Tag: big-finish

Doctor Who Audio Review: A Kraken, The Master, And A Ravenous Sea

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Companion Chronicles: The Legacy of Time provides a pair of Doctor Who audio dramas featuring the First and Second Doctors as related by some atypical companions for these incarnations. This set is a spinoff of the celebratory boxset The Legacy of Time which was commemorating Big Finish Productions being able to produce Doctor Who content for twenty years. Nicholas Briggs has returned to the director’s chair, which will certainly almost guarantee more than one thing to enjoy.

Stephen Noonan returns to the mic as his version of the First Doctor doing a fairly decent impression of the late William Hartnell. Michael Troughton takes on the role originated by his father, Patrick, as the Second Doctor. There is even another Doctor who appears, but I will avoid spoiling that one.

The first episode is written by Barbara Hambly and is entitled The Kraken of Hagwell. The cast includes Jon Culshaw narrating this tale as the stalwart Brigadier Lethrbridge-Stewart. He also takes on the role of the Master, who was initially portrayed by the late Roger Delgado. Genevieve Gaunt is also lending her vocal talents.

A village has been decimated by a sea monster, and the Brigadier encounters an earlier version of the Doctor than the ones he has known before. The Master is also on the scene to try to harness this creature for his own malevolent purposes. The Doctor has been misplaced from his time stream and is not sure how he seems to have slipped into his own future working with UNIT.

Hambly has a long history in the science fiction and mystery genres, and it’s kind of a coup that Big Finish was able to get a submission from her.

I found her contribution to be pretty good, but I wouldn’t call it a stand-out. The performances are fine. Noonan has gotten better in his impression of Hartnell. Culshaw’s talent and enthusiasm really holds the thing together.

I liked it well enough, but I doubt I will consider all that memorable.

Long-time contributor Simon Guerrier serves up a decent enough tale with the Second Doctor, as portrayed by Michael Troughton, who is channeling his father. The Heartless Sea has the Doctor team up with Naomi Cross and Harry Sullivan, played by Eleanor Crooks and Christopher Naylor. Naylor is playing a role that originally was played by the late Ian Marter.

Harry and Naomi arrive at Warehouse 9 in order to investigate some apparent haunting when they encounter the Doctor who has suddenly appeared it out of nowhere. The Doctor is in his second incarnation. When they enter the warehouse, they find there is some giant invisible spirit and a portal that takes them to an alien sea that is alive and hungry.

This story is told from Naomi’s perspective, and Crooks does deliver a compelling performance. The story has some imagery that is a little difficult top picture in the imagination at times, but one of the advantages of audio dramas is that the imagination can often provide a better visual than cinema.

Troughton’s impression of his father has gotten a bit better, but I prefer Frazer Hines’ performance as the Second Doctor. Still, Troughton hits the mark close enough so that I can still enjoy a good Second Doctor story.

Overall, the episodes didn’t quite hit the level of anything spectacular, but the concept of these earlier Doctors meeting companions and trusted friends from their future is charming. It’s not something that needs to be repeated too much, but I can appreciate the intent to freshen things up a bit while still indulging the fans. I am just glad that Big Finish has chosen to represent the earlier eras of the series and found a way to do that while honoring the legacies of Hartnell and Patrick Troughton.

There are a couple of good twists that link this set with the initial The Legacy of Time release, and the performances and post-production efforts help lift this a bit above a mediocre listening experience.

It’s a fun diversion, and I will probably find some more enjoyment once I go through it again sometime in the not too distant future.

Big Finish Audio Review: Jago & Litefoot In The Twentieth Century

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Jago & Litefoot Series Five contains four audio plays featuring the two Victorian gentlemen with a knack for finding the most unearthly adventures after their first encounter with the Time Lord known as the Doctor. Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter are reunited within the studios of Big Finish Productions to continue their adventures as the theatrical Henry Gordon Jago and the crusading intellectual, Professor George Litefoot. Lisa Bowerman directs this set as well as continuing her portrayal of their trusted and now seemingly immortal friend, Ellie Higson.

