Storm Warning is the first story to feature the Eighth Doctor since the TV Movie in 1996. The first Big Finish play was back in July 1999 so it’s amazing that it’s taken this long for McGann to surface as the Doctor. It good that he has done this series of adventures because this enables us to see what the Doctor would have been like had the TV Movie been turned into a series. The story was set on board the R101 which crashed on her maiden overseas trip on October 5, 1930. I honestly didn’t know about this and so I thought that it was just something that Alan Barnes thought of. When I discovered that this was based on something that had been based in reality the story took on a different feel for me. The opening scene set sets the stall out for this release, newsreels are always a good way to start a story as it gives a sense of realism to it.
Paul McGann is truly magical as the Doctor. This is what he would have been like had he been given more time not just in the TV Movie but beyond. There have been books based on the Eighth Doctor which have given fans some more adventures with the Eighth incarnation but Storm Warning is the first story that enables McGann to give his slant on the character. McGann gives a completely fresh approach to the Doctor and there are little mannerisms which are essentially the Doctor such as talking to himself a lot. McGann seems to have fun throughout mixing with the personnel of the R101 and also Charley who seems to be hiding something. India Fisher makes her debut as Charlotte ‘Charley’ Pollard though she made her first appearance in an earlier story. The character of Charley is quite an interesting one being that she is a stowaway but also she is also part of a wealthy family but in this story we don’t get any information as to whether she is important in any way. With the blend of her social standing along with the way that she got on board she was always was destined to be an important character. Fisher played her really well and she was believable throughout. I think that Fisher interacted well with Paul McGann and as a duo these two are strong and it will be interesting to see where they go after this.
Other characters in this story include Gareth Thomas formerly of Blake’s 7 fame plays Lord Tamworth. Tamworth is a very noticeable character that stands out in every scene that he is in. Then there is Nicholas Pegg (writer of The Spectre of Lanyon Moor) who plays Lt-Col Frayling who is a nice if typically authorities type character. Between the pair of them they give off a great impression that the R101 is the impressive and will become the pride of the world. Hylton Collins plays Chief Steward Weeks who is a light character but played with a lot of effort and that shows. Barnaby Edwards puts in a good performance as Rathbone which is on par with other characters in this story.
Alan Barnes has written a very good story that uses a historical setting but puts a science fiction part into it. It was going to be difficult to write a story that stood out and a good piece for the Doctor. Barnes wrote a story that has a cliffhanger at the end which is something that you just know wont end well. Gary Russell is very good as director. He manages to keep the story going at gentle pace at the beginning but then in the second half of the play he speeds it up to the thrilling conclusion.
Storm Warning is a truly superb offering. There are strong characters and also a strong debut (sort of) from Paul McGann and it bodes well for the rest of the stories in this series. The setting was a good choice and it was nicely handle how the tragedy had a sensible impact on the live of Charley and gave the Doctor a moral dilemma which isn’t something that the Doctor has had to deal with for a long time especially in these audio adventures. If you are choosing a story to just sit back and enjoy then Storm Warning is as good a place to start. It has a Vortisar called Ramsey for goodness sake!
Paul McGann is truly magical as the Doctor. This is what he would have been like had he been given more time not just in the TV Movie but beyond. There have been books based on the Eighth Doctor which have given fans some more adventures with the Eighth incarnation but Storm Warning is the first story that enables McGann to give his slant on the character. McGann gives a completely fresh approach to the Doctor and there are little mannerisms which are essentially the Doctor such as talking to himself a lot. McGann seems to have fun throughout mixing with the personnel of the R101 and also Charley who seems to be hiding something. India Fisher makes her debut as Charlotte ‘Charley’ Pollard though she made her first appearance in an earlier story. The character of Charley is quite an interesting one being that she is a stowaway but also she is also part of a wealthy family but in this story we don’t get any information as to whether she is important in any way. With the blend of her social standing along with the way that she got on board she was always was destined to be an important character. Fisher played her really well and she was believable throughout. I think that Fisher interacted well with Paul McGann and as a duo these two are strong and it will be interesting to see where they go after this.
Other characters in this story include Gareth Thomas formerly of Blake’s 7 fame plays Lord Tamworth. Tamworth is a very noticeable character that stands out in every scene that he is in. Then there is Nicholas Pegg (writer of The Spectre of Lanyon Moor) who plays Lt-Col Frayling who is a nice if typically authorities type character. Between the pair of them they give off a great impression that the R101 is the impressive and will become the pride of the world. Hylton Collins plays Chief Steward Weeks who is a light character but played with a lot of effort and that shows. Barnaby Edwards puts in a good performance as Rathbone which is on par with other characters in this story.
Alan Barnes has written a very good story that uses a historical setting but puts a science fiction part into it. It was going to be difficult to write a story that stood out and a good piece for the Doctor. Barnes wrote a story that has a cliffhanger at the end which is something that you just know wont end well. Gary Russell is very good as director. He manages to keep the story going at gentle pace at the beginning but then in the second half of the play he speeds it up to the thrilling conclusion.
Storm Warning is a truly superb offering. There are strong characters and also a strong debut (sort of) from Paul McGann and it bodes well for the rest of the stories in this series. The setting was a good choice and it was nicely handle how the tragedy had a sensible impact on the live of Charley and gave the Doctor a moral dilemma which isn’t something that the Doctor has had to deal with for a long time especially in these audio adventures. If you are choosing a story to just sit back and enjoy then Storm Warning is as good a place to start. It has a Vortisar called Ramsey for goodness sake!
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