“The Uncertainty Principle” is a Doctor Who audio play written by Simon Guerrier for Big Finish Productions. It is part of the range known as The Companion Chronicles and stars Wendy Padbury alongside her daughter, Charlie Hays. This continues a series in which Zoe Herriot is being questioned by an investigator for some ambiguous agency known as The Company. Fans of the television series would know that Zoe had her memory of her travels with the Doctor erased by the Time Lords when they were captured in the serial known as “The War Games”. Jamie McCrimmon had been the 18th century Scottish denizen who had been with them during that era. The Company has found a way to break through the memory block imposed by the Time Lords, however the method is a little unreliable.
Zoe does manage to recall an adventure that starts off with the Doctor and his two companions attending a funeral for a young scientist whose experiments brought very unusual aliens to Earth. These aliens have an unusual ability involving electricity, and the scientist’s actual death may be in doubt…or it may not.
Padbury is engaging enough as a performer in these episodes, and her daughter Charlie Hayes, is fine as well. Guerrier’s script is a bit hard to follow at times though. He has written several episodes for Big Finish, and he usually comes through. This era of the program is a favorite of mine though, so I relish any opportunity for a new Second Doctor adventure. This episode isn’t bad, but I am not sure there is anything that remarkable that makes this one memorable. Padbury does great and seems able to capture the spirit of Patrick Troughton’s interpretation of the Doctor. It’s evident that the mother and daughter seem to enjoy working together. Big Finish has yet to put out something that I actively disliked, but occasionally, there are stories that just fall short of capturing my attention with any intensity. Unfortunately, this particular episode is one of those.
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