Return of the Repressed (2013)

Now Matthew Sweet is one of those authors that I have mixed feelings about because sometimes he can write really good stories which are easy to follow and then he can write stories that I struggle to follow from start to finish so I always approach Sweet stories knowing that the story could go anyway. The second story of the series sees a big historical name involved in the story. Here we get Sigmund Freud plays by Adrian Lukis who has appeared in several Big Finish stories. However in the first scene with Freud we realise that it’s a dream and that seems like the theme of this story. I think the idea of spending time about Jago’s dream of chasing a monkey in a dress is something that seems quite barmy but for some reason it fits this series well. Soon it becomes the life and times of Henry Gordon Jago and we get to see a bit of his early life. We also get to see a bit of Litefoot’s early life and also get to see Litefoot quite angry which in all the stories that we have had in these series isn’t something that I thought I would ever hear and it was a fun thing to witness. Both Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter put in good performances and just seem to embrace the madness that we hear in this story.

The story seems to be linked to the previous story and Litefoot is trying to help his friend. However as the story progresses I must admit that it seemed to take a bit of a leap and I think that this was going to be a Matthew Sweet story that I wasn’t going to get. It’s not a terrible story by any stretch of the imagination as Sweet is too good a writer to come up with terrible characters and a terrible story. It’s just that it didn’t grip me in the way that The Skeleton Quay did. The middle half of the story seems to go a bit barmy which whilst fun to listen to didn’t seem to be easy to follow in my opinion. The last quarter sees the explanation and I thought that it seemed to finish the story well. Lukis did a good job as Sigmund Freud and whilst I don’t really care for that sort of stuff I think that its always good to have a real name in a story. It lends it’s a bit of realism.

I recently listened to The Dark Planet story and felt that it was too long and didn’t maintain my interest whereas this lasted just long enough. I think that at just under an hour this story lasted just the right amount of time. Whilst it didn’t grab me like the previous story I can’t say that there weren’t things in this release that I didn’t enjoy. Compared to his previous Jago and Litefoot stories that he has done I think this is actually one of his best but I don’t think that it will be my favourite story of the series.

Voyage to the New World (2012)

Voyage to the New World is the final story of the specials and the second adventure for Jago and Litefoot travelling with the Doctor. This story has been written by Matthew Sweet and one thing that can be guaranteed is that his story wont be a linear script and that is exactly what we get here. After an adventure on another world, it seems like a logical step to take them to a new world. Roanoke Island in 1590. The story deals with a secret concerning a lost colony. I will be honest that I found this story very hard to follow. No matter how many times I started to listen to it from the beginning I just found myself struggling to follow who was who and what exactly was going on. About 40 minutes had gone by before I even started to follow the plot which in a story that is around 75 minutes long isn’t a good thing. I was kind of hoping that the story would be a pure historical story with the Doctor, Jago and Litefoot would be trying to deal with a  non-alien situation but I suppose that would have been a let down for some people.

The central performances were all as you would expect. Colin Baker’s performance was rather laid back than what we have previous been use to. It’s not to say that it was lazy or complacent but the performance was suited to the scenario that the story was set it.  I quite like the scene where he is reading John White’s journal as he gave it great importance and elegance. Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter both did well with Benjamin just edging it partly due to the wonderful way that Jago reacts to his surroundings and to what is going on. Other performances are quite good with Philip Pope putting in a solid performance as John White and Mark Lockyer gives a nice performance as Sir Walter Raleigh.

There are things that I like about this story. For one the dialogue in VTTNW is funny and interesting. Sweet has written for the Jago and Litefoot series before and so understands how the characters talk and it comes across well here. The final scene was very intriguing. The Doctor has left Jago and Litefoot in the Red Tavern but not in the time that they were originally from. Some seventy years has gone by and this is clearly a teaser for anyone who wasn’t going to by it. I was already going to by it and now it serves to increase my expectations for the next series.

As much as it pains me to say this about a Sixth Doctor and Jago and Litefoot story, I really didn’t get this one and as a result thought it was the weakest offering of all the specials. It’s not terrible but its hard for me to really rate this highly. Out of the two Jago and Litefoot specials that there have been I must say that the Venus story was more satisfying. As much as I have liked the idea of Jago and Litefoot travelling in the TARDIS, I think that there are limitations to this idea and two stories is just the right amount of time for this concept to be worked on. Jago and Litefoot have grown and deserve their own series and so Jago and Litefoot’s journeys in time and space is an idea that can be checked off every fans wish list.

