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Yet more Doctor Who audios
May. 8th, 2014 12:22 pmBecause listening to the last bunch only heightened the craving by reminding me how great the Whoverse can be.
The Doomwood Curse: an Sixth Doctor and Charley adventure, written by Jacqueline Reyner (whom I've liked as a BF writer ever since The Marian Conspiracy). For their second go, this Doctor-and-Companion combination ends up in a fictionalized version of the 18th century, though not, as the Doctor theorizes earlier on, in the novel Rookwood itself. Said novel, btw, really does exist; it was a Victorian Gothic pot boiler, set a century earlier, and mainly responsible for turning the historical Dick Turpin (petty thug) into legendary Dick Turpin. Charley has just read it and is thrilled, but the Doctor's copy actually belongs to the library of Alexandria V (you can see what they did there) and he has to return it. This ends up landing him and Charley in a version of the 18th century which becomes increasingly fictionalized due to the plot MacGuffin, with the people, including Charley, changing character at the whim of a Gothic novel plot. The Doctor is immune at first, which won't last forever, and has to save the day before literature takes over reality altogether. (I must admit there was a moment where I thought "actually, would this be a bad thing..?" before remembeirng some 18th century novels and seeing the Doctor's point.) All the actors have great fun, especially India Fisher who can play different versions of Charley, from fainting Gothic Novel damsel to Highway Woman and Cutpurse "Gypsy Charlotte", while Rayner's script pokes fun at all the Gothic clichés with much affection for them. The only problem I had was when Charley (still herself) hears from Susan the maid about how Susan had a horrible encounter with the (real) Dick Turpin and responds with "how thrilling" (which, yes, is due to her having just read about fictional romantic Dick Turpin but is still a very callous thing to say), but I suppose I can handwave that by declaring Charley is in the early stages of getting turned into a literary character by the plot MacGuffin. For all the poking fun at Gothic novels, though, the plot also offers genuine moving scenes, as when one of the guest characters gets out of his fictionalized Gothic version - where he doesn't feel grief at the death of his father because the plot demands he's thinking about nothing but his romance - and into his normal version (where he suddenly realizes the full impact of what has happened and the grief is awful; he at first wants to be fictionalized again to escape that feeling and the Doctor's reaction shows the kindness blustery Six is also capable of when the occasion demands). And the climax demands that the Doctor surrender to fictionalization as well and trust that Charley, once de-fictionalized, will understand the situation and save the day, which as a gesture of faith is just the type of thing which makes the Doctor and Companion relationships so endearing.
The Raincloud Man: in which the (Sixth) Doctor and Charley return to Manchester to team up with fabulous Mancunian D.I. Patricia Menzies once more. D.I. Menzies is as sarcastic and great as in her first outing; now aware of aliens she's become the go-to copper for aliens in Manchester, and she and the Doctor are such great foils for each other that one regrets she doesn't join Team TARDIS at the end, but then again, it occurs to me she's turning in a successor for the Brig in the Big Finish world, someone who remains on Earth because that's where their job is and who drafts the Doctor instead of the Doctor drafting him. Also, the extras for this adventure tell me the actress who plays D.I. Menzies also played a very different character on tv (sans Mancunian accent), Novice Hame (the cat nurse from the episodes New Earth and Gridlock). Patricia Menzies also because of one of her alien sources finds out Charley's secret (i.e. that Charley is from the Doctor's future and hasn't told him), which allows for some interesting scenes between her and Charley. As for the actual case, among other things, it involves a casino travelling through time and space where the high stakes involve betting your past and future, and the Doctor coming to the aid of a race of beings who were solely created to fight another race and thus never were free to choose their own lives. And though nobody ever says anything, I strongly suspect the reason why Manchester has now joined Cardiff and London as a favourite visiting/attack/refuge-seeking spot for aliens is that this is where comatose coppers go when they want to time travel. (Or when they're dead. :)
Son of the Dragon: another historical for the Fifth Doctor, Perri and Erimem, which uses Erimem's different perspective due to her ancient Egyptian origins better than The Council of Nicea did in a story that deals with Vlad Tepes, the historical Dracula, no less (i.e. the warlord whose name Stoker used; he's definitely not a vampire here), and with his brother Radu the Handsome. Dracula gets played by James Purefoy (still best known for playing Antony in Rome, I think) who can't resist doing the accent (though the actor playing Radu doesn't follow suit) and lowering his voice. This is one of the darker Big Finish stories, opening as it does with the TARDIS arriving in a village burned to the ground by Dracula's troops and including one of Vlad's most famous atrocities later - which earned him the nickname "Impaler" which is what "Tepes" means - the impaling of 20.000 people and leaving them for the Turkish invasion troops to find (after which the Sultan decides he can't win against this man and leaves, though brother Radu does not). I'm pretty impessed by the amount of actual history that shows up in this script, including the fact both Radu and Vlad grew up as hostages in Constantinople - only Radu remained with the Turks and Vlad became a crusader in response - , and Dracula's divided reputation among his contemporaries as a horrible butcher on the one hand and heroic leader defeating the Turks and establishing regular law again in Romania on the other. Making this an adventure for this particular Team TARDIS was inspired because the story can use Peri to convey the audience horror and Erimem (to whom impaling people actually is not unheard of as a punishment and who when Dracula mentions why he killed the nobles (they betrayed his father and oldest brother to a horrible death) gruesomely admits she might have done the same to the people responsible for her family's deaths if not leaving her country with the Doctor. Mind you, Dracula is still the antagonist in this tale, but the story takes the trouble to show the listeners why he became the way he is (without excusing what he does).
