The latest story featuring the Fourth Doctor and Leela sees the TARDIS land in Britain at the height of the Roman occupancy. This a purely historical story which hasnt been done very often. The best one that Big Finish have done was the 2007 adventure 'Son of the Dragon' and a close second would be the 2005 adventure 'The Council of Nicaea'. It shows that just because there arent any aliens or anything that could be perceived as modern, doesnt mean that it cant be entertaining. It seems obvious that Leela should meet Boudica because they are so similar in that their attitudes to battle are pretty much the same. With a purely historical story you know that there is going to be the inevitable rules of not changing history which the Doctor has with Leela. There has to be a conflict and a reason why the story is set here and that is Boudica finds out that the Doctor knows how she will die and is trying to force the Doctor into confessing. Leela sides with Boudica and its only as the play progresses she realises that she might not be the person she was hoping she would be.
Ella Kenion is the best of the small guest cast as Boudica and she plays the character as a very strong character who tries to come across as the leader of the free but actually comes across as someone who isnt as nice as they think they are. Kenion had previously appeared in the 2011 episode 'Let's Kill Hitler' and she has also appeared in shows such as 'The Green Green Grass' and she is very good in this story. It's not very often that women get to be the lead like this and its commented on in the interviews at the end but its refreshing that this is the case and Kenion does it well. Tom Baker and Louise Jameson are both very strong in this and its an interesting direction that the show has taken because we never got to see Leela educated and this series has shown there are many good adventure to be had going down this particular road.
The Doctor's reluctance to get involved and Leela's determination to help out Bodicea causes the most significant split that there has been for quite sometime. Despite Leela siding with Boudica, she doesnt want the Doctor harmed which shows that there is still some feeling from her despite how she disagrees with the Doctor so much. This soon leads Leela to realise that Boudica isnt quite the woman that she thought she was. It's the old adage that you should never meet your hero because you'll only be disappointed. Leela might never have heard of Boudica before this adventure but she soon became someone she could relate to and in some ways admire her.
I really loved this story and found it to be thoroughly compelling from start to finish. I was worried that it was going to get bogged down in something dull but to be fair there is a sound reason for the story being in its setting and a strong plot which makes me wish that this were a slightly bit longer because I thought that there was enough to pad this out to be a four parter. John Dorney has written another solid story and its a return to form after a mixed previous story.
Ella Kenion is the best of the small guest cast as Boudica and she plays the character as a very strong character who tries to come across as the leader of the free but actually comes across as someone who isnt as nice as they think they are. Kenion had previously appeared in the 2011 episode 'Let's Kill Hitler' and she has also appeared in shows such as 'The Green Green Grass' and she is very good in this story. It's not very often that women get to be the lead like this and its commented on in the interviews at the end but its refreshing that this is the case and Kenion does it well. Tom Baker and Louise Jameson are both very strong in this and its an interesting direction that the show has taken because we never got to see Leela educated and this series has shown there are many good adventure to be had going down this particular road.
The Doctor's reluctance to get involved and Leela's determination to help out Bodicea causes the most significant split that there has been for quite sometime. Despite Leela siding with Boudica, she doesnt want the Doctor harmed which shows that there is still some feeling from her despite how she disagrees with the Doctor so much. This soon leads Leela to realise that Boudica isnt quite the woman that she thought she was. It's the old adage that you should never meet your hero because you'll only be disappointed. Leela might never have heard of Boudica before this adventure but she soon became someone she could relate to and in some ways admire her.
I really loved this story and found it to be thoroughly compelling from start to finish. I was worried that it was going to get bogged down in something dull but to be fair there is a sound reason for the story being in its setting and a strong plot which makes me wish that this were a slightly bit longer because I thought that there was enough to pad this out to be a four parter. John Dorney has written another solid story and its a return to form after a mixed previous story.
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