The Lonely Clock (2012)

The penultimate adventure of this story is the first one that I truly feel delivers in terms of story arc payoff. Written by Toms Tardis Award winning author Matthew Sweet, this story continues straight after the proceeding story where they have been led there like livestock is led onto a truck. The story starts off in quite a curious way when we meet Winnie who has apparently killed someone. In this story we meet the duo of Mr Kempston and Mr Hardwick. The whole purpose of the train going nowhere was a trapped for Claudius Dark who has been a peripheral figure despite Big Finish’s attempts to make us thing he is someone big and important. However just when it looks like Dark’s involvement was going to be relatively small we get the final few minutes. As the plot goes, I must admit that I found it at times difficult to follow, it was quite a long time into the story before I got to grips with it but it was easier to understand than Sweet’s previous story for the series.

I must admit that I saw the revelation at the end of the story coming. If Baker wasn’t playing the Doctor then why not cast a different actor in the role. Like the previous two stories from this series, Baker’s involvement was somewhat restricted which is slightly infuriating. I liked this story a lot more than I did Sweet’s other story (The Man at the End of the Garden). I thought that this was more in keeping with the style of Jago and Litefoot. I thought that the mystery with what was going on with Jago and Litefoot and what was going on with Ellie and Leela. I loved how gradually the two plot strands seemed to be the same yet were still separate. The two double acts worked incredibly well. Jago and Litefoot always works but it was the Ellie and Leela relationship that I was most impressed with because even though they are from two time zones they are effectively the same intellect. I think that it was these double acts that helped me get through the story as the pace was relatively slow or at least slower than most Jago and Litefoot stories. With Jago and Litefoot, it was the first time this series that I felt they were even in terms of how much of the story they were given. This might have something to do with the fact they spend the entire story together and neither of them outshone the other which was nice to see.

I’m not totally sold on this story, there certainly are elements that work in this story and I can’t say that I was ever bored however as the story progressed and in the brief moments that I had time to think I was just wondering why I wasn’t as gripped as I should be. Whilst I mull over this particular conundrum, I finished listening to this story looking forward to the final story, hoping that this will be they have saved the best story till last because I am starting to worry that this won’t be the best series due to the underwhelming feeling that I have for this series.

The Man at the End of the Garden (2011)

The next story in the Jago and Litefoot is a slightly odd story. Written by the man who came up with the Toms Tardis Award winning story ‘The Magic Mousetrap’ – Matthew Sweet. This story is a bit of a break from the norm and at times it doesn’t feel like a Jago and Litefoot story. I think that we have become use to relatively straightforward stories with straightforward monsters/villains and this is perhaps the most complex or multi-layered story that we have had since this spin-off started.

There is a sense of The Birds in this story where the cast seem to be under attack from crows. I think that it gives the story a nice dark atmosphere and the whole idea that what is happening has something to do with a book is a nice idea but sadly the story is too confusing for me to be able to connect the dots so to speak. The story allows little for Louise Jameson and it seems an odd story to go for and they should make hay while the sun shines as the old saying goes. I don’t know how long Louise Jameson will be in Jago and Litefoot but if it is only for this series then this will be the one where she should have been allowed to do more. As for Benjamin and Baxter, they put on fine performances and as usual have the enthusiasm that made this series such a must. I was also quite impressed with the little girl, Eden Monteath (who appeared in The Eleventh Hour) did a good job and was totally believeable being in a very intelligent script. The other supporting character was Joanna Bacon who played Mrs. Hitch. I found her character to be very good and well played. The interaction between Mrs Hitch and Clara was one of the best things in this story.

It’s a story that I struggled with. I think that the struggle came with trying to figure out what was working out what was going on between the mom and daughter (?) and going on with Jago and Litefoot. I liked it enough to stick with it but I feel slightly disappointed with it and it wasn’t a patch on the previous adventures. I think that there is nothing wrong with having stories that push the boundries of my intelligence and whilst I may not understand everything that’s going on. I think that its far better than stories like Flip-Flop and most recently The Hollows of Time.

Year of the Pig (2006)

The last time we heard from the Sixth Doctor and Peri was in the modern classic The Reaping which was a 140 minute adventure which had everything that a Doctor Who story should have. Here we don’t. The first time I listened to this story I found it to be a slow boring affair. The second time I listened to it I had a different response. It was an enjoyable piece that whilst not up to the levels of enjoyment I had with The Reaping was still worthy of a listen.

Essentially the problem with this story is that its slightly too long. At nearly two and a half hours the story is stretched to breaking point and thus has a lot of padding which ruins it slightly. It’s a fun Christmas type of story which sees the Doctor interact with a talking pig. The story takes an awful long time to actually get going but once it does it moves along at a fair pace.

The most notable name of the supporting cast is Maureen O’Brien. She played Vicki during 1965 alongside William Hartnell’s Doctor. In this she plays Miss Alice Bultitude who is quite a posh upper class figure that is desperate to capture Toby the Sapient Pig. Another big name is Adjoa Andoh who played Martha Jones’ mum during the 2007 series. She was very impressive as Nurse Albertine who is Toby’s butler/carer.

Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are as usual very good. Following from the emotionally draining story in The Reaping, Peri and the Doctor are given a slightly more emotionally stable story which is a typically normal (elongated in length) story. In particular Colin Baker gives a really nice performance and seems to have a wonderful time throughout.

At the end of the day this story has the unfortunate points of being about 45 minutes too long and also being at the tale end of some fine stories to be made from Big Finish. As I stated earlier I really didn’t like this story on my first listen but on a second listen I viewed it in a different way and saw the positive points.

The Magic Mousetrap (2009)

2009 TOMS TARDIS AWARD WINNER

• Best Main Range Story

Very often there are stories that have me completely breathless by a shocking revelation and that is what happened in The Magic Mousetrap. The story starts off with a mystery. Just how has the Doctor managed to end up in this situation? Also where were Ace and Hex.? Slowly things started to fall into place and it was revealed that Ace and Hex were controlling events to a degree and that it was they who were playing the Doctor.

The first surprise was of course the revelation of the Celestial Toymaker. It was a different version to the Michael Gough incarnation and the explanation of how he ended up in the Sanatorium was a very smart explanation. Its certainly not what I would have come up with. With the sound effects and the descriptions that they used to describe the Toymaker I just had an African Tribe Wooden Skeleton which had a clockwork heart and mouth. The second surprise was that the Alpine Sanatorium wasn't in Switzerland on Earth but still in the Celestial Toymaker's world. It could have been a totally silly plot point but somehow with everything involved it just made the story The Celestial Toymaker is a very popular character amongst Doctor Who fans and in my opinion he is a very intriguing baddie who only appeared once in 1966. His appearance in this story was refreshing on a character that has always had potential and should have made more appearances than he did. After the revelation that the Toymaker was involved it became obvious because of all the clues that had been put in place such as the fact the inhabitants were playing games and when the Doctor and Queenie were outside Queenie made a comment about a canvas and then Snakes and Ladders was being played elsewhere in the snow. The game that the Toymaker had people playing in Part 4 was typical Toymaker. The revelation as to why everyone is in the Sanatorium was very well thought out. The Doctor, Ace, Hex and the rest were playing against the Toymaker when he lost and everyone had a part of the Toymaker buried in their mind and they were having the shock therapy to try and forget what was happening and about the Toymaker. The idea being that after a certain time the Toymaker would just fizzle away and die was quite clever and as usual in Doctor Who it was close but no cigar.

Sylvester McCoy was very good in this story and played the role well of someone who manipulates people but on this occasion was being manipulated. It was very strange to see the Doctor in this position but once he realised what was going on it was back to his best. Sophie Aldred put in her best performance as Ace. Out of the two of them she is the one that has the plan and also is the one least likely to put it to an end because the Doctor is involved. These parts required them to put on posh accents and with Aldred it was difficult to tell it was her at the beginning whereas despite his best efforts Olivier just can't shrug off his scouser accent. It was quite unusual to see the roles reversed because in practically every Seventh Doctor adventures it is the Doctor that knows what is going on and it is the companions that are in the dark. Philip Olivier also puts in a good performance as Hex but he still seems to be occupying the role of teachers assistant. He tends to fall back into that role when he isn't doing his posh voice which doesn't really work because you could tell it was him whereas with Aldred you wouldn't have been able to guess.

All the guest stars put in superb performance which was helped by the restricted atmosphere of a sanatorium in the Alpine. My favourite character of the story was Queenie Glasscock played by Nadine Lewington. I really liked the character because it was one of the roles that could be a companion if Ace or Hex has gone completely. Its unclear who played the Toymaker but whoever did the voice should get some praise because it was chilling but also strong and posed as genuine problem for the Doctor. I also quite liked the Ludovic Comfort character which I thought was well written and well acted by Paul Anthony-Barber. My only disappointment was the silent character never got revealed to be an instrumental character and was being silent for some secret reason.

Matthew Sweet previously wrote the 2006 story Year of the Pig which is a story that I didn't like at first but after a while it was ok. This was by far a superb story which had me gripped from start to finish. He should be encouraged to write more stories like this in future. What he did well was have characters that worked well in the story and had a setting that was restricted but something that was a believable setting. Ken Bentley has directed a good story that utilises all the great elements that Sweet. He has always been a good director and was a wise choice for a story that could have been confusing and also the music used in the story was nice. This was down to Richard Fox and Lauren Yason. The year was clearly obvious thanks to the 1920's music. It was quite similar to No Man's Land (2006) which used to the music to help add the setting.

The Magic Mousetrap is the best release of 2009 (so far). It has everything that you could want from a Doctor Who adventure. Some people complain about the use of another 'classic' villain but I think that as long as they are used in the right way and more importantly a different way from what we are used to then it doesn't really matter. What they have managed to do is give a different dynamic to a companion that people have written about and talked about for well over 40 years and I think that what they did in The Magic Mousetrap was well done and deserves to be praised.