Jago and Litefoot were last known to be traveling briefly with the Sixth Doctor when they were dropped off back in their familiar surroundings of the Red Tavern. After the Doctor bid his farewells and left, they realize that they were misplaced several decades into their future which is now well into the twentieth century. They encounter their old friend, Ellie Higson, who has not seemed to have an aged a minute since their last encounter. It is 1968, Jago is a television star, and Litefoot is running a modest antique bookstore. As usual with these two, trouble still is lurking in the shadows, and the pair of displaced Victorians find themselves once again preserving the future of London, if not the whole world.

Big Finish has once again assembled a formidable guest cast to either help or hinder the efforts of the duo. Ken Bones, Raquel Cassidy, Chook Sibtain, Duncan Wisbey, and Jamie Newall are included in this engaging collection of audio plays.

The stalwart and engaging Jonathan Morris starts off this set with The Age of Revolution in which the story the begins several months into Jago and Litefoot’s temporal exile in 1968. As it happens, they have made the most of their unusual circumstances, with the aid of their friend Ellie, who has avoided the more severe consequences of old age. She has become a successful restauranter and member of polite society while still maintaining her more endearing and selfless qualities. Jago has become a popular television host while Litefoot has been able to indulge his more cerebral pursuits running an old bookshop. A detective is investigating a strange disappearance and meets Jago and Litefoot. They recognize the detective as a descendant of an old ally from their Victorian days. A lot of this story sort of explains in flashbacks how Jago and Litefoot adjusted so agreeably to their new surroundings. In the meantime, a new enemy is the beginning of new and supernatural troubles gathering to challenge the resolve of Jago and Litefoot.

Morris has some interesting things going on and does a good job of catching the listener up as to how Jago and Litefoot are coping in their new situation. Baxter and Benjamin continue to exercise their chemistry with their usual aplomb. It isn’t the most memorable of plots, but it serves well enough to orientate the audience as to the unusual circumstances the protagonists find themselves.

Another prolific Big Finish contributor, Marc Platt, serves up The Case of the Garrulous Guru. in which Jago’s impressive appetite works against him as he belches his way through this investigation of apparently food that consumes the eater from within. Litefoot once again has to save his friend from his own indulgences.

This is apparently meant to be the more humorous of the episodes and mostly works. The belching and carrying-on do get a little distracting. Jago is a naturally bombastic and exaggerated character, but he gets to be a little too much here. It’s also another story where Jago falls under some malign influence and needs to have his fat pulled from the fire. Platt is still an interesting and properly venerated writer for Doctor Who and its various spin-offs, but this story tested my patience a bit.

The more interesting episode to follow is The Bloodchild Codex by Colin Brake. There is a secret book of spells that is said to bring immortality to those understand it. A malevolent figure from before the time of Jago and Litefoot is about to return, and more adversaries are becoming more obvious to the intrepid pair of Victorians.

This one is probably my favorite out of this set. The premise is not that original, but it still works well. Jago and Litefoot really come off well. They are both displaying their unique courage, even though Jago is still the same cowardly clown who somehow manages to come through in a pinch. Brake finds the right balance of menace and humor with this one, and how Jago and Litefoot sort of cope with these supposedly terrible occurrences remain as admirably amusing as ever.

Finally, Justin Richards brings the curtain with The Final Act, in which all sorts of old foes have come back from the dead or had only been inert. This turns out to be a pretty shameless sequel to the Doctor Who serial that introduced the audience to this pair, The Talons of Weng-Chiang. Richards is one of my favorite writers in this world, and he does elevate a story which could be dismissed as a sort of expected trope and still makes it pretty engaging. It’s not exactly hard to predict how things are going to wrap up for Jago and Litefoot, but Richards still make this worth the time.

This set a solid continuation that manages to avoid having any real failures on the whole. Some stories work better than others, but the characters have become so vivid and entertaining that much can be forgiven.

The fifth series of Jago & Litefoot is not without some flaws, but it remains engaging enough to keep me motivated to purchase the next one.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Will The Real Liz Shaw Please Stand up?

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Imposters is a Doctor Who audio drama which turned out to be a pretty average story featuring the Third Doctor with Tim Treloar in the role originated by the late Jon Pertwee. Long-time contributor Alan Barnes is the author and is talented enough to avoid turning in something truly awful, but this just isn’t one of the better ones. Nicholas Briggs has returned to the director’s seat, which is also likely why I was able to get some enjoyment in spite of some reservations about this particular release.

