Tag: tv

Doctor Who Audio Review: The Doctor Has So Much Fixing To Do

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

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.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Turlough Makes His Choice

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: Reunion is another collection of audio plays from Big Finish Productions that continues the rather intriguing series of adventures that has former companion, Turlough, return to the TARDIS alongside the Sixth Doctor and Peri. Turlough has to contend with a Doctor with an unfamiliar aspect and make his way back to his home planet in the throes of an invasion., He may first have to endure a couple of other adventures alongside before he faces the ultimate test of his loyalties.

Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are reunited behind the microphones of Big Finish with Mark Strickson reprising his role as the complicated, and seemingly duplicitous Turlough which culminates in a homecoming fraught with peril. All of this is under the steady direction of Samuel Clemens

The first of the trilogy is Matthew Sweet’s Save the Date. The Doctor, Turlough, and Peri are in 1969 London and come across a rather unusual dating agency which seems to have an alien influence. Peri is hired on as a secretary while her friends take on the roles as very eligible bachelors looking for love in the deadliest places.

The guest cast is comprised of Annette Badland, Jo Castleton, and Faith Omole.

This episode kicks off with a more humorous tone. The Doctor does display a more tender side to his often-spiky persona, which Baker performs quite nicely.

It’s not the most remarkable of stories, but it’s a solid enough entry into this set. Turlough trying his hand at romance is also an amusing venture. Turlough, with of all of his complications, seems to have become a favorite companion of mine over the years. I am not one instinctively drawn to the idea of bringing back companions from other eras, but somehow the idea of pairing Turlough with a different Doctor does seem to work.

Writer Paul Sutton then follows up with Poison’s Reach in which the Doctor and his companions must prevent a catastrophe for a colony known as Freefall.

Rosie Jones and Charlotte Harris join the TARDIS crew as a couple of guest performers.

This episode really is the middle story and not all that memorable, Turlough does have an almost romantic relationship with a scientist, which does help spike the interest a little. Of course, the courage displayed by this woman does inspire Turlough to finally make a choice reveal a secret involving his own home.

The story is a key to that brings about the climax to this set in which the audience finally gets to join Turlough during a very complicated homecoming.

Finally, AK Benedict and Guy Adams bring us to the home stretch with Broken Home. Turlough;’s home planet has been invaded by another alien species, and he has brokered a deal which places the Doctor and his TARDIS in their hands. Turlough seems to have betrayed his home and his friends, but the Doctor gambles that his trust is not misplaced regardless of the complicated history between the two friends.

Ryan Gage and Rachel Atkins are included in this guest casr.

Turlough going back to his roots is a welcome addition to this set. The performances are great, and Strickson really gets to sink his teeth into this role.

Although some aspects of the ending are predictable and a bit trite, this story is still kind of a treat, The writers sort of fall short of convincing anyone that Turlough has actually gone that far off the rails, but Strickson still manages to keep one invested in the character.

Nicola Bryant does put forth a powerful performance when Peri really believes that her trust in Turlough has been in vain.

The relationship between the Doctor and Peri has really grown on me since this a period where Peri has rejoined the Time Lord after her abrupt and strange departure in The Trial of a Time Lord. She had lived as a warrior queen for a time and is much more mature than the precocious young woman which was first introduced to the television audience. Yet Big Finish and Bryant still manage to keep her familiar to the audience. She and the Doctor seem to have a much more comfortable and trusting relationship, and I find it quite refreshing.

Anyway, the audience gets to see Turlough take another exit bow, which isn’t too much of a spoiler, but I do hope this is still far from the last time Mark Strickson steps up to the microphone figuratively dons that familiar school blazer yet again.

Of course, I am also always game to have Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant take the helm of the TARDIS on their series of adventures.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Another World Inside The Flat

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Snare is a Doctor Who audio drama from Big Finish Productions which reunites the dream team of Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. Tim Foley is the writer with Henel Goldwyn directing once again. Camille Coduri returns as Jackie Tyler with Alex Austin and Hannah Brown rounding out the guest cast.

The Doctor and Rose Tyler have returned to the Powell Estate to take a brief rest from their recent adventures. A childhood friend of Rose’s has also returned after his father recently died. Kevin finds that his father had some otherworldly secrets tucked away, and the Doctor identifies a most unusual trap sprung by a hidden extraterrestrial vessel. Kevin’s father was known to have some mental issues, but something else seems to have been tormenting him. The Doctor finds that a brief rest is just not likely to be in the cards for him.

