Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures: Operation Vengeance is a new audio drama released by Big Finish Productions and stars Tim Treloar, stepping into the shoes of the late Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. Treloar also has the distinction of co-writing the script with Nicholas Briggs, who is also directing this piece.
Jon Culshaw returns as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who was originally played by the late Nicholas Courtney. Sadie Miller reprises the role her mother originally portrayed in the television series, Sarah Jane Smith. Katy Manning returns to her role as Jo Grant. Gareth Armstrong, Hannah Blaikie, Max Bowden, and Bronte Alice-Tadman are included in the rather lengthy guest cast.
The Doctor has been to the planet Konzomia, previously accompanied by Jo Grant. An old enemy thought dead has revealed himself to be among the living and has a wicked plan of vengeance to execute. The Doctor has Sarah Jane Smith at his side and determines that he has to return to Earth during the period where the Second World War was being fought. He is able to stop and collect his stalwart and courageous friend, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in order to find Jo Grant’s father, who is in the midst of battle. The brilliant but maniacal scientist known as Raelchun is also displaced from his time and home planet and has his own plan to erase Jo from existence by killing Private Terry Grant. The Doctor, Sarah, and the Brigadier are determined to protect one of the Time Lord’s most cherished companions in the midst of one of the most terrible conflicts in Earth’s history.
There is quite a bit going on that keeps this from being a generally unpleasant listening experience, however I doubt I am going to count this among my favorites. In spite of how exciting the plot sounds, it seems to drag at times. Gareth Armstrong’s performance as Raelchun is pretty good, but he seems kind of a cliche Doctor Who villain at times.
Treloar’s efforts to emulate Jon Pertwee are quite effective. It’s not quite so hard to imagine that Pertwee himself is delivering the lines. Also, Sadie Miller is really sounding more and more like her late mother, Elisabeth Sladen.
Sometimes, the action was not that clearly depicted in the soundscape, but that’s bound to happen in an audio play.
There are some moments that are compelling, such as when we learn a bit more about the Brigadier’s past.
Although there some merits to this release, I still had some trouble staying with it all the way through.
I do applaud Treloar’s efforts to stretch himself as a writer, but it was a good thing that Briggs was there as his writing partner.
Even though I have a few criticisms of this episode, it still had some interesting ideas and themes. The chemistry between the main characters was still evident and made this more than bearable. The irony here is that very few of the characters are played by the original actors.
Anyway, it’s not the greatest thing that Big Finish has produced, but it’s still not necessary to pass it by completely. There is some still enjoyment that is not hard to find.
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