Treloar is joined by Daisy Ashford, Sadie Miller, and Jon Culshaw in their respective roles of Liz Shaw, Sarah Jane Smith, and Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, who were also initially played by actors who have been deceased for some time.

Other cast members include Grace Darling, Simon Kane, Mark Elstob, and Gary Turner.

The Brigadier and the Doctor are trying to trace some stolen advanced technology and find themselves embroiled in a peculiar plot involving an egotistical schoolgirl, a gregarious wrestling star with abilities that were not taught on Earth, and a dubious military officer from France. There is more than one alien invasion afoot this time, and Doctor finds himself in the midst of a battle in which the attacks are threatening from all manner of directions. He also encounters an old friend in the shape of Dr. Elizabeth Shaw who doesn’t appear to be herself. She may not be the only Liz Shaw in the midst of this unearthly trouble.

I am basically of the opinion that there was a bit too much going on in this story to be all that coherent for an audio release, at least on the first listening experience.

The performances were outstanding from both the main cast and the guest actors. Big Finish never seems to fall short when it comes to finding talent. Treloar continues to present a pretty convincing facsimile of Jon Pertwee’s vocal patterns. Daisy Ashford is playing the part of Liz Shaw, who was played by her own mother, and likely has an easier time replicating that initial performance by Caroline John. Sadie Miller is also doing well in her role as Sarah Jane Smith, which was originally played by her mother, the cherished Elisabeth Sladen. Jon Culshaw, who is known as a talented impressionist in England, is more than convincing as the Brigadier, initially portrayed by Nicholas Courtney.

Alan Barnes is an ambitious writer and likes to throw in a lot of conflicts in his scripts. I look forward to hearing more of his works, but this particular script felt a little too padded at times. I understand that he is trying to replicate the Pertwee era as close as he can while coming up with new plots. This episode just felt longer at times. The wrestler, Sam Samsonson, could be amusing at times, but I found that I was relieved he was not likely going to be a recurring character. I know that one needs to forgive a bit more over-the-top acting when it comes to audio, but I found this guy to be a little more wearying than usual.

The adventure was not devoid of charm and wit because Alan Barnes is still immensely imaginative and just a gifted writer. He understands Doctor Who in each era, which shows even in this script, which did not impress me as much as usual. Of course, the cast and post-production team are certainly reliable enough to keep the whole thing from being a disaster.

I certainly want more Third Doctor content and Alan Barnes’s input, but this story just kind of missed the mark for me but fortunately not by that much.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Lady Pirates And Alien Professors

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: Bad Terms contains a pair of decent audio dramas starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. Neither story is especially terrible, but the first one is little less memorable or interesting than the other. In spite of some mild exasperation with this set, it was still great to indulge in the performances by Baker and Bryant once again.

The first story has some problems. Nina Millns wrote Saoirse of the Seven Seas, which was directed by Scott Handcock. Rebecca O’ Mara portrays the title character Saoirse O’ Grady, probably the only female pirate who never existed. Other cast members include Ayesha Antoine, Amanda Shodeko, and Barnaby Edwards.

The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Peri on board the ship belonging to the Queen of the Irish Seas. Saoirse O’Grady has been sought after by an alien visitor who has enlisted the services of her English rivals. The reason for this intrusion has little to do with world conquest or some of the usual motivations for which the Doctor usually discovers.

The performances are engaging enough to not exasperate this particular listener too much. Female pirate captains are just not captivating enough to keep me hooked. It’s just a little too unlikely and silly to buy into this even from a Doctor Who episode. considering the prevailing attitudes regarding women with authority at the time.

The plot twist as to what was motivating the alien known as the Xeneroth was somewhat clever but not entirely unforeseen when Saoirse suddenly experiencing moments of unexpected illness.

Anyway, Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant together are a treat regardless of any reservations I may have regarding the plot.

Red for Danger! is penned by Nev Fountain and directed by Barnaby Kay and is the more engaging of the two entries in this set. Cast members include Charlie Hemblett, David Holt, Martin For, and Andre James.

The Doctor and Peri are in disguise at an English boarding school where not everyone is native to Earth. There has been a strange message sent to the Doctor that contains a psychic image of a screaming red-headed child. A boy named Malcolm makes a startling claim about his connection to the Doctor, but someone else also seems too strangely familiar with the Time Lord.

