Well it’s finally here, not just my first Tom-file which I have been promising for quite a while but also we have now had 100 Big Finish releases. I first learnt of Big Finish adventures when I went to a Memorabilia Fair in Birmingham in 2004. I saw these CD's and thought that I would give them a try. I bought Faith Stealer, Caerdroia and The Last. I didn't realise that they were part of a story arc and thought they were just individual stories with the same Doctor and companions but I realised pretty soon that I was wrong. I loved the fact that they were different from the TV show but in many ways quite similar. Quite soon I was buying other adventures and in mid-2006 I had bought all of the available adventures. I have been subscribing for the last two years and consider the money that I spent on these subscriptions money well spent and will continue to do so for as long as Big Finish make these adventures. I will be looking at the long road the Big Finish has undergone and look at how the Doctors and Companions have differed (if at all) from the TV versions.
I have to admit that Big Finish has a lot to be proud of. It helped move the series along and keep interest in the show whilst it was on 'hiatus'. The range has moved the Doctors and companions on a lot more than the TV show could have done, the characters have been moulded so that people’s perceptions of the characters have improved. When The Sirens of Time was released back in July 1999, there were a lot of things that were good and bad but it was just nice to have the first new Doctor Who story since the TV Movie. Its hard to think that stories like Live 34, Dr Who and the Pirates and Flip Flop could have ever been made for TV and that is one of the biggest advantages to the range, it will dare to do different stories sometimes they work sometimes they don't.
Big Finish tries to be different and not just rely on old monsters. There have only been a few Dalek stories, a few Cybermen and one or two of the old classic monsters such as Ice Warriors, Silurians and the Master. Most of the stories are hit and miss and even the most mediocre stories have redeemable qualities. The use of the classic companions but in different roles help add a bit of class into the stories and helps you feel that just because the first four Doctors aren't in the stories doesn't mean that they can't be used. Maureen O'Brien (Year of the Pig), Anneke Wills (Zagreus), William Russell (The Game), Caroline John (Dust Breeding), Katy Manning (The Wormery), Nicholas Courtney (Minuet in Hell) and Debroah Watling (Three's A Crowd) have all worked very well in their stories. To make each story in four separate episodes like they would have been on TV has worked very well, it would have been nice if they used the theme that they had on TV but that is only a minor fault. The fact that each story follows in the chronology is a smart idea and it means that classic fans have something to fill in the gaps between each TV episode and also new fans won’t feel that they are missing something. It is a shame that Tom Baker hasn't appeared in any of the stories, as his voice would have been an asset to any story as his narration on the hit BBC Comedy Little Britain proves.
Over 100 stories, there have been several stories that have stood out as minor classics. The two Project stories (Twilight & Lazarus) were fantastic stories in their individual ways but work brilliantly as a two part serial. Live 34 is the most original story released. Spare Parts is usually in the Top 3 of any poll as well as the Robert Shearman story Chimes of Midnight. Paul McGann's first two stories (Storm Warning & Sword of Orion) were great starts for the 8th Doctor and shows what he could have achieved if he had made more TV stories. Other stories that are considered to be classics include Bloodtide, Jubilee, The Harvest, The Juggernauts, The Nowhere Place, The Reaping, Nocturne, Frozen Time and more recently Son of the Dragon.
