Doctor Who: Fixers brings another trilogy of adventures featuring the Seventh Doctor from Big Finish Productions, and he has an interesting new companion for this round. Sylvester McCoy is joined by Sara Griffiths, reprising her role as Ray, who was first introduced many years ago in the television serial, Delta and the Bannermen. This set is brought to us under the direction of Samuel Clemens.

The guest cast is comprised of Rhian Crowley-Mclean, Celia Imrie, Poppy Miller, Anne Odeke, Marc Silk, Sion Tudor Owen, and Annie Wallace.

Chris Chapman is first up to the plate with his script entitled The Executor. The Doctor receives word of the death of Time Lady known as Peg and is tasked with taking responsibility for her TARDIS. The Doctor and Ray find that there is something else aboard, and he has to call upon her hologram to lend assistance.

This is a strong start to the set. Imrie’s portrayal of Peg is quite engaging, and she sparks off McCoy’s performance quite effectively. I was a little unsure of how much I would enjoy bringing Ray aboard the TARDIS, but my doubts were quickly assuaged. Griffiths brings a more mature version of the character than was seen in the television serial, and it works.

This is a pretty intriguing story because it does add another layer to the Doctor’s history without a lot of explanation as to what the nature of the relationship between him and this new, now deceased Time Lady.

Oil and Water, written by James McDermott, is the almost obligatory plotline warning us all about the dangers of pollution. In this case, mutated seals are killing people, and it seems that some sentient well of oil is at the heart of the tragedy. The Doctor and Ray have to contend with a grieving woman who is hungry for vengeance. Also, it seems that seals are not the only ones possessed by this unique presence.’

It’s an interesting idea, but the growing friendship between the Doctor and Ray carries it through more than the actual story. I found it to be once again a little too politically heavy-handed, but it’s not the first time that Doctor Who has almost bludgeoned the audience with this topic.

McCoy and Griffiths still make this worth the time as well as the other performances. It just isn’t going on the list of favorites for this listener.

Finally, Much Ado About Racing by Fio Tretheway, finishes up this set with the Doctor and Ray coming across some kind of galactic race between two women who are apparently bitter rivals but with a more complicated history. Ray is hearing a voice in her head that is bringing old regrets from her past. The Doctor finds there is another entity at work feeding on others’ sorrow.

It was a better episode than the second one but not as strong as the first.

The set started off pretty strong, but the remaining two stories didn’t quite hold my interest as well as the first episode. Still, the performances make this work, and I like Ray travelling with the Doctor for this collection. She is not done yet apparently.

Overall, it’s an enjoyable addition to the Big Finish catalog. None of the stories need to be ignored entirely. I think a couple of them could use a bit of fixing, but the set still functions pretty well as a whole.

In the meantime, I will wait for the next installment with the Doctor and Ray together at the TARDIS console. This should be a fun journey as it usually is when it comes to Doctor Who.