This one was much better. It has kind of a dumb title, but the episode is much better executed. There are some outlandish plot twists toward the end, but I was much more engaged with this one.

A surprise revelation is made at the very end which is going to select the next foray into the adventures of the Sixth Doctor. The revelation at the end was not that much of a surprise, but it was still delightful to have some suspicions confirmed when the disguises were dropped.

Anyway, the set is adequately pleasing on the whole. It’s one of those I would call competent and reliable without not being one of the standouts.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Inside The Imbomination

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Dark Gallifrey: The War Master Part 3 is an audio drama from Big Finish, which is still highly entertaining in spite of a muddled plot. It is of course a Doctor Who spinoff and also features the War Doctor as portrayed by Jonathan Carley, who took over the role after the death of John Hurt.

Derek Jacobi returns as the version of the Master who was present during the legendary and devastating Time War. Lisa Bowerman returns as Professor Bernice Summerfield. James Marsters continues in his role as Captain John Hart, crossing over from another spinoff, Torchwood. Tariyé Peterside returns on from previous episode as the Imbomination. Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Jason Forbes, and Homer Todiwala round out the cast.

James Goss is the writer while Scott Handcock pulls the whole thing together as director.

The Master and Captain John are consumed by the Imbomination and have to navigate their way through various false realities and other possibilities. They are trapped within the remains of Dark Gallifrey, and they may learn the wisdom of allowing the realm to keep its secrets.

Jacobi is utterly terrific as usual in this role. Television viewers only got a small taste of his version of the maniacal renegade Time Lord, and Big Finish continues to expand the role as competently as expected.

Goss takes the surreal madness to the max in this episode. As usual, some of the scenes are hard to picture in the mind’s eyes. Not everything makes sense when listening to it the first time, but I had a good time with it anyway.

It seems some version of the Doctor is going to appear in these trilogies, and Carley takes his turn as his impression of John Hurt’s the War Doctor. I wasn’t sure about expanding the War Doctor’s role when first announced, especially after Hurt had died, but I enjoy the range more than I expected.

As usual, the sound design remains top tier. I think the performances and the technical aspects being so well done help one to enjoy a somewhat perplexing episode.

This trilogy is really my first full experience with Jacobi’s participation in Big Finish audio dramas, and there is a whole other range I have yet to explore. It certainly encourages me to reach back into the archives and properly delve into the War Master audio range.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Not Everything Should Reach Its Potential

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: The Second Doctor Adventures: The Potential Daleks is another pretty interesting audio collection from Big Finish Production which was directed by Nicholas Briggs. Michael Troughton returns to the recording booth as the Second Doctor, originally portrayed by his father Patrick. Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury reprise their longtime roles of Jamie and Zoe. Emma Noakes continues her time aboard the TARDIS as Raven, the Doctor’s fellow Time Lord, who is thought to be working on behalf of the High Council of the Time Lords to handle the renegade.

Briggs and Mark Wright split writing duties on the three interconnected episodes in this particular set which also feature the Daleks, who is also voiced by the versatile Mr. Briggs.

The guest cast is also comprised of Clare Corbett, Jacqueline King, Lara Lemon, Callum Pardoe, and Gary Turner.

Nicholas Briggs’ script, Humpty Dumpty kicks off the collection. The old nursery rhyme seems to be the catalyst for a temporal disaster. The planet Skaro is about to be resurrected a million times over. This is the planet where the Daleks originated. The Doctor and his companions will be split between two time zones as they begin a final battle.

This isn’t the first time a common verse is a significant clue to a nightmarish plot in a Big Finish story, but the device is compelling yet again due to the reliable talents of Briggs. The performances are as usual just as compelling. Troughton continues his efforts to breathe new life into his father’s Doctor Who legacy and does an admirable job. Troughton’s impression of his father still sounds a little off at times, but he generally gets the job done.

Padbury and Hines are portraying older versions of their characters, so they don’t have to bother with trying to sound several decades than their actual ages. They still sound great in spite of their understandable vocal variances.