Foley delivers a good one here, and Eccleston and Piper slip into their best-known roles with ease. Coduri is also on her A game with her performance as well.’

The story does weave pretty easily between action and something a little more emotionally relatable. Foley offers a pretty compelling depiction of a complicated father-son relationship in a short time without compromising the main plot.

This episode is apparently kind of early in the Doctor and Rose’s relationship as well, and they are fresh off the heart-wrenching events of Father’s Day.

The Doctor is also at his most vulnerable due to the consequences of the Time War, and the decisions he had to make during that ordeal.

The episode has a sort of Jumanji vibe without directly stealing from it. There is no weird boardgame, but a strange wilderness seems to have merged with a flat.

Anyway, this episode gives a promising start to a new and unexpected range, and I have little reason to complain about more episodes featuring the pair that kicked off the television revival in 2005.

Doctor Who Audio Review: The Perils Of Progress

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: Lethal Progress is somewhat disappointingly average collection of audio dramas directed by Helen Goldwyn and released by Big Finish Productions. Tom Baker back in the role as the Fourth Doctor does help it not be a complete waste of time. Sadie Miller is alongside the Doctor as Darah Jane Smith, an iconic role first played by her mother, Elisabeth Sladen.

The guest cast includes Alexander Cobb, Sean Connelly, Orlando Gibbs, Dawn Murphy, and Nisha Nayar. The casting was fine, but none of the three episodes in this set really resonated all that thoroughly with me.

Baker and Miller in the lead roles do make this still a worthwhile listening experience even if the episodes themselves were somewhat bland.

Tim Foley starts off with Green and Pleasant Planet in which the Doctor and Sarah meet a British space expedition on a strange world which contains a peculiar model village. The lifeforms are even stranger and become more lethal.

There are some interesting ideas here, but Foley just doesn’t present them all that coherently sometimes.

The Continuum by John Dorney places the Doctor and Sarah on a space station that is about to go through hyperspace, but there is a dangerous presence aboard, and the whole endeavor turns even more chaotic.

This story is a little better, and Dorney is considered one of the more reliable writers for Big Finish Productions. I appreciate where he was trying to take this story and what likely influenced this episode. It helps to think of the film Event Horizon which had a similar setting. Anyway, it seems a little too confusing for an audio play at times. I can respect the ambitious idea though. Dorney will likely impress me with his next contribution.

Finally, Lizzie Hopley brings this collection to a close with The Audience. The Doctor and Sarah visit a planet in which artificial beings who want to have real feelings use theater as a means to experience something more than just stark programming. The problem is that the plays get a little too real, and Sarah may be forced to give up her life for the sake of an unwanted role.

It’s a little bit of an overused idea in science fiction, but Hopley is not too bad in presenting her take on the concept.

Baker and Miller continue to display a solid chemistry. Tom Baker’s age is starting to show a bit in his performance. He kind of goes a little over the top, although I still enjoy his participation very much.

This release was recorded during the COVID lockdowns in 2021, so that may explain some of the dip in quality here. The set is not terrible, but it just came across as more mediocre than I am used to.

Not every release is going to be the great, and I get that. Tom Baker can still hold court in his performances. Sadie Miller does well in resurrecting the part originated by her mother,

The postproduction work is still well done. The stories just didn’t hold my interest all that consistently, but that’s going to happen from time to time, even with a stellar track record like Big Finish’s.

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.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Once the Doctor, Now The Wild Card

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The War Doctor Rises: Unknown Soldiers continues the intriguing set of adventures in which the incarnation known as the War Doctor continues his participation in the all-encompassing Time War in this range of Doctor Who audio plays presented by Big Finish Productions. Timothy X. Atack is the scriptwriter with Helen Goldwyn returning to the director’s chair.

Jonathon Carley resumes his efforts to portray this darker version of the Doctor and continues to perfect his impression of the late John Hurt, who originally portrayed the part onscreen and did his own set of audio plays not long before his death.

