Shadow of Death (2013)

 

The second installement of this Destiny series shifts the focus on the second Doctor which is performed by Frazer Hines and also sees Evie Dawnay co-star. The story sees the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie land in the year 2724 where they are under threat from some mystery evil. The story takes place in a base that is looking into a planet that circles a pulsar. This story is very much as base under siege story and I like them so I had high hopes for this story. What might start off as a base under siege story soon turns into something quite different which I wasn’t expecting. It’s believed that the invisible enemy is just that but it soon turns out that the invisible creatures were just asking for a bit of thought into the behaviour of the scientists. It’s a story that has loose ends that are tied up and the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie leave in the TARDIS.

My favourite scene was when it was clear that Matt Smith’s Doctor had sent him a note. This was the biggest indication of the scale that this story could get to. Even though it was brief it was still a lovely moment. The music and sound design also do a lot to create a very atmospheric base and that particular credit should go to Simon Hunt. The difference between this series and the companion chronicles is quite noticeable despite being made by the same company.

 

Frazer Hines is always enjoyable in these stories because he can do a perfect Patrick Troughton impression and he doesn’t disappoint. I am always impressed how he manages to make the story feel  of its time whereas in the previous story it was down to the story to make it feel like it was from the very early days of Doctor Who. Credit must also go to Evie Dawnay who does well with what I must say started off as a normal role but seemed to gain credibility by the end of it. I cant recall hearing her in a Big Finish play before but hopefully she will return because she gives a very solid performance. The two of them work well in creating this atmosphere.

This story is different from the Companion Chronicle stories that we get about the second Doctor in that those stories have to try and get around the fact that Jamie and Zoe cant recall any past adventures with the Doctor due to the timelords having blocked their memories. In this because the story takes place before ‘The War Games’ they don’t have such a blockade to overcome. The writer can just get into the story and just make sure that people understand it and on that subject I must say that I didn’t get it 100%.

Shadow of Death is an enjoyable story that seems to do a bit more towards the arc of this series than the previous one. It’s worth listening to due to Frazer Hines and because it’s a Simon Guerrier. The series is slowly gathering pace and the excitement is building as well. As a story in its own right I thought it was just as good as Hunters of Earth and as part of the series it was a stronger story than Hunters.

 

The Sands of Life (2013)

Following the success of ‘The Auntie Matter’, I had high hopes for The Sands of Life which was written and directed by Nicholas Briggs. The story also see John Leeson return as K9 and the is set on Earth where an election for the earth presidency has just been decided just before the Earth get visitors. The idea that the Laan (the creatures) are using the Earth as some sort of birthing pool which has the potential to pretty much destroy the planet is an interesting one and the story does a good job in grabbing your attention from the get go. As it’s a three part story it means that the story has to be structured different and there is a different vibe from the previous story. Even the introduction of K9 cant ruin the story. In the Gallifrey series, K9 has become tolerable and also at times become useful, however in this story he does suffer from the problems he had on TV and spends the first part of the story stuck in the TARDIS.

The central performances are really good with Mary Tamm taking the lead in many ways in this story. The voices are going through her and that means she doesn’t fade in the sidelines. Mary Tamm gives another lovely performance which makes it even more sad that we wont be getting many more from her.  Tom Baker has well and truly settled down into doing these releases. I thought it was another performance that was more suited to his Doctor in that era. I like John Leeson but don’t really like K9 but it was nice to have Leeson in the story even if it was for a relatively short period. The supporting cast is another strong group of people. David Warner is always welcome in a Big Finish play and he puts in another solid performance as Cuthbert who is clearly a slippery character. Not quite sure where Cuthbert is suppose to be from as his accent does change from time to time.  He can get away with it because David Warner and the character is rather well created.  Hayley Atwell is another good piece of casting. Having appeared in Big Finish plays before having played Asha in ‘Blood of the Daleks’ back in 2006 before starring in the Captain America movie. Here she plays President Moorkurk who from the first scene is under attack, be it from the Laan or Cuthbert. As the story progresses, I suspect that the President will start to have a more important role in the story. Toby Hadoke is another fine piece of casting as Mr Dorrick. Having become a fan of his through his ‘Moths ate my Doctor Who scarf’ play a couple of years ago, I thought that Hadoke’s character was another well created character.

I knew that this story was the first of two parts and so was expecting it to take its time in telling the story. As a story, I can’t really comment until I have heard the next story but as half of a story I thought that it was still a really good adventure. Not surprising really considering its written by Nicholas Briggs who I think is the Terrance Dicks of audio. He has one of the best track records in the Big Finish group of plays and it was another strong story from him. He knows how to write good characters and more importantly knows how to tell a good story which doesn’t get too bogged down in complicated science stuff. This second series continues to impress.

House of Cards (2013)

The second story of the year sees Jamie and Polly reunite for a companion chronicle. This is clearly based on the success of ‘The Selachian Gambit’ which I enjoyed and that was for two reasons. One it was a good story and secondly, it got me over the disappointment of ‘The Anachronauts’ which I just felt was a bit weak. So for the second year running,  I am hoping that a Polly/Jamie story can get me over the disappointment of the previous story. The story despite its title, isn’t about someone manipulating people to become Prime Minister or forcing the new king to abdicate from the thrown but is in fact about the Doctor, Ben,Polly and Jamie. Written by Toms Tardis Award winning author Steve Lyons, the story sees Ben get into debt and put in a game that could see him die and Polly trying to agonise about what she is being asked to do. There are plenty of characters in this story that make this seem much more than a story set in a casino. The descriptions of the monsters is the first thing that grabbed me when it started. It wasn’t a particular scene but the description of a creature that gets it going which isn’t something that I recall happening before.