Mark Wright, who is also producer of this release, follow up with Secret of the Daleks. The TARDIS has followed a space/time corridor created by the Daleks to a peaceful tropical world. The inhabitants seem peaceful enough, but there is a menace lurking underneath the paradise. A confrontation with the new Dalek Emperor is imminent, and one member of the Doctor’s party has a secret of their own.

Wright cranks up the action in this script quite effectively. As usual, some of the action moments are a little hard to determine just on audio, but it’s still enjoyable. Noakes gets to show off her versatility as an actress in this one when she gets to do her own take on the Doctor as well. It turns into a bit of a jumble of a plot, but in all the right ways.

Troughton may not always sound like vocally identical to his late father, but he brings a similar enough energy in his performance where it isn’t too distracting. I can still recognize and imagine the Second Doctor in the midst of this chaos seemingly on the edge of panic but holding on to that heroic determination to defeat the monsters. The humor of that era is also quite intact.

Finally, it takes the combined writing talents of Nicholas Briggs and Mark Wright to bring this collection to a conclusion with War of the Morai. The Doctor and his friends are back in a region known as the Vanishing Point where they try to help some old allies known as the Morai to avoid the ruthless intentions of the Daleks. A friend who was thought to be lost has returned, and the mysterious Raven must make a choice.

This story refers back to a previous boxset in which I shall have to listen to again to remember the significance of the Morai.

It was still a fine conclusion, and there were some interesting character moments. Noakes also was a delight as a recurring character. She was basically an original companion created by Big Finish and seems to be an amusing and interesting foil to the Second Doctor. There were also times when Raven and Zoe were forced to collaborate, and an interesting dynamic was forged there as well. Raven had a typical haughtiness displayed most of the Time Ladies the audience have met over the years, but Noakes brings in something more than that as well. Really, the writers gave her a depth for Noakes to play in, and she uses that quite nicely.

As a reminder, this range takes place after the Second Doctor’s trial just after he was sentenced to be exiled to Earth with a new appearance but before that sentence was actually carried out. Jamie and Zoe had been sent back with most of their memories of the Doctor erased but have returned to fight alongside him after they had lived their lives in their respective time zones. I am not a fan who was all that interested in what has become known as season 6b, but Big Finish has won me over in this one. Although it seems that something in this range has concluded, there is a new series in the works and there are certainly more adventures and troubles awaiting this version of the Doctor.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Early Days With Ace

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor Adventures: Wicked! is an audio boxset which takes the audience back to when Ace first joined the Doctor in the TARDIS in this trilogy of episodes. Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred once again prove themselves to be more than capable of replicating the enthusiasm they displayed when they started out on the television series almost four decades ago.

The guest cast in this set is comprised of Luke Barton, Tom Alexander, Alexandra Barredo, Simon Callow, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Ekow Quartey, and Paulo Vieira. Samuel Clemens returns to the director’s seat for all three episodes. I was not sure about the notion of going all the way back to the beginning of Ace’s travels in the TARDIS, but the set is overall quite good.

Alison Winter kicks off the set with Backwards and in Heels, which takes place in 1920s Soho. Ace and the Doctor are swept up into a [peculiar treasure hunt, and an alien presence has the young companion questioning her decision to accompany the Time Lord.

This story was a decent one if not the most memorable. I like the setting, and Ace being kind of impressed with a 1020s flapper. The friendship between the two lead characters starts to solidify as Ace gets a taste of what like traveling with the Doctor could entail.

Katharine Armitage follows up with The Price of Snow which takes place in the futuristic ski resort where some guests have disappeared, and the authentic snow seems to have some suspicious origins. There is also an unfortunate rift between a daughter and father.

This story is a bit better than the previous one. The alien menace at the heart of this one is new and not that badly realized. Tom Alexander is pretty compelling as the owner of the resort and the architect of the dangers as he uses some pretty ruthless calculations to keep his alien guests fed.

Finally, it is Alan Ronald who brings this set to a close with The Ingenious Gentlemen as Simon Callow delivers a hugely campy yet powerful performance as Don Quixote. In this case, the windmills may be something that is needed to be fought. Ace begins to notice some strange parallels between the partnership of Don Quixote and Sancho and her association with the Doctor.

Callow is absolutely magnificent, and the Doctor’s childlike joy at meeting him is perfectly performed by McCoy.