The Daleks are once again voiced by the incomparable Nicholas Briggs. Isla Pars, Andrew James Spooner, Phillipe Bosher, Simon Kane, Amanda Shodeko, and Adam Martyn make up the talented guest cast.

The War Doctor gains a new moniker, Wild Card, as he is recruited by fellow Time Lords and a ragtag group of fighters as they hunt for someone known as the Blind Bomb Maker. For once, the War Doctor isn’t calling the shots, but he is instrumental in this latest stage in the Time War. He was not renamed Wild Card without reason.

The story is a bit long and somewhat complicated for audio format; however, it is still a worthwhile experience because of Carley’s continued excellence in this role. The war Doctor being part of a somewhat strange unit that includes a talking squirrel-like creature seems kind of unusual. Now that I write this, it sort of gives off Guardians of the Galaxy vibes.

There is also an exiled Time Lord who is known as a traitor, but her memories have been partially erased where she cannot explain why she committed a supposedly treasonous act. There is a dying Movellan with a cheeky attitude, which is rather strange since that is an android race.

Atack provides a pretty intriguing group of companions for the War Doctor. The War Doctor not quite in the lead is rather unusual, but I found that it gives the expectations a needed shake-up. Fans shouldn’t worry because he still gets plenty to do and does help drive the story considerably.

Anyway, it’s another solid addition to the range and a nice feather in Big Finish’s cap.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Turlough Rejoins The TARDIS With A Different Doctor At The Console

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who-Expulsion is another audio boxset released by Big Finish Productions featuring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant picking up another one of the Doctor’s more intriguing former companions. Samuel Clemens and Scott Handcock share directing duties for this trilogy of episodes in which Mark Strickson reprises his role of Turlough.

I often get weary of the tendency to the practice of mixing up Doctors and their traditional companions, but I make exceptions when Turlough makes an unexpected appearance. How he reacts to this particular version of the Doctor is quite a treat, although they do find some equilibrium in their relationship as the stories unfold.

Nev Fountain begins this collection with The Reckoning which has Eve Winters and Nigel Fairs lending their voices as the guest cast. The TARDIS is forced to materialize in seventeenth century France where they encounter the famed playwright, Christopher Marlowe. Kit Marlowe has somehow lived well beyond the point where history records his death. A deal has been made, and Turlough seems poised to betray the Doctor.

It’s a pretty strong opening, but the return of Turlough seems to almost guarantee a promising bit of entertainment. The situation is not quite what it seems, and the solution is a sort of anti-climactic. Still, the performances make up for the flaws. Winters’ performance of the mysterious Tess is actually pretty memorable.

Turlough seems to be back to keeping secrets, but it seems understandable since he has to reestablish some trust with a Doctor that seems unrecognizable to him.

It’s still an enjoyable episode and offers a promising start to this collection.

A Crucible of Queens has the TARDIS crew in fifteenth century France during the conflicts between the French and England. The Doctor is asked to examine a king who has apparently lost his mind. Turlough has befriended a French heir to the crown. Two empires at odds are about to make history, and the Doctor has to make sure that it runs as it should while trying to reunite his friends.

Debbier Chazen, Julie Dray, Narayan David Hector, and Laurent Lafuma are included in this production as the guest cast.

This story served well enough as what fans call the “purely historical” addition. I liked that Big Finish actually cast French actors for this one as opposed to using those who try to emulate the accent. It does give some insight into some likely overlooked historical events.

Baker, Bryant, and Strickson continue to hit the right marks when it comes to the continued portrayals of well-known characters.

I didn’t find the story itself all that memorable, but it was by no means a terrible addition.

Finally, we get a return to Viking lore with Julian Richards serving up The Curse of the Duergar. An accursed sword is at the center with a malignant entity able to control minds, even the Doctor’s.

Lara Lemons and Daniel Hawksford are included in the guest cast.

There is an interesting performance from as there is an audio glimpse of a previous Doctor. Turlough still has secrets but seems to have finally come around to accepting this Doctor as an ally.

Overall, the return of Turlough is what makes this set a treat. The stories are fine but exactly ones that are expected to be considered classics, in my opinion.

It looks like we have Turlough around for a bit more in a future release, and I am still up for that ride..

Doctor Who Audio Review: Miracles, Time Loops, And Fools

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Helter Skelter is the latest Doctor Who audio boxset to feature Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor released from the incredibly prolific Big Finish Productions. The director is Ken Bentley, and listeners get the added treat of having Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson reunited as companions, Tegan and Turlough.

