Ok…let’s clarify it more as “re-igniting a passionate flame”.
I brought back a large batch of Big Finish Doctor Who audio adventures from my recent English sojourn. In between binging on books, I’ve been feasting on these amazing, wonderful productions, re-discovering how superb they actually are. They are easily capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the television series. They also fill the thirsty gap between Doctor Who seasons, and the bonus is that I get four Doctors to play with…including my favourite: the 5th Doctor, Peter Davison.
In this day and age, it’s surprising how effective radio/audio drama can still be…all you need is a touch of patience and an active imagination. The superb acting, and the fantastic sound-scape present in each production, manages to do the rest.
Here is an sample of my recent listening choices, with a selection from each of the Big Finish Doctors…
Swash your buckle, indeed! This is the kind of adventure the term “romp” was invented to describe.
In the previous Peter Davison audio, The Eye of the Scorpion, the 5th Doctor & Peri welcome on board the TARDIS the ex-pharaoh Erimem. Thanks to some expected erratic TARDIS navigation, Erimem’s first adventure as a member of the crew is 18th century Paris…smack-dab in the heart of the land of Musketeers, Cardinal Richelieu, and any other Alexander Dumas-inspired excitement you can think of throwing into the mix. The pace is breathless, and Peter Davison is never better than when he’s tearing around a location, trying to save the world, while attempting twenty other things simultaneously. It’s wonderful fun from start to finish, and allows Nicola Bryant to show off her acting (and accent-swapping) chops as both Peri and her look-alike, the Queen of France.
One to listen to on those days when everything feels colourless and bland in your life.
Call it The Time War — Round 1…with some justification, as Russell Davies himself used it as a back reference in some of his Doctor Who prose fiction.
Everyone and everything is thrown into the deep end from the first second — no time, no patience, and no mercy for those who want a slow & methodical introduction. The Daleks have launched their most ambitious — to say nothing of ruthless and evil — plan yet, culminating in the first ever Dalek incursion against the Time Lord home world of Gallifrey. Suffice to say, the story pulls out all the stops in writing, acting, and sound design to do justice to this audacious event.
The bigger draw for long time fans is the return of Lalla Ward to the Doctor Who universe as fformer Time Lady companion Romana. She gives a fantastic performance, covering the entire emotional range: weary, terrified slave; sentimental mothering companion; confident, cheeky Lord President of the Time Lords. She’s the icing on an enormous cake that combines fanwank idealism, action-adventure standards, and Colin Baker’s 6th Doctor relishing the entire epic enterprise! Some commentators might call this a guilty pleasure, but I’d classify it as one hell of an adrenaline rush.
The flip-side of 2008’s The Fires of Pompeii. The David Tennant adventure concerned the eruption itself, and its impact on a single family. This Sylvester McCoy outing is broader in its scope of ancient Roman society, and more concerned with whether or not to accept the inevitable. A pure historical, straight of the William Hartnell/1st Doctor era.
But being a 7th Doctor story adds two extra elements to the mix. First of all, it’s presents one of Sylvester McCoy’s best ever performances as the Doctor: a grand mix of melancholy old man & impish, mischevious elf. He communicates his burden of inevitability with fantastic gravitas…and for a few moments, you are forced to wonder if, as the Doctor suspects, this really is the end of his travels through time and space.
But the bigger surprise is Mel. Is this really Bonnie Langford? One of the most parodied and disliked companions in Doctor Who history is given a new lease on life, thanks to a script that knows how to play to the wholesomeness of the character…and demonstrates unflappable confidence in Langford’s acting skills. Some might think this was an enormous gamble, but it turns out to be one hell of a safe bet. Bonnie Langford shines throughout.
If you’re looking for as perfect an evocation of ancient times as you can get in Doctor Who, then The Fires of Vulcan should be your first stop.
This was originally written to try and tempt Tom Baker back into the role of the 4th Doctor. He passed on it…and I believe that the decision confirms his craziness.
Paul McGann takes this script and runs with it. It gives breathtaking new life to the 8th Doctor, by exploring AND exploiting everything that is romantic and Byron-ish about his character. He’s charming, witty, droll, ironic, and knows exactly how to play the fool when the situation calls for it. He is a commanding presence from start to finish…and makes Tom Baker look doubly crazy for turning down such a terrific opportunity.
The location is the other star of the story. Venice at its renaissance height would be hard enough to re-create…but sinking, dying, 23rd century Venice? How does one manage that with any sense of realism? Listen to this CD and experience the answer for yourself: from the creaking buildings, to the delusional festival-goers, to the obsessed cultists and gentry…this is a living, breathing society, inhabiting a ghost-town waiting to be born. Everything contributing to the creation of this environment is handled with such deftness and conviction that you’ll never doubt you actually visited 23rd century Venice. Like the Doctor’s companion Charley, you’ll find any initial disappointment at the odd choice of destination slowly transforming into appreciation and wonder.
It’s the best introduction to the 8th Doctor you’ll ever get, outside of the novels…and you’ll adore every minute of it!