Obviously, this is the episode I consider to be the best in this collection.

I have to say that Sophie Aldred being able to pull off her younger voice when she is now in her sixties is quite impressive. I know that Aldred is a well-practiced voice artist, and I shouldn’t be that surprised, but her precision is still something to appreciate.

McCoy has also not missed a step here, and he is much older.

The idea of returning to Ace’s early travels seems like it should have been done earlier, but Big Finish continues to develop their stories and characters quite masterfully.

Big Finish Audio Review: The Doors To Dark Gallifrey Should Remain Closed, But Where’s The Fun In That?

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Big Finish Productions begins a new trilogy of Dark Gallifrey audio plays with The War Master: Part One with David Warner and Lisa Bowerman an alternative Unbound Doctor and Professor Bernice Summerfield. James Goss is the writer with Scott Handcock serving as director.

The supporting cast is comprised of Jason Forbes, Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Tariye Peterside, and Homer Todiwala.

Bernice Summerfield is traveling with a Doctor from another reality. Warner has previously played this version in a series called Doctor Who Unbound. Benny is intrigued by the prospect of unlocking the secrets of something known as Dark Gallifrey, however she and the Doctor have yet to discover a familiar adversary also has his eyes on the same prize.

This play is somewhat interesting, but it’s a little confusing on the first listen since it basically unfolds backwards. Bowerman and Warner are a good match since they are both so experienced as actors. Bowerman has been around Big Finish pretty much since its kickoff in 1999. Warner is just British acting royalty at this point. This was apparently one of his last projects since he died in 2022.

The performances were solid, but it’s hard to really understand what is going on due to the method of experimenting with basic storytelling. Trying to tell a story backwards just seems to work a little better on a more visual medium.

Derek Jacobi has yet to make an appearance in this first installment of the trilogy, but I am looking forward to his entrance.

I found this to be an underwhelming start. but not because of the caliber of performances. I just don’t like too many mental gymnastics going on in just trying to follow a plot.

Anyway, the sound effects are fine. The other actors seem to be well-considered in their casting. The technical demands are admirably met.

Hopefully, the next installment will have more Jacobi, and Warner’s take on the Doctor will become more engaging for me.

Doctor Who Audio Review: The Silence And The Queen

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Last Queen of the Nile is a set that contains two Doctor Who audio dramas released by Big Finish Productions and features Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. Baker is joined by Louise Jameson as Leela. Jon Culshaw reprises his interpretation of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who was originally portrayed by the late Nicholas Courtney. There are two episodes to discuss in this post, so I will get on with it.

First of all, Conspiracy of Silence by Jonathan Morris gets things going with the return of the Silence, which were a creation of the rebooted version of Doctor Who. Nicholas Briggs provides the voice of the spooky creatures who are forgotten once one looks away. Charlie Hayes plays a female UNIT soldier named Nolan while Jon Culshaw returns with his impressive imitation as the Brigadier. Of course, John Leeson must be mentioned as one’s favorite robot dog, K9.

The Brigadier has asked for the Doctor’s assistance to investigate the mysterious disappearance of an oil rig crew. The Doctor, Leela, and K9 accompany him to the rig to see what answers can be discovered. They find the Silence waiting in the shadows and disrupting their memories of their encounter.

The Silence is an interesting creation in the series, and it seems hard to have them conveyed just through the audio format. This story does end up working in spite of an unusual structure. The second half of the story backtracks and fills in some gaps since our courageous heroes couldn’t remember their fight with the Silence.

Morris handles these challenges quite well, although it takes some concentration to follow how the narrative unfolds. All of the main cast are in top form even though they are quite up there. I think Tom Baker was in his eighties at the time this story was recorded, and he still has much of the same energy displayed on the television series over four decades ago.

Morris delivers another solid script that gives the actors some great moments and fans another dose of fun nostalgia.

The Last Queen of the Nile by David K Barnes has the TARDIS crew get ensnared within the tumultuous love story between Cleopatra and Mark Antony. The guest cast is comprised of Pippa Warner-Bennett, Timothy Blore, Samantha Lawson, Michael Lumsden, Ben Porter, and Blake Ritson.

