8-5. The Beginning.

2 episodes: The First Flight, Red Lightning. Approx. 62 minutes. Written by: Marc Platt. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: Carole Ann Ford, Terry Molloy.


THE PLOT

In the beginning, there was the Doctor and his granddaughter, Susan - two people who didn't fit within their rigid society. For reasons unspecified, but related to his disagreements with those in authority, they are forced to flee. They take refuge in an old time ship scheduled for the scrapheap. When it's clear their pursuers have found them, the Doctor decides to take off, launching himself and Susan off to places unknown.

But they are not alone - Quadrigger Stoyn (Terry Molloy), a member of a work crew dismantling the time ship, fell asleep near the engines, only to wake to the ship's departure. Stoyn insists they must return, but for the Doctor return is not an option. He destroys the man's homing device, making it impossible to contact their home world, and sets off to explore the world on which they have landed...

A world populated by The Archaeons, beings seeding life onto the infant Earth, determined to create a perfectly ordered society. When the Archaeons attemt to dismantle the TARDIS, the ship's defenses activate, sending the experiment out of control. The human race emerges, in all its disorder and violence, leaving the Archaeons determined to repair their experiment the only way they know how: By eradicating the human race!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: It's strongly indicated that he's fleeing arrest because his opinions have been deemed dangerous/subversive by those currently in power... Something that fits very well with what we know of his character. He falls instantly in love with the TARDIS, and is certain that with enough time he'll be able to figure out how to fly it perfectly (which is true enough - though he probably doesn't expect it will take several lifetimes). He's appalled at the Archaeons' plan to destroy the human race, but is willing to feed them power for at least long enough to distract them for a getaway, which fits with the more selfish Doctor of the early television stories. As soon as he's had the distraction he needs, however, he makes sure to cut their power, ending their aggression.

Susan: She falls in love with Earth the same way the Doctor falls in love with the TARDIS, which foreshadows that she will eventually find a home there the same way he will find one in the time ship. She's excited at the prospect of visiting alien worlds. At the same time, she's a very young woman who has just been uprooted from the only home she's ever known. She misses that home, and admits to wishing she could return. She is disgusted by Stoyn's willingness to destroy all life on Earth. When Stoyn tries to get her to come with him and leave the Doctor, she makes clear that she will not abandon her grandfather under any circumstances.

Quadrigger Stoyn: Bound by rules and procedures, he is aghast that the Doctor and Susan would take this obsolete time ship off their world without proper clearance. He is terrified by the unfamiliar, afraid to leave the ship without encasing himself in a protective helmet even when it's clear the Doctor and Susan are walking around on the surface with no ill effects. He is not just willing but eager to save his own skin at the expense of not only the Doctor and Susan, but the entire human race. Not because he's a villain with an evil plan - but because he's a petty, small-minded man who can't conceive of anything more important than his own life and well-being and his place in society.


ANNIVERSARIES AND CONTINUITY

The Beginning is one of several 2013 Doctor Who projects commemorating the series' 50th anniversary. Telling the story of the Doctor's flight from Gallifrey and his first flight in the TARDIS - A natural enough idea, and one that's had groundwork laid in the multiple pre-Unearthly Child stories Big Finish has already recorded. With this, Quinnis, and Hunters of Earth, you have a pretty decent mini-season acting as a prologue to the television series.

Writer Marc Platt is the perfect choice. He not only wrote Quinnis, he also wrote the "Doctor-who-never-left-Gallifrey" Unbound audio Auld Mortality (which, with a few minor rewrites, could almost act as a prequel to this). He's made almost a sub-career out of exploring the Doctor's pre-series background, and has created a consistent tone to the early Doctor/Susan dynamic across these stories.

He's also careful with his continuity. The Doctor's mythology as it's been created over the decades gets plenty of play. We recognize Gallifrey in the descriptions of the Doctor's home world, but names such as "Gallifrey" and "Time Lords" are never uttered - Nothing that hadn't been named in the Hartnell stories is named here, which makes it feel properly of a piece with the early television stories, and additional information about the Doctor's exile from his home is kept vague.

Platt takes care to reconcile his story with other bits of continuity from the television series. The Name of the Doctor saw Clara steer the First Doctor to the TARDIS. Platt has Susan pushed into a different vessel and hearing what we know is that very conversation... But at the same time, it's not intrusive if you're not familiar with the scene in question. Later, Susan comes up with the name "TARDIS" while wandering the corridors, explaining why she insisted in An Unearthly Child that she named the ship... While the Doctor clearly knowing that the ship IS a TARDIS reconciles that with the word's common usage later in the series. Again, done quickly and, to someone not aware of the continuity, largely invisibly.


