‘Doctor Who’ audio story review: ‘Little Doctors’ (Big Finish Monthly Short Trips)

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‘Little Doctors’ is a download only, short story written by Philip Lawrence, read by Frazer Hines and directed by Lisa Bowerman.

It is the second in a new series and titles are available separately or as a subscription. Running at just over thirty minutes, this story finds the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe on the Earth colony of Olympos, which is under the control of its all-knowing super computer Zeus. The Doctor sees how Zeus has the colony so tightly controlled its inhabitants have no freedom to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, so sets out to change things.

The plot of ‘Little Doctors’ has echoes of Logan’s Run, though without the mandatory dying at thirty! The arrival of the TARDIS crew acts as a catalyst leading to fundamental changes in society, and Philip Lawrence’s tale can be viewed as a commentary on our own lives. This is to do it an injustice; it is a well-paced tale of adventure and, most of all, fun.

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Without spoiling the title, suffice it to say the story allows us to see how the Doctor can create change through causing chaos, a role ideally suited to his second incarnation. There is a wonderful Pied Piper moment when he puts the world to rights that is quintessential second Doctor. Zoe also has plenty to do as she has to face up to Zeus directly.

The production is tight, direction crisp and Frazer gives us narrator, Jamie, Zoe and his wonderful Troughton impression, sometimes in the space of a couple of sentences. All done with the panache we have become used to (or spoiled by).

Although narrated by Frazer, in many ways this is a story about Zoe and how she challenges the in-built assumptions of her character. It is an engaging, and most of all, fun tale.

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Released in February 2015 by Big Finish Productions Ltd.

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