Doctor Who: Lionesses in Winter by Lisa McMullin is an audio drama from Big Finish Productions and is a decent if unremarkable adventure. Jodie Whittaker returns as the Thirteenth Doctor alongside Mandip Gill as Yasmin Khan.
The guest cast is comprised of Debra Baker, Ammar Dufus, Kevin Mathurin, and Dolly Webb.
The Doctor and Yaz arrive in England of 1183 during the reign of Henry II, who seems to have dealt with several uprisings instigated by his own family members. During the Christmas season, the exiled queen is allowed to return to celebrate it with her family. There is also a peculiar imposter, and memories of a child who is not supposed to exist. The Doctor finds that something from another dimension has been in the mirror for a long time and is bringing devastation into the family drama.
The director, Steven Kavuma, makes good use of the small, talented cast.
Whittaker and Gill do have a compelling chemistry and enthusiasm that is kind of infectious. The Thirteenth Doctor is not really my favorite incarnation of the Time Lord, but the stories from Big Finish are better than the audience got on television on the whole. Whittaker’s portrayal has been growing on me a little thanks to better writing in the audio format.
The plot was pretty interesting and delves into the complicated relationship of the royal family in the late twelfth century. McMullin has turned out to be a pretty solid addition to the stable of writers at Big Finish.
Is this the best Doctor Who entry to come out? Not really, but it gets the job done as far as being entertaining and also providing a glimpse, if a fanciful one, into British history.
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