but that is no criticism; the characters are well defined and the script affords the regulars and the guest cast, all female due to the setting, the chance to breathe. It also contains the best Tom Baker gag, on the subject of the end of the world, that we have ever heard,
Claudia Grant, who impresses as one of the students here, was Carole-Ann Ford in the anniversary docu-drama An Adventure in Space and Time, but the real treat is Rowena Cooper’s reappearance as Dame Emily. Wonderfully eccentric and more than capable of handling Tom Baker’s Doctor, she surely demands a further adventure – or how about a whole series?
Short Trips 5.06 ‘Shadows of Serenity’
This month’s Short Trips series of short stories, read by a single actor, is a Nigel Robinson story, ‘Shadows of Serenity’. Nicola Bryant narrated a tale of Peri and the Sixth Doctor trying to unravel the mystery of the planet Malgar.
The once vicious and belligerent Malgarians have found peace, their might starfleet destroying guns are silent and a new set of beliefs founded by the Sisters of Serenity form the template for Malgarian society. Of course not all is as it seems.
This story manages to entertain, present some interesting ideas, but more interestingly take a spiritual/ moral conundrum (should the Doctor seek to restore the Malgarian’s violent nature or not?) and sets out a resolution in the context of some very mundane motivations for the true enemy.
It is good to have a story that sets out in one direction only to arrive at its ending via a different route and while this is a good addition to the collection of Short Trips.
The Companion Chronicles: The First Doctor Volume One
When Big Finish announced the Companion Chronicles were no more, fans were disappointed.
Over the years, these part-narrated tales gave an outlet for stories set in the show’s earlier eras and had a distinct style based on a single known narrator supported by a second actor. Big Finished listened, and this is the result, a collection of four stories set in the time of the First Doctor.
The opener, Martin Day’s ‘The Sleeping Blood’ puts Susan in centre stage as the Doctor falls ill in a story read by Carole Ann Ford. The second, Ian Potter’s ‘The Unwinding World’ is read by Maureen O’Brien as Vicki who narrates a story that manages to include the Doctor, Barbara and Ian convincingly. The story adds real depth to Vicki’s character and Maureen O’Brien demonstrates an uncanny ability to recreate the part she played fifty (!) years ago.
The collection ends with two Simon Guerrier stories that are slightly linked and also pull together ideas from many of his previous outings in this range. ‘Founding Fathers’ puts Benjamin Franklin centre stage in a tale that educates and entertains, but it is the final story, ‘The Locked Room’ that stands out.
Both stories are narrated by Peter Purves as Stephen Taylor, and ‘The Locked Room’ manages to tie in his granddaughter, Sida, the First Doctor and much else besides. A true tour de force!
What was your favourite Doctor Who release from Big Finish this month? Let us know below…