THOUGHTS

The first part of the serial, focusing on the Doctor's escape from Gallifrey, is excellent. It opens on action, making us eager to know what's going on. We learn enough to justify the Doctor's hasty departure, with enough mystery left for another potential story at some later date. The opening scenes are drenched in atmosphere, and seeing the Doctor and Susan discover the TARDIS for the first time, and listening to their first-ever dematerialization, are things that are an absolute joy.

Much like the previous "beginning," An Unearthly Child, this outstanding opening is a prologue bolted onto a standalone story. About halfway through the first episode (a quarter of the way through the story), the TARDIS makes its first landing, signifying the start of the story involving the Archaeons.

The Archaeons represent the type of rigid order and conformity the Doctor has fled. They do not tolerate dissent, labeling the Doctor's arguments against them as "heresy." To them, absolute order is perfection. The chaos of life on Earth horrifies them as much as it delights the Doctor, and - appropriately enough - the Doctor's first encounter with an alien menace involves him saving the human race from them, before he's so much as properly met a human being.

It's all very enjoyable, and a fitting enough first step on the long journey to come. It's not up there with the great stories - the Archaeon story fits nicely, but it just isn't as gripping as the opening flight. Still, it's well-done and highly entertaining throughout. A fine new "beginning" to celebrate the series' anniversary.


Overall Rating: 8/10.

Next Television Story: An Unearthly Child

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7-8. House of Cards.

2 episodes. Approx. 57 minutes. Written by: Steve Lyons. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines.


THE PLOT

The Doctor decides it's time for a holiday, and so takes his companions to a casino in the distant future. Though Jamie and particularly Ben are thrilled at the chance to partake in some games, Polly does not like this place. She doesn't enjoy the gambling machines, she finds the sight of the transfixed gamblers downright disturbing... and that's even before she sets eyes on the snake-headed Sidewinder Syndicate, the gang that runs the casino's operations.

The Sidewinders work for a mysterious woman named Fortune, who has strict rules against time travelers. When the casino's alarms are tripped by a time travel device, Polly finds herself in the Sidewinder's sights - and escorted to Fortune's office. The woman is absolutely charming and utterly chilling as she gives Polly an ultimatum. It's a simple command: Push a button that will determine the winner of "The Game of Life."

It's no simple game, though. Two players sit in booths and, when the button is pressed, random chance will result in one being disintegrated. And much to Polly's horror, one of the players is Ben!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Though sidelined for most of the story, the Doctor registers strongly at the climax as he gambles with Fortune for the welfare of his companions... playing with a tattered Happy Families deck! Anneke Wills continues to do a fine job of suggesting Troughton's tone and vocal mannerisms and, even if she can't hope to replicate the eerily dead-on audio resurrection of Frazer Hines' readings, it's more than good enough to help the listener visualize the Second Doctor. It is a shame, though, that he's in so little of this one.

Polly: Polly is very much at the center of this story, and Steve Lyons shows the same facility with her character that marked his first Companion Chroncicle, Resistance. Polly is quick-thinking and courageous, but she is also easily surprised by the darker side of humanity. She is immediately repelled by the Sidewinder Syndicate, but it takes a few minutes for her to realize that the attractive and soft-spoken Fortune is actually much scarier than the snake creatures. She is too quick to trust Lucky Bill, which leaves her vulnerable to him when he acts out of desperation in Part Two.

Jamie: Frazer Hines is not doing double-duty this story, as he voices only Jamie and not the Doctor (or Ben). But he does get a substantial slice of the action, the script cutting away to his observations of a time traveling gambler in Part One and of havoc on the casino floor in Part Two. Hines and Wills, who were actually together in the recording booth for this story (earlier efforts had them record their parts separately), bounce well off each other, and it's actually a shame Jamie and Polly have only a couple of scenes together. 

Ben: Is largely sidelined, as usual. He isn't forgotten, however, as he falls under the influence of the gambling bug and manages to get himself into trouble in a way that spurs most of Polly's actions in Part Two. 