Other cast members include Jack Barton, Paul Cottle, Helen Pearson, and Emily Woodward.

This set does have the Doctor and his friends facing some new adversaries, so that’s a good start. The first and third stories are interlinked, which is evident in that the script writers were Lauren Mooney and Stuart Pringle.

They kick this collection off with Field of Miracles in which the Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough arrive in a small English village in 1951. Things seem to be going a little too well for the people there in a nation that should still be recovery from the Second World War. All sorts of wishes are granted, including the return of those who have died. Of course, there is a terrible price to be paid for these miracles, and the Doctor encounters a malevolent alien presence that is too pleased to collect.

The story is a pretty good idea, although something like this has been explored before in the genre. The leads are continuing to put forth compelling performances, as expected. The chemistry between the TARDIS crew still carries the story confidently in spite of any questionable choices. I wouldn’t judge it to be a standout episode, but pleasant and engaging enough for me to not to be terribly harsh in my opinion. Mooney and Pringle manage to prove themselves to be reliable enough for me to stay interested in their contributions to the series.

Helter Skelter is next on the list. This was written by James Moran. The Doctor’s efforts to take his friends on a holiday are thwarted by the bio-engineered planet and amusement park getting blown up with them on it. Then the day resets, and Tegan Jovanka is the only one who recognizes they are caught in a time loop.

Another story that is amusing because we have a bit of a role reversal with the Doctor being a bit more in the dark than usual. It’s Tegan who recognizes the problem and has to steer her friends toward the resolution of this time loop. It’s another fun and interesting notion that has frankly been a bit overdone. Fielding does get to have fun with Tegan’s seemingly natural state of exasperation. Ultimately, the Doctor does save the day, which I hope isn’t too much of a spoiler, but I was relieved that some traditions were spared in this episode.

It has some amusing moments and performances throughout the episode, but it still is not likely going to resonate all that deeply with the listeners.

Finally, the Doctor and his companions encounter the wish-granting aliens from the first episode in Land of Fools, once again written by Lauren Mooney and Stuart Pringle.

The TARDIS arrives in London, 1980, where Tegan realizes she can say good-bye to a friend who died then. Some new company seems to be running things around there, and London seems to be in some kind of restricted state. The team is split up, and the Doctor starts to realize that some recently encountered enemies have cropped up again.

This story is actually pretty good and serves as nice conclusion to this set. I didn’t find the Asteri to be all that compelling because they were described as crystalline, and it was hard to picture them in the imagination. There were some moments that were more emotionally significant.

As a whole, this release is fine to add to the collection, but not much of it stood out. As Peter Davison ages, it does get harder to imagine him as he appeared onscreen during his era. His performance is still fine, but that aged raspiness he has developed is a little distracting. I still look forward to his participation and hopes he has more scripts heading his way than he knows what to do with.

I am not sure we have had the joy of having Turlough and Tegan together on their own before. There was a series with them alongside Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, but that was not onscreen. It was pretty cool to revisit that era because they are a favorite TARDIS team of mine.

Helter Skelter didn’t quite hit the ranks of phenomenal storytelling, but it sure was not anywhere near the rubbish heap. There is still much to enjoy.

Doctor Who Audio Review: The Doctor Always Shatters The Illusions

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Beware the City Of Illusions is a pretty compelling Doctor Who audio play from Big Finish Productions and is likely to be one my favorite First Doctor adventures. Nicholas Briggs has written an interesting script which he also directed. He also composed the score.

Stephen Noonan is back with his rendition of the First Doctor, in which he channels the distinctive vocal peculiarities of the late William Hartnell. He is joined by Lauren Cornelius as an older version of Dodo Chaplet, who was originally portrayed by the late Jackie Lane. Anneke Wills reprises her role of Polly Wright. Other cast members include Barnaby Edwards, Amy Rockson, Becky Wright, and Anna Crichlow. Briggs even manages to get a little bit part as well. The guy is everywhere on this one, which is by no means a complaint.

