Big Finish drop a surprising, late addition to their 20-year celebratory multi-Doctor story.
In 2019, Big Finish celebrated two decades of Doctor Who audio dramas with a 6-part boxset The Legacy of Time. Starring Doctors Three to Eight, it mashed together eras and provided some longed-for encounters as former companions and friends returned.
Now, two new Companion Chronicles explain what the earliest Doctors were up to before their cameo appearances in the finale. In the boxset, the First Doctor was voiced by David Bradley and the Second by Frazer Hines. Here, the pair are replaced by Stephen Noonan and Michael Troughton who now play them regularly for Big Finish.
These two tales were born in lockdown and completed in studio during 2022. But are they a pair of unwarranted additions to the tale or a couple of rare gems?
The Kraken of Hagwell
Barbara Hambly’s story is related by the Brigadier. With his Doctor away on a Martian picnic, he instead finds the First Doctor in the lab. Although he recognises the elderly Time Lord from the events of ‘The Three Doctors’, the Doctor himself is initially having none of it!
However, reluctantly dragged along an incident on the north coast of Wales, there’s a Lovecraftian monstrosity to deal with, one which remains invisible until it spits slime that bursts into fire. The Brigadier also finds the regular army troops strangely subdued, and the Master up to his old tricks.
This very much is the Brigadier’s tale, and we enjoyed his struggles with the temporal complexities. Although the Doctor is seemingly killed during the story, the military man never truly believes it as he knows he’s met later versions. In the extras, it was fun to hear Barbara Hambly, a noted author who has made various contributions to other fictional universes, enthuse about her discovery of Doctor Who.
Jon Culshaw is on narration duties as the Brigadier and also doubles as Roger Delgado’s Master. He’s joined by Stephen Noonan’s Doctor, as well as Geneiveve Gaunt playing the imperious Professor Margot Pannage.
The Heartless Sea
The second tale is related by Naomi Cross (Eleanor Crooks), the 70s UNIT operative who travelled alongside Harry Sullivan (Christopher Naylor), with the Fourth and Seventh Doctors, and ended up in the 21st century.
Here, Naomi relates how she became separated from Harry on an ill-fated mission that begins with a locked UNIT warehouse. Arriving at the location, and already aware of its spooky reputation, the pair find the Second Doctor (Michael Troughton) trying to gain access too. Teaming up with him, they find a mystery within that links to a watery alien world.
Simon Guerrier’s creepy and clever tale is rooted in the dynamic between Naomi and Harry, as both attempt to handle this early Doctor while preserving the timeline. He also has fun hinting at the potential of the sonic screwdriver, and with the way the story links into the wider narrative.
In Summary
The synopsis talks about The Legacy of Time and asks “But, during this adventure, where were the First and Second Doctors…?”. Of all the niche continuity questions, it’s not something that was keeping up at night. Since 2019, the era-mashup idea has been well and truly exercised with the Once and Future 60th Anniversary mini-series too.
Then, there’s also the issue of recasts. Usually, recast roles sit alongside original television cast members, both tales here have no original cast at all. It’s not an issue for us, but we recognise it’s a deal-breaker for some potential listeners. On top of that, choosing to use different actors for the Doctors from the ones in the boxset just seems a bit bizarre.
However, putting those thoughts aside, both tales here are entertaining in their own right and dovetail neatly into The Legacy of Time. Barbara Hambly’s tale is chock full of ideas – enough for a full-length tale – while Simon Guerrier’s is a more contained affair which kept us guessing throughout.
Fronted by a terrific cover from Oliver Chenery, they make a fun addition to the original story. If adding them into a re-listen, they slot neatly just prior to the final episode.
Doctor Who – The Companion Chronicles: The Legacy of Time is available to download from Big Finish now.
The Legacy of Time boxset also remains available for download in both standard and Limited Edition versions. You can check out our review here.