THOUGHTS

I had high expectations for House of Cards. It reteamed the same writer, performers, and companion line-up as the wonderful Selachian Gambit, and the science fiction casino setting seemed like a sure bet to produce another fun piece. I knew this was the reverse of that one - with Anneke Wills as the primary reader, and Frazer Hines the secondary one. Still, Wills is a fine reader, and the Companion Chronicle Resistance - also by Lyons - remains probably my favorite of Big Finish's Second Doctor stories, so it's not like this was a concern for me.

I will say that House of Cards is enjoyable. It moves along at a good pace, there are several fun scenes, and the movement back and forth from the main action with Polly to the side action involving Jamie keeps it alive. The Episode One cliffhanger is terrific, and the showdown between the Doctor and the story's villain is cleverly done.

But while it's an enjoyable story, I can't help but find it a disappointing one. Something is missing this time, and the magic that happened in The Selachian Gambit just doesn't happen in this story.

The companion line-up is definitely not as well utilized here as in the earlier story, with Ben and the Doctor sidelined for the bulk of the story. The caricatured Lucky Bill, complete with American western accent, is annoying in a bad way, and the potentially interesting Sidewinder Syndicate never develop beyond their initial beat as James Cagney-like gangster snakes.

I also think Lyons' attempt to use the time travel element by telling bits of the story out of sequence is a flourish that doesn't quite work. Some of it is clever, as we see scenes laying groundwork for something just shown. Other times, the cutting back and forth between action happening to Jamie and action that had happened to Polly simply becomes tiresome. There's a twist involving the identity of a woman in a china mask that is particularly oversold. By the third or fourth time Jamie obliquely referred to the woman as "my friend," I grew irritated enough to snap at the CD player that "I got it already, move along!"

Wills and Hines keep things afloat with their spirited reading, and Lyons is too good a writer not to make sure that the various events all patch together in a way that works. The way the second episode pays off the (very good) first episode cliffhanger in a way that fits but is completely unexpected is quite satisfying. Fortune, wonderfully voiced by Wills, is an effective villain, and her scenes opposite Polly in Part One and opposite the Doctor in Part Two are the best two scenes in the story. 

More of Fortune, particularly more of her opposite the Doctor, and less of Lucky Bill and the Sidewinders might have given this story the shot in the arm that it badly needs. As it stands, it's not at all bad. House of Cards is narratively solid and pleasant enough to listen to. But it never quite manages to connect the way the best stories do.

It's a perfectly okay story. It's just also a perfectly disposable one, and not one I expect to revisit.


Overall Rating: 6/10.

Previous Television Story: The Macra Terror
Next Television Story: The Faceless Ones


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7-5. Return of the Rocket Men.

2 episodes: The Scourge of the Skies, The Trail of the Rocket Men. Running Time: Approx. 68 minutes. Written by: Matt Fitton. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: Peter Purves, Tim Treloar.


THE PLOT:

It is rookie pilot Steven Taylor's 21st birthday, and he's delivering supplies to the colony world Ulysses 519. It's an easy assignment... until he comes under attack by the ruthless space pirates known as "the Rocket Men." He is brought down by the forces of the sadistic Van Cleef (Tim Treloar). Van Cleef tortures Steven using his ancient Smith & Wesson pistol, shooting both of the young man's legs before Steven is saved by another Rocket Man.

Years later, it is pilot-turned-time traveler Steven Taylor's birthday, which he learns when the Doctor uses his astral map to identify the date. Not that it matters. As Steven observes, a birthday doesn't mean much in the TARDIS; any given trip might mean he's incredibly ancient or not even born yet.

Then the TARDIS materializes on Ulysses 519, only to find the colonists in hiding. When they learn where they are, and that the colonists are under attack from the Rocket Men, Steven realizes that his life has come full circle...


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: When he learns that the colonists' attackers are the Rocket Men, he advises them to stay hidden and just let the pirates take what they want. He knows firsthand how dangerous they are; and as he points out, supplies can be replaced but people cannot. This doesn't stop him from rigging up a distraction in Episode Two and then basking in his own cleverness when it works. Peter Purves does a wonderful job of suggesting William Hartnell's performance, which makes visualizing the First Doctor an easy task.

Steven: This is set shortly before The Savages, and the story is framed as a lead-up to Steven's departure. Writer Matt Fitton echoes the refrain of "When do you know?" from John Dorney's original Rocket Men. This time, the question asks when it's time to move on, which helps this to feel like a very personal story for Steven. Recalling his torment at the hands of Van Cleef, he's as determined to fight the Rocket Men as the Doctor is to avoid them. After events spin out of control, he recalls all the friends he's lost in his travels with the Doctor. He resolves not to allow more deaths, even if it ends up costing him his own life.