One of the biggest successes in my opinions if the re-evaluation that has happened to all of the TV adventures. Before Big Finish Colin Baker stories were often looked at in a bad light because of the poor music and poor special effects but with top stories the 6th Doctor stories on audio have changed their opinions on TV. In fact with my ratings system Colin Baker has scored the most out of all four Doctors. He has scored 98 out of 135 with an average rating of 3.63. In fact most of Baker's stories are of the highest quality. Colin has such a powerful voice but it was always drowned out by his hideous outfit on TV. Stories such as Jubilee and the Project series show what can be done for his version of the role. His relationship with Peri is a lot better than on TV and this is because I believe that the writers haven't focused on the tension between the two but more on how they can help each other. But when it comes to companions I have to say that Evelyn is the best. She is not just the best newly created companion but she is the best companion in the audio range. She is quite unlike any character in the show because she is not young, she is not sarcastic (a lot!) and she doesn't scream. Her relationship with the Doctor is not one of just enjoying pure adventures but of respect and enabling Evelyn to experience living on other worlds to use as research in her lectures. She is the longest serving companion out of the ones that have been newly created. Her first appearance was in the sixth story 'The Marian Conspiracy' and it is fitting that she is in the 100th story. That is a good move because the relationship between Baker and Stables is what makes their adventures so compelling and enjoyable. One of the biggest improvements that have occurred is the character development of Mel. Obviously everyone knows that during her time in Doctor Who in 1986 and 1987 she was terrible due in part to the poor writing and then she was required to scream and be annoying in every scene. So it was perhaps surprising in how much she has improved. In her first story 'The Fires of Vulcan' it was like it was a different person playing Mel and as stories have gone on she has got better and better. Her finest performance came in the story 'Catch 1782' when she was just outstanding. If there is a companion that has progressed the most then it is definitely Bonnie Langford.
Moving some focus back to other Doctors some praise should go to Slyvester McCoy. His portrayal of the Doctor is so much better than on Television. Stories like Live 34, The Harvest, Dust Breeding and several other stories have helped bring the 7th Doctor to a standard that he should have been at during his time as the Doctor but the first series really killed it off for him. One of the best things about the 7th Doctor plays is the emotional links between the Doctor and Ace. It was fantastic during the TV show but in these plays the character of Ace has grown up. No longer is she the young explosion mad companion but now she has become a woman (how cliché) and is on par with the Doctor in more situations than not. With the addition of Hex however the jury is still out even though it is now three years and seven stories since he made his first appearance. His performances are sometimes very good and then sometimes mediocre. I don't know whether he is a soap star or a celebrity but I just get the feeling that he is sometimes lacking something. The relationship with Hex and Ace is well done and whilst I say his performances are mixed, Olivier's performance in Live 34 was absolutely fantastic. The way that he made his section of that story stand out was worthy of his role in the series.
Paul McGann was a late addition to the Big Finish series, as he didn't make his debut until story 16 when Storm Warning surfaced in January 2001 it was a big test for people as to whether McGann was good enough to take on the role. He never got the chance for his 1996 movie and I think it was because he only got one outing that it was decided by Big Finish to give the 8th Doctor four stories in a row. This was a good move in my opinion because it gave the writers and producers time to try and in effect restart people's opinion of McGann's Doctor. As McGann never got a proper companion it enabled Big Finish to create a brand new companion for him and that meant it was someone who we didn't have any preconceived ideas about. Charley Pollard was unlike any companion in Doctor Who history, she was a posh rebellious young woman who survival was pivotal for the first few series. India Fisher is very good and her departure in the 103rd story The Girl Who Never Was (Due for release in December 2007) will no doubt be a sad sombre story. I personally like her because she had that spirit that meant she wasn't going to let a hoard of evil monsters stop her helping the Doctor. The arrival of C'Rizz in late 2003 was nice novel move because it meant that for the first time in Paul McGann's reign as Doctor he had a full TARDIS crew. This novelty soon wore off as his role in stories was a bit of a mystery and you got the sense that he never really quite fitted in and his departure in the 101st story Absolution (Due for release in October 2007) will not have quite the emotional moments that Charley's departure will have but that's not my fault.