The Doctor has been whisked from his TARDIS and is apparently floating around the time vortex when he is deposited on Earth where he encounters a companion he has yet to meet from his point of view. Polly Wright is doing some work for the British government in her later years and is investigating a city that is designed to lower carbon emissions or something supposedly environmentally beneficial. Of course, it seems too good to be true, and the Doctor is caught up in the investigations. Also, Dodo Chaplet is also involved and has a secret alliance with Polly, who are acting on a cryptic warning the Doctor once gave a long time ago. There is a peculiar benefactor who seems to have an agenda that is not as friendly to the human race despite appearances. The Doctor may not know the reason for his strange warning himself, but he is soon to find out and has two friends to back him up, even if he has yet to recognize one of them.

This particular episode deals with elements that come up more in recent years as far as the plot goes, but Briggs knows Doctor Who enough to make this work. He does a good job of making this version of the Doctor somewhat sharper than he often appeared onscreen, but he still manages to keep him quite familiar. Noonan’s impression of Hartnell’s impression is getting better. He can’t quite sound exactly like Hartnell, but that’s getting more forgivable with each performance in these audios. It is also fair to expect that Noonan will add some of his distinctive style into the performance. The writing is also good enough to allow me to just enjoy the ride without being overly critical. Noonan is said to really study Hartnell’s performance each time he is commissioned to do one of these things, and that does show. Even if the First Doctor isn’t quite my favorite, I still have found plenty to enjoy in that era immensely, and I look forward to hearing the next installment in this range.

The story is a somewhat standard science fiction trope of an intended utopia going off the rails, but Briggs does a good job with it. The inclusion of both Polly and Dodo, albeit older, is also quite charming and done with a certain audacious creativity that I can respect.

Crichlow plays a character named Lillian Maggs, who was Polly’s assistant and friend, and had the right amount to spunk to spark with the Doctor. She was another sarcastic, likeable woman who seems to get a little overused in this series, but I couldn’t help but enjoy her banter with Polly, and eventually with the Doctor.

The Doctor displayed his usual crustiness and suspicion, but he also came across as shrewder than he was often written, and I found myself enjoying that. Noonan also does intentionally throw in some of the gaffes that Hartnell was known for in the original series, but it seems less distracting here.

It’s a long story, but Briggs manages to avoid most of the traps that tend to lead to a dragging middle. He writes it well enough for me to just enjoy being in this Doctor’s orbit without sweating any potential plot holes.

Anyway, this particular audio experience is likely one of the stronger ones to come out this year, which is usually how I feel about a Nick Briggs script.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Hearts Can Be The Hardest To Mend

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: Broken Hearts is a pretty good audio play from Big Finish Productions with only two performers in the shape of Jacob Dudman and Safiyya Ingar. Lisa McMullin is the writer of the script which has Helen Goldwyn skillfully leading the production as director.

Jacob Dudman is winding down his time as the Eleventh Doctor, who was initially portrayed by Matt Smith. Ingar portrays cybernetic companion, Valerie Lockwood, and also puts forth a powerful performance.

Dudman and Ingar also portray two search and rescue robots on a desolate planet which was once visited by an earlier incarnation of the Doctor. Recent adventures have fractured the friendship between Valerie and the Time Lord, and they have the time during their own investigation of a distress signal to come to terms with heartbreaking decisions that were made.

Dudman gives a phenomenal impression of Matt Smith’s unique take on the Doctor giving Ingar plenty to play against in her own performance. Valerie is a Big Finish creation, and the writers did a pretty good job with this one.

The cast also portrays a couple of robots dubbed Lionel and Augustus, whose relationship is supposed to kind of mirror the Doctor’s and his companion. It’s a somewhat intimate performance with a pair of actors who have been recording together for some time, which is coming to a close as the range goes into other directions.’

There is another moment which is often repeated in the series, in which the Doctor reminds his companion of the tragedies he had witnessed during the Time War and the terrible decision he was forced to make which resulted in the destruction of his own people. Dudman hits that moment out of the park as he portrays the boundless sorrow and pain the Doctor still lives with in spite of his cheery and reckless manner.

Ingar gets her fair share of heart-wrenching moments as well which compels me to agree with the Doctor’s sentiment stated to his TARDIS that he doubts he would ever be ready to say good-bye to Valerie Lockwood.

It’s a poignant interlude in the Eleventh Doctor range and gives two fine performers a deserved moment to shine together before the curtain call.