Dodo: She's enthusiastic about celebrating Steven's birthday, presenting him with a gift from the TARDIS stores. She's delighted to meet another girl her own age on the colony, bonding with her with an ease Steven envies. She also fights back when Van Cleef takes her hostage, kicking him hard enough that he's still feeling it in the second half.

Van Cleef: An appropriate name for a villain with an admiration for the Old West. I like Van Cleef better than the original story's Ashman. Several scenes are shown from Van Cleef's viewpoint, which makes him feel more distinct as a character than Ashman did. He relates how he got his prized Smith & Wesson and how he subsequently rose to captain. Part of his admiration for the ancient gun is its simplicity. Van Cleef likes to keep things simple: straightforward hits on vulnerable targets, meaning maximum profit for minimal risk. He's also a sadist who enjoys killing for its own sake, and he isn't afraid to make examples of his own men - which ends up coming back to haunt him in more ways than one.


THOUGHTS:

John Dorney's The Rocket Men was a good story that benefited from excellent character work, particularly in its examination of the Ian/Barbara relationship. It was also notable for a nonlinear structure that moved surprisingly smoothly between the Rocket Men crisis and the time travelers' arrival at the location, so that what would have been Episode One of a television story was cut up into Episodes Two and Three.

Writer Matt Fitton shows his respect for the original in several ways. He opens and closes both episodes with the "When do you know?" refrain, reframing it in a way that's as appropriate to Steven as its use in the original was to Ian. The structure is more straightforward; but Fitton works the incident from Steven's youth into the current story, allowing for a small nod at nonlinear structure, complete with us eventually seeing the flip side of the opening scenes.

This is principally an adventure story, and the action zips along nicely. The narrative begins with an action scene, and much of the second half is taken up by a full set piece. Descriptions are sufficient to sketch the characters and locations in our minds, but spare enough to avoid slowing things down.

The setting is less interesting than the first story's. There are no otherworldly sights or strange creatures here. If this was a televised story, it would be one of those that was shot entirely in a quarry. But it moves. It's fast and exciting, and it captures all three regulars well. Yes, even Dodo.

The only real nit I can pick is a tiny one: The means of Steven's survival is obvious pretty much from the start. Still, I never got the feeling that this was meant to be any type of surprise. The device used is a well-worn trope, but there is still enjoyment from seeing it well applied.


OVERALL:

One warning for new listeners: Writer Matt Fitton assumes that his listeners will have followed the entire First Doctor/Steven range, as this story includes a big spoiler for the Companion Chronicle, The First Wave. If you have yet to listen to that story, then do not listen to this until after you've caught up!

That aside, Return of the Rocket Men is an entertaining and well-paced action/adventure story. It may lack the unique setting of the original... but while I'd probably rank the first one as the better story overall, I think this one is more fun.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

Preceded by: The First Wave (not yet reviewed)

Previous Television Story: The Gunfighters
Next Television Story: The Savages

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7-4. The Last Post.

2 episodes. Approx. 65 minutes. Written by: James Goss. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: Caroline John, Rowena Cooper.


THE PLOT

When Liz Shaw's mother, Dame Emily Shaw (Rowena Cooper), reveals that a man killed during the attempted Auton invasion and another killed by the Silurian plague are members of her committee, Liz initially thinks it a coincidence. But when Dr. Taltalian and Sir James Quinlan, both killed during another alien incursion, turn out also to be members of that committee, Liz becomes convinced that something sinister is happening.

Her mother is also convinced, and confronts her committee. "We are dropping like flies," Dame Emily informs them angrily, insisting that the deaths must stop. Her committee is working with a device known as "The Apocalypse Clock," which is counting down to the projected end of the world - an end which has been delayed by weeks every time a committee member dies. Each of the victims has received a letter in the post informing him of his death just before it occurs. 

Now another letter has arrived... Addressed to Emily Shaw!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Seen only sparsely in this story. It takes most of Episode One for Liz to get him interested, then he is waylaid for the bulk of Episode Two. Still, writer James Goss knows better than to write a Third Doctor story that entirely sidelines this most flamboyant of incarnations, giving him a suitably showy scene early in the second part. We get some nice character bits sprinkled throughout the story. Liz compares his behavior to that of a child, hiding from her when he believes she's wasting his time with nonsense. She also observes his method of shopping: Wantonly pilfering items and leaving it to the UNIT Quartermaster - and, by extension, Liz - to sort out the mess.