The Doctor, Leela, and K9 encounter Mark Antony just outside Alexandria in Egypt. He eyes K9 as a gift for his beloved Queen of the Nile, Cleopatra. The Doctor and Leela are forced to witness one of the best known and tragic romances in history as they fight for their lives and escape within the TARDIS.

This is also really quite good. Bennet-Warner and Lumsden are pretty compelling as the two powerful yet doomed lovers. I am not sure how historically accurate this adventure actually is, but it is arresting. The bond between Leela and Cleopatra is well performed and seems to be quite natural to have Leela so drawn to the most famous queen in history.

Tom Baker performs with his usual cheeky yet commanding air as the Doctor. Big Finish continues to keep the traditions of the eras while also exploring new aspects of familiar characters. The writer even has the Doctor and Leela at odds to an extent, which was not something really seen in the television series.

Anyway, the set as a whole is quite good. Tom Baker and Louise Jameson continue to display a familiar and reassuring chemistry while still relating fresh stories.

Even if the first story may take more than one play to better follow the plot, it will be worth it.

Big Finish Audio Review: Wilde Times For Jago & Litefoot

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Jago & Litefoot Series Four continues the audio adventures of the intrepid investigators of the macabre in Victorian London and is entertaining enough which is to be expected from Big Finish Productions. Christipher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter return to the microphones as Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot alongside a pretty good guest cast and strangely familiar voices in four episodes directed by Lisa Bowerman.

The guest cast is comprised of Victoria Alcock, Christopher Beeny, Elizabeth Counsell, Alan Cox, Mike Grady, and Terry Molloy. Bowerman also returns to her role as the barmaid Ellie Higson. I also can’t forget to mention that Louise Jameson and Colin Baker are the extra special guest stars.

Jago in Love by Nigel Fairs is the first episode, and the title sort of gives away what happens. Jago, Litefoot, and Leela have taken a holiday to Brighton where Jago falls for a music hall singer named Abigail. There is something tainting this romance as a strange pair of men have followed them. Also, there is another strange presence in the shape of Professor Claudius Dark, but the professor may be an old friend with a different face.

This one is a pretty good setup for the arc the other episodes are going to take. The strange pair of Mr. Hardwick and Mr. Kempston are kind of intriguing as shadowy, menacing figures.

Overall, the episode is not really great, but it gets the job done with setting up the other mysteries which confound Jago and Litefoot.

Beautiful Things by John Dorney has Jago and Litefoot encounter one Oscar Wilde, played by Alan Cox. Litefoot seems to have some grudge against Wilde, but he cannot indulge that since there are bodies turning up that need his expertise. Leela, played by Louise Jameson, is also there to assist, and the audience catches another glimpse of the peculiarly familiar Professor Dark.

This one was pretty good and an obvious riff on Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey. Dorney is certainly one of the more reliable contributors to Big Finish Productions and continues that track record with this one.

Matthew Sweet gives us another “trapped on a train” adventure with The Lonely Clock. Leela and Ellie get more involved in trying to save Jago and Litefoot before time runs out in more ways than one.

This one was a little hard to follow at times, but the performances as ever are compelling enough for me to forgive any plot holes. Also, Professor Dark is finally revealed at the end to have a much more familiar and welcome identity. Since it’s Colin Baker in the role, we can all surmise what that really is.

Finally, it is the great Justin Richards who ends this set with The Hourglass Killers. Leela, Jago, and Litefoot are joined by a certain wandering Time Lord and an old friend of, well…practically everybody here. The true enemy is revealed, and the stakes are even higher for well…practically everybody.

Anyway, this is a bit of a collection for the longtime Doctor Who fans and could be accused of being a bit self-indulgent, however it is written well enough to enjoy the ride.

Colin Baker pretty much is guaranteed to deliver an energetic and compelling performance, and his enthusiasm is just as strong as in this set as one would come to expect. I also marvel at the ingenuity of the writers who come up with how to present Jago’s preposterous affinity for alliteration in his dialogue. Anyway, this is one spinoff series that seems to have a deserved legion of fans among us Big Finish consumers.

Not every scene was as clear as I would have preferred, but it’s still a fun journey. One should also extend a bit more grace when it comes to audio performances. That medium is probably one of the trickier ones to pull off for those who write and produce them, and these four writers still did more than come through for this particular listener.