2 episodes Running Time: Approx. 60 minutes. Written by: Paul Magrs. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson.
THE PLOT:
It's been roughly 30 years since Jo left the Doctor, and she's lived a happy life. One day, while shopping for Christmas presents, she finds herself sharing a lift with a peculiar man named Huxley (Alex Lowe). He seems entirely harmless at first... until he begins narrating her thoughts.
Huxley is a Novelisor, a species that forms a mental link with subjects in order to narrate the lives of those they find interesting. Huxley is enthusiastic about meeting Jo, wanting to narrate all of her old adventures as assistant to that traveler in time and space - Iris Wildthyme.
Jo protests that he has it all wrong. Then Huxley introduces her to Iris, who warns her to play along. Iris sets the coordinates of her time and space bus to take them back to the 1970s, where Jo resolves to find the Doctor and become disentangled from this bothersome alien. But there's an added complication waiting for all of them...
CHARACTERS:
The Doctor: His actual role is small, with him mainly featured in a single scene, albeit a long scene. That still provides time to showcase how he reacts differently to different characters. He's instinctively gentle with Jo. He's scornful of Iris to her face, but there's a certain indulgence, and (once she's safely out of earshot) he includes her when he talks about friends. Meanwhile, he's authoritative and confrontational with Huxley. Katy Manning's Third Doctor performance is good, as always, capturing many of the characteristics of Jon Pertwee's Doctor.
Jo: She looks back on her time with the Doctor and UNIT as her "best time." This makes her protective of her memories when Huxley calls them into question. Huxley's powers are persuasive, and she begins to doubt her own mind, but she refuses to let go of the part of the past that means the most to her. When Iris takes her back to the 1970s, she is overwhelmed at returning to the UNIT base. She treats with wonder the simple act of walking into the Doctor's lab, something she used to do without even thinking about it. She's so entranced at returning to this golden period that she briefly argues for staying, though she quickly realizes the impossibility of that.
Iris Wildthyme: I've consistently enjoyed Manning's performances as Iris. Everything about Iris is garish, which gives Manning license to go over-the-top, delivering her lines with a broad accent at a high volume, while slurring the words just slightly to suggest a semi-permanent state of inebriation. Of course, Iris is also wily. She recognizes the danger Huxley poses and warns Jo to keep on his good side. She's vain and flirtatious with the Doctor, but she also knows how to use her surface foolishness to do good. The Iris/Jo combo is a lot of fun to listen to, and - as with many of Manning's Big Finish performances - it's easy to forget that both roles are played by the same actress.
Huxley: Writer Paul Magrs makes the Companion Chronicles format work in a way that an unnarrated audio wouldn't. As Jo shares an elevator with the unassuming Huxley, she describes her thoughts - only for her narration to suddenly be picked up by Huxley, with it made clear that he is narrating direclty in front of her. The effect is sinister, even though Huxley himself is entirely mild mannered. Alex Lowe reprises a role he originated in the 5th Doctor story, Ringpullworld - a story I remember enjoying even though I don't actually remember anything else about it. Happily, no knowledge of the other story is required to enjoy this one.
THOUGHTS:
I have usually enjoyed Paul Magrs' Big Finish stories, and Find and Replace is no exception. Like much of Magrs' writing, it blends clever concepts with a sense of whimsy in a way that I find appealing. It captures nostalgia for the Pertwee era in a way that feels entirely natural - because it's not just the listener feeling nostalgic (or worse, the writer trying to force a feeling of nostalgia) - It's Jo herself who finds herself missing that part of her past.
Iris as a character lends herself to comedy, so it's no surprise that Find and Replace is funny. More surprising is how genuinely emotional it was. There's a hint of this in the first episode, when Jo refuses to allow Huxley to overwrite her memories, stubbornly clinging to that precious time. But when Jo is finally reunited with the Doctor at the end, the depth of Jo's feeling becomes clear. She has a moving speech when talking to the Doctor near the end, one that's beautifully written and wonderfully delivered by Katy Manning.
The story zips along at a fast pace. There's barely a pause as we go from Jo's encounter with Huxley to her meeting Iris, and from there to the trip back in time to the 1970s. Enough information is given to comprehend that Huxley can overwrite others' memories, but there's no lingering on exposition. There's also a late twist that is surprising but that also makes sense given the characters involved, and it ties in nicely with both the plot mechanics and the emotional material.
It ends with a closing sting that teases potential future adventures with Jo and Iris, at least one of which - The Elixir of Doom - was later released by Big Finish. After how much fun I had with this story, I don't think there's any question about me moving directly on to that one.
Overall Rating: 9/10.
Set After: The Green Death
Set Before: The Death of the Doctor
3rd Doctor Audio Review Index
3rd Doctor Television Review Index
Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles Review Index
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