Liz: Caroline John's final performance, which makes both the story and its title all the more poignant. John is terrific as ever, stepping back into Liz's shoes as if it were still 1970. She hits the right notes of intelligence, strength, and compassion. The story's second half puts her in the Doctor's usual role, confronting the villain and using her wits to try to stop the situation. John's reading shows Liz's very human fear even as she takes this action, and James Goss' script does an excellent job of keeping the focus on Liz's emotions even at the height of the action.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart: Despite his often gruff, military manner, Liz observes to her mother that he often has a twinkle in his eye even when barking orders, something that humanizes him. When the threat in this story is finally revealed, he doesn't hesitate to act - even bending UNIT's rules a bit to make his action as fast and efficient as possible.


THOUGHTS

The Last Post is a wonderful surprise, a story that far exceeds my expectations of it. Goss' deft script makes inventive use of the Companion Chronicles' format. The story is structured in epistolary form, switching back and forth between Liz and her mother and playing out through a series of phone calls and letters. 

Such a structure could have fallen badly flat, but sharp writing and wonderful performances from John and Cooper make it work like a treat. Goss has a firm grasp of each character's voice, with Liz's passages marked with an intellectualism tinged with dry humor, contrasted with the more emotional tone of her mother's scenes. The movement back and forth between them provides a structure even before the story fully emerges, and the format makes it feel natural as events unfold over a weeks-long period of time.

This structure also allows Goss indulges his fanboy instincts in a good way. With it taking weeks for the Doctor and the Brigadier to take the situation seriously, the first episode in particular takes the chance to draw Season Seven together into one unit. Stahlmann's project from Inferno is linked with the nuclear reactor in Dr. Who & the Silurians, with it planted that the Brigadier's airstrike at the end of the earlier story worsened the energy crisis that drove the project in the later story. Nods are also made to other stories: Much of the Brigadier's time in this story is occupied preparing for the peace conference that would take place in Season Eight's The Mind of Evil; and the story's resolution is linked to events from Season Three's The War Machines.

None of this comes across as an overload of continuity. Goss simply stitches the events of the television series together, in a way that connects this story to them without making this story reliant on them. If you've never seen the stories in question, you can still follow The Last Post and enjoy it as a story. The continuity references just add an extra layer of enjoyment for the rest of us.

The plot unfolds at a natural pace. The first episode slips out the exposition, allowing the story to reveal itself naturally. It goes from very leisurely to quite tense, with a very suspenseful and effective build to the cliffhanger. The second episode increases the pace dramatically, and has several fine scenes. Dame Emily's encounter with the Doctor is a quintessentially Doctorish moment that allows the Third Doctor to show his style and presence in a story that otherwise uses him sparingly. 

As fun as that scene is, though, the high point of the story comes in Liz's confrontation with the sinister Professor Prestain. Liz confronts him with confidence - but when Prestain reveals just how precarious her situation is, she becomes deeply frightened. She is able to complete the conversation with her accustomed cool manner, but she goes from walking to running by the time she reaches the safety of the exit. A great scene, beautifully performed by Caroline John.

In summation: An excellent story overall, one I think destined to sit among my very favorite Companion Chronicles.


Overall Rating: 10/10.

Previous Television Story: Inferno
Next Television Story: Terror of the Autons

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6-10. The Wanderer.

2 episodes: The Dark Pilgrim, The Scorpion Men. Approx. 64 minutes. Written by: Richard Dinnick. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: William Russell, Tim Chipping.


THE PLOT

When the TARDIS materializes in Siberia at the turn of the twentieth century, the time travelers observe lights in the sky. The Doctor instantly sees that these are not shooting stars.  Something alien has come to Earth, crashing in the nearby wilderness. All who have come in contact with it have been struck by a bizarre illness. The villagers have turned to Grigory (Tim Chipping), a wandering holy man, for help. The illness is outside Grigory's experience, however... but not outside the Doctor's.

The cause is chronon energy, radiating from a surveillance probe sent by the alien Dahensa. The probe has malfunctioned, the chronon energy causing it to absorb information not about Earth's present but about its future. The result is devastating to anyone who touches the probe, who receives a mind-destroying vision of everything that is to come.