Peter Davison is perhaps the least consistent Doctor out of the four. Its not that his stories are bad but it's just that they are not on par with the other Doctors. Davison's best story is perhaps Spare Parts that is in the Top 5. Davison's voice hasn't changed that much and the way that he speaks in the stories are one of the high lights of his stories. He works very well with the companions very well and in the case of Peri that is very surprising as they only spent 8 episodes together on TV. Erimem on the other hand is very different; she is like Charley but 1000 years earlier. Though Caroline Morris is very good and has a very nice voice the character of Erimem suffers similar problems to C'Rizz. Its not that she doesn't fit into stories it’s just that she is only at her best when she is taking on a role where she is treated like a royal princess. In Eye of the Scorpion she was a pharaoh and in 'The Church and the Crown' she was to take control of the situation like someone important. In 'The Council of Nicaea' she is probably at her best and more recently in 'Son of the Dragon' she is in a superb position. When she is retired sometime in 2008 she will be the second most missed companion. I hope that Big Finish don't just have 5th Doctor/Peri stories from now on because that will just be dull.
When Doctor Who returned to BBC1 in March 2005 it looked like it was going to have a negative effect on Big Finish and according to an interview in Doctor Who Magazine it did but thanks to the subscribers everything was all right. In fact in the 2005 series three of the four writers (not including RTD) have written for Big Finish. Robert Shearman (Dalek) , Paul Cornell (Fathers Day) & Mark Gatiss (The Unquiet Dead) have contributed and the Robert Shearman story was loosely based on the 2003 6th Doctor story 'Jubilee'. Since 2005 the stories that have been made have been of a high quality and if you compare a story like Nocturne to The Sirens of Time or even a story from 2003 then you notice a big difference not just in terms of story quality but in the acting from the Doctors and companions and also the guest stars. Also the music is better with a lot more effort put into these stories similar to the TV series.
With 100 stories now produced and at least another nine planned to take us up to the summer of 2008 it seems now the right time to ask the question. Where can the series go now? With the success of the TV series meaning that there will be Who on TV until 2010 and strong signs of it going beyond then can the Big Finish range really last. Well I think it can, you see with the departure of C'Rizz, Charley and the imminent exit of Erimem it means that the companions left will get more time and dialogue to expand the characters already around. Lucie Miller is newest character to be created by Big Finish and it would be nice to see her get some more time with the Doctor and have her character moulded into a nicer character because the main problem with her role in the BBC7 series was that she seemed a bit too loud and that might be alright for a few stories but if she is going to last then the Big Finish guys need to tone it down a bit.
Without Big Finish we wouldn't have had anything new to keep us going and that would have been very sad because it whilst it was always a possibility that it would return on TV it was never definite. All the people at Big Finish deserve a round of applause for what they have managed to achieve because without them most of the characters and stories from the 'classic' era wouldn't have been reappraised like they are now and because of that I hope that this range of Doctor Who stories aren't 'Finished' for a long time to come.
I have to admit that Big Finish has a lot to be proud of. It helped move the series along and keep interest in the show whilst it was on 'hiatus'. The range has moved the Doctors and companions on a lot more than the TV show could have done, the characters have been moulded so that people’s perceptions of the characters have improved. When The Sirens of Time was released back in July 1999, there were a lot of things that were good and bad but it was just nice to have the first new Doctor Who story since the TV Movie. Its hard to think that stories like Live 34, Dr Who and the Pirates and Flip Flop could have ever been made for TV and that is one of the biggest advantages to the range, it will dare to do different stories sometimes they work sometimes they don't.
Big Finish tries to be different and not just rely on old monsters. There have only been a few Dalek stories, a few Cybermen and one or two of the old classic monsters such as Ice Warriors, Silurians and the Master. Most of the stories are hit and miss and even the most mediocre stories have redeemable qualities. The use of the classic companions but in different roles help add a bit of class into the stories and helps you feel that just because the first four Doctors aren't in the stories doesn't mean that they can't be used. Maureen O'Brien (Year of the Pig), Anneke Wills (Zagreus), William Russell (The Game), Caroline John (Dust Breeding), Katy Manning (The Wormery), Nicholas Courtney (Minuet in Hell) and Debroah Watling (Three's A Crowd) have all worked very well in their stories. To make each story in four separate episodes like they would have been on TV has worked very well, it would have been nice if they used the theme that they had on TV but that is only a minor fault. The fact that each story follows in the chronology is a smart idea and it means that classic fans have something to fill in the gaps between each TV episode and also new fans won’t feel that they are missing something. It is a shame that Tom Baker hasn't appeared in any of the stories, as his voice would have been an asset to any story as his narration on the hit BBC Comedy Little Britain proves.
