2 episodes. Running Time: Approx. 68 minutes. Written by: Marc Platt. Directed by: Mark J. Thompson. Produced by: Sharon Gosling. Performed by: Maureen O'Brien, Keith Drinkel.
THE PLOT:
Vicki has left the TARDIS and is now living as Lady Cressida, wife of Troilus, in ancient Carthage. But her time with the Doctor still haunts her. She pays her scribes to record a story of one of her travels, and she brings it to a prisoner to read.
In her story, she recalls visiting the 1814 London "Frost Fair" with the Doctor, Vicki, and Steven. By chance, the group meets the novelist, Jane Austen. They also witness a show by a Captain McClavity, showing off his treasures. Most of them are junk, but one catches the time travelers' eyes: a "Phoenix egg."
Soon after, McClavity is killed, and the egg is stolen. But that's only the beginning. The already frozen city of London becomes colder still, until fire itself burns cold instead of hot. Vicki is certain that it's to do with the egg. It's sucking the warmth from everything - and soon, the Doctor fears, that will include people!
CHARACTERS:
The Doctor: A relentless showoff. When he realizes when and where they have landed, he basks in displaying his knowledge. When Steven hopelessly bungles on the dance floor, the Doctor makes a spectacle out of dancing expertly with Jane Austen. After the crisis hits, the frivolity drops away as he confronts the life form. Maureen O'Brien does her best to capture some of Hartnell's mannerisms, particularly the "Hmmm?" he would sometimes use to punctuate a line, but she wisely doesn't attempt to mimic him. Instead, her performance emphasizes the Doctor's intellect and pride, giving the impression of a mind that is focusing on a few too many things at once.
Vicki: Maureen O'Brien slips right back into the character, recapturing Vicki's pluckiness, her impatience whenever the Doctor or Steven attempt to shield her, and her tendency to get herself in over her head. When Jane Austen assumes that she and Steven are a couple, Vicki's first reaction is to laugh. She thinks of him as a brotherly figure... though she'll privately admit to finding him "dishy."
Steven: O'Brien just slightly deepens her voice for Steven, rather than attempting to channel any of Peter Purves's actual performance, but it works well enough - not least because Steven is easily the least used of the regulars. He's mostly just the muscle here, forcefully ejecting an unwanted visitor at one point and standing between an aggressor and his friends at another point.
Jane Austen: The "historical celebrity guest star" and the most prominent guest character in general. If this had been a later Companion Chronicle, after the format became more set, I suspect she would have been the "second voice." She forms a duo with Vicki in the second half, insisting on venturing out into the frozen city. When they find themselves confronted with frozen bodies, Vicki castigates herself for not waiting for the Doctor; Austen, however, seems to be enjoying the adventure even after it turns deadly.
The Cinder: The story's actual second voice, the prisoner to whom Vicki relates her story. His role is almost entirely confined to the framing device... but it is a bit more complicated than that, and he turns out to be more than just a passive listener.
THOUGHTS:
Frostfire was the title that launched Big Finish's Companion Chronicles. I'm glad this one came first to set the tone. Instead of some generic runaround with returning enemies, writer Marc Platt offers a slow burn narrative with a strong sense of setting, good characterization, a creepy atmosphere, and some decent ambition... which is a fair summation of the strengths of this range.
Later Companion Chronicles would often steer toward being hybrids, part audio book and part audio play, with stories often conveyed as much through the production as the prose. Frostfire, however, is very close to a pure audio book. It's enhanced by some music and sound effects, but the story is entirely a reading, with the "second voice" confined to the frame. Listeners familiar only with the later entries may be surprised by that.
Fortunately, it's quite a good story! Marc Platt is one of Big Finish's most reliable recurring writers, regularly delivering creative ideas and structural flourishes. Most Companion Chronicles that even feature a framing device don't make it into a major part of the story. Platt weaves his framing device together with the main narrative in a way that builds to splendid effect at the end.
Frostfire is particularly strong on atmosphere. Descriptions are vivid: People praying in a church, frozen in place where they knelt; frost spreading across surfaces; the cracks in the egg when Vicki sees it; and the frostfire itself, the flames turning from red to green. Lawrence Oakley's music emphasizes the tone without ever becoming intrusive, and the sound design is generally well judged.
Maureen O'Brien does an excellent job as reader. She puts plenty of emotion into her voice, and she varies the pace of her reading to match the energy of the scene itself. O'Brien's voice is enough the same as in the 1960s that I had no problem picturing Vicki while listening - and, as readers of my Hartnell reviews will know, I was always very fond of Vicki as a character. Platt writes her well, showing off her relationships with both the Doctor and Steven. A well-judged aside has Vicki admitting to bullying Steven from time to time on the grounds that she was just enough smaller than him to get away with it, which sounds absolutely in character.
OVERALL:
Frostfire is a slow burn, with most of the action restricted to the second half. I think the slower pace fits the tone quite well. Still, some listeners will probably get restless.
I do think this would have benefited from casting a voice actress to play Jane Austen, with a few more dramatized scenes inside the main story. But I also think that's mainly to do with "teething issues" in a new range. Marc Platt was clearly avoiding having any additional voices interrupting Vicki's reading; looking at the first set of stories as a set, I'm pretty sure they were viewed principally as audio books, with sound effects and a second voice as enhancements to appeal to Big Finish's regular listeners, with the format evolving from there.
Overall, Frostfire was as good a start as The Companion Chronicles could have hoped for. There may be entries in the range that are more "fun." But this remains a very good story, one that's well worth the investment of a little time and patience.
Overall Rating: 8/10.
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