This is poison to the Doctor and Susan. But to Grigory it is a tantalizing prize - a chance to realize his destiny!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Portrayed as a guardian of history, a role which fits the First Doctor very well. The man who proclaimed, "You cannot rewrite history, not one line" is easily recast as insisting that you must not rewrite it, much as he indeed was by Season Two's The Time Meddler. As soon as he recognizes the alien probe's threat to not only human lives but to human history, it becomes a matter of urgency for him to see it neutralized. When Grigory attempts to use the probe for his own ends, the Doctor reacts with moral outrage, making it clear that he views the Russian's actions as an obscenity.

Ian: The last part of Episode One sees Ian revealing the full truth about himself and his companions to Grigory... a moment I simply cannot buy into. The only occasion I can think of on television in which Ian told someone about being a time traveler was in The Reign of Terror - and then it's as a slap in the face, telling the full truth to an interrogator he knows full well will not believe it. Here, he tells Grigory the truth expecting to be believed, and then seems surprised when there are consequences. I don't know who this idiot is, but he isn't Ian Chesterton.

Thankfully, this scene is the only one to break my suspension of disbelief. William Russell does his usual splendid job of recreating his old television role, and the rest of Richard Dinnick's script portrays Ian more suitably. He's selfless but not stupidly so. Even when he rushes into a dangerous situation, he does so after having realized that he has no other alternative if he wishes to save lives. He is protective of all his traveling companions, but is especially so of Barbara, and he clings to the bond he and Barbara share to keep him grounded during his wanderings with the Doctor.

Barbara/Susan: Are very much the "extra characters" here, though the story does use them much as the television series tended to. Susan manages to put herself in danger multiple times, and the major part of Episode Two's action is devoted to Ian finding and rescuing her from the Dahensa. Barbara also requires rescue, but the story takes care to note her rationality and emphasize the role she plays as a support to Ian. Both characters have been used better elsewhere but, in fairness, they have also been used far worse.


THOUGHTS

Having already crafted a solid First Doctor/Ian adventure in the audio "Short Trip" A Star Is Born, writer Richard Dinnick returns to the Hartnell era with The Wanderer. Dinnick is a good fit for the First Doctor. He has a sense of the feel of that era of the show, with its measured pace and more reflective tone, and he has a particularly strong grasp of the First Doctor's persona.

This is a clever story. It manages to reference Doctor Who as a franchise while setting itself at a point in the show's run before there was a franchise, and it does so in a way that fits perfectly within the narrative. It has a neat twist at the midpoint, one which is possible to see coming - though I freely confess that I did not. It's also a rare two-part story in which the second half is actually better than the first. Part One does its job of establishing the setting, characters, and overall plot, but Part Two raises the stakes and quickens the pace.

Nor does the ending let it down. The main conflict is resolved in a way that works within the story, but the strongest beats are in the well-developed epilogue. Here, the parallels and contrasts are msot clearly drawn among the story's wanderers - not only Ian and Grigory, but the aligned pairs of Ian/Barbara and the Doctor/Susan. These final passages show that there's more here than just a clever little tale, well-told. There's also that extra little something that elevates one story above another.

A quality best described simply as, "Heart."


Overall Rating: 8/10.

Previous Television Story: The Reign of Terror
Next Television Story: Planet of Giants

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6-9. Binary.

2 episodes. Approx. 50 minutes. Written by: Eddie Robson. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: Caroline John, Joe Coen, Kyle Redmond-Jones.


THE PLOT

When UNIT comes into possession of a damaged computer from a crashed alien ship, Liz Shaw is ordered to try to repair it. She is prohibited from telling the Doctor anything about it, lest he unilaterally destroy the machine. This leaves Liz in the care of UNIT Corporal James Foster (Kyle Redmond-Jones), who has been left on guard after the last two scientists who tried to study the computer were zapped into apparent nonexistence by a security device.

Liz disables the security device, but not before Foster also falls victim to it. Fortunately, help arrives in the form of Sergeant Andrew Childs (Joe Coen), a UNIT computer expert who guides Liz through making repairs. It isn't long before the two accidentally trigger something, however, transporting them to a series of bizarre corridors that look strikingly familiar.

Which is when Liz realizes where they are. They have been miniaturized and taken directly into the machine!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Since this is a full-cast audio drama set during the Pertwee era, it's unsurprising that the Doctor has a limited role. He's not completely absent - Liz reads messages from him from terminals inside the computer - but this story sees him discussed rather than observed. This story shows Liz having a more negative view of him than we've otherwise seen, with her describing him as patronizing and unwilling to listen - qualities which don't actually reflect the characters' interactions on television or in other Companion Chronicles.

