Thomas Brewster is somewhat a controversial figure in Doctor Who. Some like him and some don’t. Personally I’m not really swung either way because I think that despite the character having a very short shelf life there does seem something about him. Last time that we heard from Mr. Brewster was in Time Reef way back in 2008 (also a Companion Chronicle special that spilled into 2009). It also features the return of Evelyn Smythe as a proper companion after her small (ish) contribution in A Death in the Family last year. There is also a return for DI Patricia Menzies who was last seen in The Raincloud in 2008. The story is written by Jonathan Morris who’s most recent contribution was the Jago and Litefoot adventure ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ and its nice to have him return to the main range because his record on the main range is very good.
The story sees the Doctor and Evelyn return to modern day earth where they encounter DI Menzies. Clearly this is not the first story for Menzies but for the Doctor, he has never met the detective. Though the Doctor does acknowledge that he may have amnesia which confuses my understanding of whether the Evelyn stories happen before the Charley stories or whether it’s the other way round. The story seemed to be more about the return of Thomas Brewster more than anything else. It does take quite a while for this to happen as at the beginning Brewster pretends to be the Doctor. The main enemy of this story are the Terravores who are scavengers that have gone rogue. Brewster’s motives might seem ill conceived but when his explanation towards the end gives a more understanding feel to the role.
It’s great to have Anna Hope back as DI Menzies. I think the character is brilliantly played and I wondered whether the time away would have effected my enjoyment but I have to say that I thought she was just as good as in the other stories. John Pickard is impressive in this story. As the story bears his name he takes the lead in this story and runs with it. The two different sides to the character were well played by Pickard. Maggie Stables is simply superb as she always is in every story that she is ever in. It’s shocking that it had been so long since she last appeared for Big Finish. I know she did A Death in the Family and A Town Called Fortune but this is her proper return and thankfully we have two more this year to enjoy. Colin Baker is on usual good form as the Doctor. After the disappointing Jamie series last year it’s a great return to form for the Doctor. I didn’t realise until the end that David Troughton was in this as Raymon Gallagher (no I didn’t look at the cover or the Big Finish website). That character was very interesting and well acted by Troughton.
If there was something that really did get to me were the modern references that kept being dropped in throughout the story. There were references to Lady Gaga, iPhone and Midsummer Murders and I just felt that it took me out of the story. Plus I think that in 10 or 15 years time these references may mean nothing and will become meaningless. The Crimes of Thomas Brewster is an enjoyable adventure with just about everything that you could possibly want from a Doctor Who story. Jonathan Morris has written another strong story with characters that were entertaining and a story that supported those characters. It’s good to have Evelyn back in a proper adventure and despite it being nearly three years since her last appearance in the main range the relationship between the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn hasn’t altered one bit. The cliffhanger to episode four was a nice lead into the next story and roll on February.
The story sees the Doctor and Evelyn return to modern day earth where they encounter DI Menzies. Clearly this is not the first story for Menzies but for the Doctor, he has never met the detective. Though the Doctor does acknowledge that he may have amnesia which confuses my understanding of whether the Evelyn stories happen before the Charley stories or whether it’s the other way round. The story seemed to be more about the return of Thomas Brewster more than anything else. It does take quite a while for this to happen as at the beginning Brewster pretends to be the Doctor. The main enemy of this story are the Terravores who are scavengers that have gone rogue. Brewster’s motives might seem ill conceived but when his explanation towards the end gives a more understanding feel to the role.
It’s great to have Anna Hope back as DI Menzies. I think the character is brilliantly played and I wondered whether the time away would have effected my enjoyment but I have to say that I thought she was just as good as in the other stories. John Pickard is impressive in this story. As the story bears his name he takes the lead in this story and runs with it. The two different sides to the character were well played by Pickard. Maggie Stables is simply superb as she always is in every story that she is ever in. It’s shocking that it had been so long since she last appeared for Big Finish. I know she did A Death in the Family and A Town Called Fortune but this is her proper return and thankfully we have two more this year to enjoy. Colin Baker is on usual good form as the Doctor. After the disappointing Jamie series last year it’s a great return to form for the Doctor. I didn’t realise until the end that David Troughton was in this as Raymon Gallagher (no I didn’t look at the cover or the Big Finish website). That character was very interesting and well acted by Troughton.
If there was something that really did get to me were the modern references that kept being dropped in throughout the story. There were references to Lady Gaga, iPhone and Midsummer Murders and I just felt that it took me out of the story. Plus I think that in 10 or 15 years time these references may mean nothing and will become meaningless. The Crimes of Thomas Brewster is an enjoyable adventure with just about everything that you could possibly want from a Doctor Who story. Jonathan Morris has written another strong story with characters that were entertaining and a story that supported those characters. It’s good to have Evelyn back in a proper adventure and despite it being nearly three years since her last appearance in the main range the relationship between the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn hasn’t altered one bit. The cliffhanger to episode four was a nice lead into the next story and roll on February.
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