Over 100 stories, there have been several stories that have stood out as minor classics. The two Project stories (Twilight & Lazarus) were fantastic stories in their individual ways but work brilliantly as a two part serial. Live 34 is the most original story released. Spare Parts is usually in the Top 3 of any poll as well as the Robert Shearman story Chimes of Midnight. Paul McGann's first two stories (Storm Warning & Sword of Orion) were great starts for the 8th Doctor and shows what he could have achieved if he had made more TV stories. Other stories that are considered to be classics include Bloodtide, Jubilee, The Harvest, The Juggernauts, The Nowhere Place, The Reaping, Nocturne, Frozen Time and more recently Son of the Dragon.
One of the biggest successes in my opinions if the re-evaluation that has happened to all of the TV adventures. Before Big Finish Colin Baker stories were often looked at in a bad light because of the poor music and poor special effects but with top stories the 6th Doctor stories on audio have changed their opinions on TV. In fact with my ratings system Colin Baker has scored the most out of all four Doctors. He has scored 98 out of 135 with an average rating of 3.63. In fact most of Baker's stories are of the highest quality. Colin has such a powerful voice but it was always drowned out by his hideous outfit on TV. Stories such as Jubilee and the Project series show what can be done for his version of the role. His relationship with Peri is a lot better than on TV and this is because I believe that the writers haven't focused on the tension between the two but more on how they can help each other. But when it comes to companions I have to say that Evelyn is the best. She is not just the best newly created companion but she is the best companion in the audio range. She is quite unlike any character in the show because she is not young, she is not sarcastic (a lot!) and she doesn't scream. Her relationship with the Doctor is not one of just enjoying pure adventures but of respect and enabling Evelyn to experience living on other worlds to use as research in her lectures. She is the longest serving companion out of the ones that have been newly created. Her first appearance was in the sixth story 'The Marian Conspiracy' and it is fitting that she is in the 100th story. That is a good move because the relationship between Baker and Stables is what makes their adventures so compelling and enjoyable. One of the biggest improvements that have occurred is the character development of Mel. Obviously everyone knows that during her time in Doctor Who in 1986 and 1987 she was terrible due in part to the poor writing and then she was required to scream and be annoying in every scene. So it was perhaps surprising in how much she has improved. In her first story 'The Fires of Vulcan' it was like it was a different person playing Mel and as stories have gone on she has got better and better. Her finest performance came in the story 'Catch 1782' when she was just outstanding. If there is a companion that has progressed the most then it is definitely Bonnie Langford.
Moving some focus back to other Doctors some praise should go to Slyvester McCoy. His portrayal of the Doctor is so much better than on Television. Stories like Live 34, The Harvest, Dust Breeding and several other stories have helped bring the 7th Doctor to a standard that he should have been at during his time as the Doctor but the first series really killed it off for him. One of the best things about the 7th Doctor plays is the emotional links between the Doctor and Ace. It was fantastic during the TV show but in these plays the character of Ace has grown up. No longer is she the young explosion mad companion but now she has become a woman (how cliché) and is on par with the Doctor in more situations than not. With the addition of Hex however the jury is still out even though it is now three years and seven stories since he made his first appearance. His performances are sometimes very good and then sometimes mediocre. I don't know whether he is a soap star or a celebrity but I just get the feeling that he is sometimes lacking something. The relationship with Hex and Ace is well done and whilst I say his performances are mixed, Olivier's performance in Live 34 was absolutely fantastic. The way that he made his section of that story stand out was worthy of his role in the series.