Liz Shaw: Some of this uncharacteristic attitude might be because Liz is strongly considering leaving as this story unfolds. Yes, this is another "Liz leaving UNIT" story, which has been dealt with in no less than three of her five Companion Chronicles.  Surely this particular dead horse has now been punished enough?  In any case, Liz no longer feels useful at UNIT, constantly overshadowed by the Doctor and too rushed by crises to ever have a chance to do "proper research." While this is plausible enough for the character, I prefer the explanation given in The Sentinels of the New Dawn, that Liz simply got worn out by the constant series of crises that is life with the Doctor. 


THOUGHTS

It's fair to say I was looking forward to Binary. It's an audio that pairs Eddie Robson, one of Big Finish's most reliable regular writers, with Liz Shaw, one of my favorite companions. With a promisingly bizarre premise involving characters transported inside an alien computer, all the pieces are in place for a terrific story.

Which makes it all the more disappointing that this story falls so utterly flat.

Binary is an unusual Companion Chronicle, in that it's not an enhanced audio book like most of the range. Save for a brief Liz-narrated epilogue, this is a straight audio drama. This isn't quite unique among the range, with Solitaire and The Jigsaw War having also been full-cast audio plays. Those stories succeeded in creating more immediacy by presenting us with situations that were directly unfolding. This story fails, however, with the often overly-expository dialogue actually creating more distance between listener and story than would have been the case with narration.

It's not the format that's to blame, though. It's the story itself. From the usually clever Eddie Robson, this is depressingly predictable. Sure, there's a reveal in Episode Two. But it's one that most listeners will see coming from at least half an episode away. It was so predictable a twist, in fact, that I felt secure that something more must be coming. But instead of an even bigger reveal, what we get is... the same exact twist used a second time, to even weaker effect.

At 50 minutes, this is one of the shortest Companion Chronicles. Despite this, the story feels padded out. The situation comes down to a decision by Liz. The final scenes, in which she reaches that decision, are actually quite good, the story's best by a considerable margin. But a lot of what connects Liz figuring out she's inside the computer and her making that decision feels... Well, like a narrative that's running in place. 

That leaves me thinking that this would have made a better Short Trip or 30-minute Doctor Who Magazine freebie. There's really only enough story here to carry about half the running time, leaving a lot of dead space in which the listener is left to wait for the characters to catch up with the story and do something to move things along.

Even the production is far weaker than the norm. There's nothing actually faulty about it, but there's no sense of spark, life, or atmosphere. I'm not picturing Liz, Childs, and Foster inside a giant alien computer; I'm picturing actors delivering dialogue into their microphones. A rare "off day" for director Lisa Bowerman.

A few good scenes, mostly near the end, keep this from ranking with the worst Big Finish titles. But with a thin story and a weak production, I can't think of much reason to recommend Binary. A significant disappointment.


Overall Rating: 3/10.

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6-8. The Selachian Gambit.

2 episodes. Approx. 54 minutes. Written by: Steve Lyons. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: Frazer Hines, Anneke Wills.


THE PLOT

The Doctor and his companions at a bank in the distant future for the most innocent of reasons.  It's just a simple misunderstanding involving a parking fine... Just enough cause for the Doctor to actually need a bit of money for once. But it's enough to place the Doctor, Jamie, Ben, and Polly in their usual position: The wrong place, at the wrong time. 

The Selachians are a race of aggressive, spacefaring sharks. Literal sharks, with fins and suits that preserve their acquatic environment as they move among the air-breathing plankton known as humanity. They are in the bank for the least innocent of reasons: To rob it. 

First they must breach the impregnable vault door, whose combination is changed multiple times daily. The vault is interdimensional, the combination setting the destination.  Enter the right combination and you can access the most valuable treasures of galactic civilization. Otherwise, even if you breach the door, all that you will find behind it is cold, empty space.

The Selachians are prepared to kill to get what they want, threatening to execute one hostage per minute. But the Doctor knows a thing or two about interdimensional locks, and he makes a deal with the aliens. If they agree to spare the hostages, he will use his considerable skills to break into the vault.