In the early releases of this range, the stories use to be from the companions point of view with the Doctor’s involvement being relatively light. Over the years the Doctors involvement has got more and more so this story felt like a throw back to those early releases. Thankfully this isn’t really noticed until the end because Anneke Wills and Fraser Hines are both splendid. Anneke Wills is clearly the driving force of the story as it felt like she was delivering the vast majority of the dialogue. The particular highlight came around the half way mark arrives when Polly has to pick a button which may kill Ben or save him. The idea creates some remarkable tension which mirrors the fourth Doctor’s dilemma in ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ and I think that its credit to Wills that it works the way that it does. It’s always a joy having Fraser Hines in these stories because he does the best impression of a Doctor in this range and he wasn’t just there to make up the numbers. He gave a very strong performance and despite having worked mainly with Wendy Padbury on these stories I think that the Polly/Jamie partnership works better.

Compared to ‘The Selachian Gambit’, I must  admit that I wasn’t as wowed with this story as I would have liked. I still enjoyed it though and there will be more stories featuring Anneke Wills and Fraser Hines so all is right with the world.  With the news having just broke that the companion chronicles will end its run in 2014, I think that stories like House of Cards will be used to show how far the range has come in the last couple of years.

Hunters of Earth (2013)

In Doctor Who’s 50^th Year, it was always going to be interesting to see how it would be celebrated. We are obviously/hopefully going to some epic on TV and so the audio side has to do something that feels just as epic. What has been decided is an eleven part series which tells a story from EVERY Doctor from the first up to the eleventh. This is a Big Finish production for Audiogo and you can either by this from the Audiogo or Big Finish website. I purchased the whole series from Big Finish for £40 which I must say is incredible value which works out at just under £4 per story. The first story is read by Carole Ann Ford and is set before An Unearthly Child, the story sees the youngsters in the surrounding area acting a bit unruly. There is a wonderful sense of gluminess which is how I imagine that period of time, the whole vibe of the story from start to finish was comforting and helped create a wonderful atmosphere.

The story is set when the Doctor and Susan have been on earth for just a couple of months so there is no sign of Barbara or Ian which considering there are scenes set at Coal Hill School is a shame because it would have been nice if there were just a mention such as ‘Teacher A was talking to Mr Chesterton’ or something along those lines but it’s a minor quibble.  What the story does do is put fear into the centre of the story which is something that doesn’t get used often as a plot device. Fear of the unknown is something that occurs in real life so its good when its put into a story.

Carole Ann Ford was really good in this. I felt that she gave a softer style in terms of how she was telling the story. Considering this was set before the TV adventures when the character of Susan was more child than adult and I thought that this story suited that era. Her impression of the Doctor is the only that lets it down. Her co-star was very good as well. Tam Williams played the character Cedric at the perfect level which complimented Susan. Together the characters had some good scenes and helped make this feel just like a companion chronicle.

Hunters of Earth is an enjoyable adventure. It was 85 minutes long but didn’t feel that long. As a standalone adventure it managed to have a different vibe to it even though it is identical to the companion chronicles that Big Finish also do.  I thought that the story was nice and straightforward which managed to have a nice plot to it and the final bit which reminds the listener that this is the first in a series of stories that have a theme. What that theme is I have no idea but I cant wait to find out. But the way that the premonition that Susan has and the way its introduced into the story was something that made me wish I had part two in my possession (which now I do).

Rating - 8/10

The Wrong Doctors (2013)

The Wrong Doctors is the first story of 2013 in the main range and it’s also the first story to feature Mel since 2007’s The Wishing Beast. So the announcement of Bonnie Langford reprising her role was met with excitement. The Wrong Doctors takes place after the Doctor has said goodbye to Evelyn, it also sees the Doctor dropping off Mel after the events of The Trial of a Timelord. For a brief moment I thought we would get a story which reintroduces the character to us but sadly those hopes were dashed. This story is not your normal straight forward story which is possibly where I went wrong with it.

The central performances are sound enough. Colin Baker seems to thrive in having to play two versions of himself and does a good job in making them sound different enough so that they sound like their the Doctor but not confusing.  Bonnie Langford has been badly treated by Doctor Who fans over the years. Admittedly sometimes it has been warranted but for Bonnie Langford she was given a dud role and tried her best to make it work. Due to the fact that it’s been six years since her last adventure there is something magical about her performance and despite not really understanding what was going on I always found Bonnie Langford’s performance to be very strong and its surprising just how well that the Doctor and Mel work together.

The problem that I had with this story that I never really understood what was happening. When I did think I had got a hold of the plot then something else happens and I just get lost again. Now I must say that it doesn’t take a lot to confuse me so I think that to be fair it’s more my fault that the writers that this story doesn’t make sense. The only scene that I found to grab my attention was the final scene with Mel and the Doctor. It was a very strong and emotional scene and I thought that both Baker and Langford deserve credit for making it seem to heartfelt. It shows us a side of both Mel and the Doctor that we very rarely get to see and it was great to listen to.

As said as it is to say this, I was disappointed with The Wrong Doctors. I found it difficult to follow and by the two-third mark I had pretty much given up with it and was waiting for it to end. I can see why people would like this story so in summarising I will say that this is a story that will find an audience with some but not everyone. I think that if I listen to this adventure in the future I might think differently of it but in February 2013 I must say that this isn’t the best start to a year that the main range has had.

5/10