Paul McGann was a late addition to the Big Finish series, as he didn't make his debut until story 16 when Storm Warning surfaced in January 2001 it was a big test for people as to whether McGann was good enough to take on the role. He never got the chance for his 1996 movie and I think it was because he only got one outing that it was decided by Big Finish to give the 8th Doctor four stories in a row. This was a good move in my opinion because it gave the writers and producers time to try and in effect restart people's opinion of McGann's Doctor. As McGann never got a proper companion it enabled Big Finish to create a brand new companion for him and that meant it was someone who we didn't have any preconceived ideas about. Charley Pollard was unlike any companion in Doctor Who history, she was a posh rebellious young woman who survival was pivotal for the first few series. India Fisher is very good and her departure in the 103rd story The Girl Who Never Was (Due for release in December 2007) will no doubt be a sad sombre story. I personally like her because she had that spirit that meant she wasn't going to let a hoard of evil monsters stop her helping the Doctor. The arrival of C'Rizz in late 2003 was nice novel move because it meant that for the first time in Paul McGann's reign as Doctor he had a full TARDIS crew. This novelty soon wore off as his role in stories was a bit of a mystery and you got the sense that he never really quite fitted in and his departure in the 101st story Absolution (Due for release in October 2007) will not have quite the emotional moments that Charley's departure will have but that's not my fault.
Peter Davison is perhaps the least consistent Doctor out of the four. Its not that his stories are bad but it's just that they are not on par with the other Doctors. Davison's best story is perhaps Spare Parts that is in the Top 5. Davison's voice hasn't changed that much and the way that he speaks in the stories are one of the high lights of his stories. He works very well with the companions very well and in the case of Peri that is very surprising as they only spent 8 episodes together on TV. Erimem on the other hand is very different; she is like Charley but 1000 years earlier. Though Caroline Morris is very good and has a very nice voice the character of Erimem suffers similar problems to C'Rizz. Its not that she doesn't fit into stories it’s just that she is only at her best when she is taking on a role where she is treated like a royal princess. In Eye of the Scorpion she was a pharaoh and in 'The Church and the Crown' she was to take control of the situation like someone important. In 'The Council of Nicaea' she is probably at her best and more recently in 'Son of the Dragon' she is in a superb position. When she is retired sometime in 2008 she will be the second most missed companion. I hope that Big Finish don't just have 5th Doctor/Peri stories from now on because that will just be dull.
When Doctor Who returned to BBC1 in March 2005 it looked like it was going to have a negative effect on Big Finish and according to an interview in Doctor Who Magazine it did but thanks to the subscribers everything was all right. In fact in the 2005 series three of the four writers (not including RTD) have written for Big Finish. Robert Shearman (Dalek) , Paul Cornell (Fathers Day) & Mark Gatiss (The Unquiet Dead) have contributed and the Robert Shearman story was loosely based on the 2003 6th Doctor story 'Jubilee'. Since 2005 the stories that have been made have been of a high quality and if you compare a story like Nocturne to The Sirens of Time or even a story from 2003 then you notice a big difference not just in terms of story quality but in the acting from the Doctors and companions and also the guest stars. Also the music is better with a lot more effort put into these stories similar to the TV series.
With 100 stories now produced and at least another nine planned to take us up to the summer of 2008 it seems now the right time to ask the question. Where can the series go now? With the success of the TV series meaning that there will be Who on TV until 2010 and strong signs of it going beyond then can the Big Finish range really last. Well I think it can, you see with the departure of C'Rizz, Charley and the imminent exit of Erimem it means that the companions left will get more time and dialogue to expand the characters already around. Lucie Miller is newest character to be created by Big Finish and it would be nice to see her get some more time with the Doctor and have her character moulded into a nicer character because the main problem with her role in the BBC7 series was that she seemed a bit too loud and that might be alright for a few stories but if she is going to last then the Big Finish guys need to tone it down a bit.
Without Big Finish we wouldn't have had anything new to keep us going and that would have been very sad because it whilst it was always a possibility that it would return on TV it was never definite. All the people at Big Finish deserve a round of applause for what they have managed to achieve because without them most of the characters and stories from the 'classic' era wouldn't have been reappraised like they are now and because of that I hope that this range of Doctor Who stories aren't 'Finished' for a long time to come.
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