But there are secrets behind that door that even the Doctor isn't aware of - Secrets which make the lives of a mere twenty hostages insignificant in comparison!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: One of the joys of Big Finish's Second Doctor stories has been Frazer Hines' Second Doctor. Hines is able to make himself truly sound like Patrick Troughton, to such a degree that more often than not you would swear Troughton was in the recording booth delivering his character's own lines. It was breathtaking even in Hines' earliest Big Finish stories, and his Troughton has gotten better and better as he's done more of them. 

This story is perfectly suited to the Second Doctor's persona. He is thrust into a situation in which he appears completely helpless. Then he uses his apparent weakness and his knowledge of interdimensional systems to barter with the Selachians. By Part Two, the bank heist is being run more by the Doctor than by the aliens, and listening as he defuses one potentially violent situation after another until the story's climax feels perfect for both character and era.

Jamie: Retains his tendency to sometimes act before he thinks, as when he makes an ill-advised (and poorly-aimed) attack on one of the Selachians early in the bank heist. His fierce loyalty to his friends is shown when, having made a clean escape for himself, he runs back into a building facing imminent destruction to save the Doctor and the other hostages. In an amusing nod to Big Finish's own continuity, Jamie and Ben consciously repeat a method of escaping their guards previously used in the Polly Companion Chronicle Resistance.

Ben: Frazer Hines' Ben voice is almost as good as his Second Doctor voice, allowing Ben to come to life in this story in a way that just wasn't true of the previous Companion Chronicles. As is usual, Ben is the least-used of the companions... but he still gets a decent slice of the action, working with Jamie to overcome Selachian guards near the end. Even his crawling through the bank's ductwork, which largely shunts him out of the way in Part One, pays off, with Ben making an important discovery.

Polly: When she hears the Doctor soothing Selachians and hostages alike by talking about a calming cup of tea, she knows what will come next. Sure enough, the next scene sees her sent to the kitchen to put the kettle on. As in The Moonbase, she also actively looks around for things that might be used to turn the tables on the Selachians. With a helpful prod from Ben, she finds something. In Part Two, she is removed from the bank and mainly interacts with the police negotiating with the Selachians, which handily allows us to see both sides of the action. Anneke Wills continues to do a spirited job both in recreating her character and in narrating her portion of the story, and the switch back-and-forth between Hines' voice and hers helps to keep this serial alive and moving.


THOUGHTS

I've always enjoyed a good caper, which makes The Selachian Gambit a perfect fit for me. Writer Steve Lyons has concocted a textbook caper with the classic elements: A heist gone wrong, an impregnable security system, and a late-in-the-game twist that turns the story on its head. It's fast-paced and clever, making good use of its confined setting. 

The story also makes particularly good use of the regulars. The Season Four line-up of the Doctor, Jamie, Ben, and Polly can be daunting to cover in an audio story that runs less than 60 minutes. Resistance and The Forbidden Time both sidestepped the large line-up by separating the Doctor and Polly from the others for most of the action, effectively removing half the cast.

The Selachian Gambit properly uses all four regulars, and writer Steve Lyons manages to make this achievement look easy. One way in which this is done is by putting the companions into "teams" that are constantly switching. Polly and the Doctor are together initially, while Jamie and Ben observe some of the guest characters elsewhere in the bank. Then the Doctor and Jamie carry the main action for a while, while Polly and Ben interact elsewhere. Then Ben and Jamie are paired, while Polly interacts with the police outside the bank. It's a simple thing - but the shifting of the character pairs goes a long way toward keeping all the characters alive in the story throughout, while at the same time contributing to the fast pace.

The story benefits from Big Finish's usual polished production, but its success is brought home by Frazer Hines. His performance is nothing short of remarkable, as he enacts full scenes in which he voices every character. There's a tense scene in Part Two in which the Doctor, Jamie, the Selachians, Ben, and the bank manager all interact, discussing and threatening and arguing... and it was only after I had finished listening to the story that I reflected that this scene, and others like it, were created with a single actor. Between Hines' dead-on imitations of Patrick Troughton and Michael Craze, his ability to recreate his own 1960's performance, and his distinct voices for the guest characters, the story often feels less like an enhanced audio book than like a narrated full-cast play.

An outstanding central performance, bolstering an already well-constructed and clever story. It's often easiest to lavish praise on serious dramas than on lighter pieces like this one. But when a light story is pulled off as brilliantly as The Selachian Gambit is, then it deserves just as much praise. 

This is an excellent little story, one I will certainly revisit in the future. 


Overall Rating: 9/10.

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