The Crimes of Thomas Brewster: This one I listened to out of order - the character Thomas Brewster shows up in earlier audios I'm not famiar with yet - because it promised a) more Six and Evelyn and b) more D.I. Patricia Menzies. It's a blast of an adventure, opening with a James Bondian teaser where the Doctor and Evelyn are chased by a killer drone while trying to escape on a speedboat on the Thames, but with a very Whovian twist (the Doctor confuses the drone's aim with the garish multiple colours of his coat, which causes some great lines from Evelyn; btw, if you've ever seen the Sixth Doctor's outfit from tv, you know why this works *veg*). D.I. Menzies is in London instead of Manchester because someone calling themselves "the Doctor" has become a new East London gangleader of sorts, the real Doctor really hopes this isn't one of his future selves (spoiler: it isn't), and Evelyn thinks she's getting too old for this kind of craziness (she isn't). As for Thomas Brewster, who basically comes across as the Artful Dodger with some time travel experience, he's just trying to be helpful, honest. Also co-starring: alien hiveminds, symbiotic planets, original uses for the London Underground and people of both genders pretending to be the Doctor. Loved it all.
The Doomwood Curse: an Sixth Doctor and Charley adventure, written by Jacqueline Reyner (whom I've liked as a BF writer ever since The Marian Conspiracy). For their second go, this Doctor-and-Companion combination ends up in a fictionalized version of the 18th century, though not, as the Doctor theorizes earlier on, in the novel Rookwood itself. Said novel, btw, really does exist; it was a Victorian Gothic pot boiler, set a century earlier, and mainly responsible for turning the historical Dick Turpin (petty thug) into legendary Dick Turpin. Charley has just read it and is thrilled, but the Doctor's copy actually belongs to the library of Alexandria V (you can see what they did there) and he has to return it. This ends up landing him and Charley in a version of the 18th century which becomes increasingly fictionalized due to the plot MacGuffin, with the people, including Charley, changing character at the whim of a Gothic novel plot. The Doctor is immune at first, which won't last forever, and has to save the day before literature takes over reality altogether. (I must admit there was a moment where I thought "actually, would this be a bad thing..?" before remembeirng some 18th century novels and seeing the Doctor's point.) All the actors have great fun, especially India Fisher who can play different versions of Charley, from fainting Gothic Novel damsel to Highway Woman and Cutpurse "Gypsy Charlotte", while Rayner's script pokes fun at all the Gothic clichés with much affection for them. The only problem I had was when Charley (still herself) hears from Susan the maid about how Susan had a horrible encounter with the (real) Dick Turpin and responds with "how thrilling" (which, yes, is due to her having just read about fictional romantic Dick Turpin but is still a very callous thing to say), but I suppose I can handwave that by declaring Charley is in the early stages of getting turned into a literary character by the plot MacGuffin. For all the poking fun at Gothic novels, though, the plot also offers genuine moving scenes, as when one of the guest characters gets out of his fictionalized Gothic version - where he doesn't feel grief at the death of his father because the plot demands he's thinking about nothing but his romance - and into his normal version (where he suddenly realizes the full impact of what has happened and the grief is awful; he at first wants to be fictionalized again to escape that feeling and the Doctor's reaction shows the kindness blustery Six is also capable of when the occasion demands). And the climax demands that the Doctor surrender to fictionalization as well and trust that Charley, once de-fictionalized, will understand the situation and save the day, which as a gesture of faith is just the type of thing which makes the Doctor and Companion relationships so endearing.
The Raincloud Man: in which the (Sixth) Doctor and Charley return to Manchester to team up with fabulous Mancunian D.I. Patricia Menzies once more. D.I. Menzies is as sarcastic and great as in her first outing; now aware of aliens she's become the go-to copper for aliens in Manchester, and she and the Doctor are such great foils for each other that one regrets she doesn't join Team TARDIS at the end, but then again, it occurs to me she's turning in a successor for the Brig in the Big Finish world, someone who remains on Earth because that's where their job is and who drafts the Doctor instead of the Doctor drafting him. Also, the extras for this adventure tell me the actress who plays D.I. Menzies also played a very different character on tv (sans Mancunian accent), Novice Hame (the cat nurse from the episodes New Earth and Gridlock). Patricia Menzies also because of one of her alien sources finds out Charley's secret (i.e. that Charley is from the Doctor's future and hasn't told him), which allows for some interesting scenes between her and Charley. As for the actual case, among other things, it involves a casino travelling through time and space where the high stakes involve betting your past and future, and the Doctor coming to the aid of a race of beings who were solely created to fight another race and thus never were free to choose their own lives. And though nobody ever says anything, I strongly suspect the reason why Manchester has now joined Cardiff and London as a favourite visiting/attack/refuge-seeking spot for aliens is that this is where comatose coppers go when they want to time travel. (Or when they're dead. :)
Son of the Dragon: another historical for the Fifth Doctor, Perri and Erimem, which uses Erimem's different perspective due to her ancient Egyptian origins better than The Council of Nicea did in a story that deals with Vlad Tepes, the historical Dracula, no less (i.e. the warlord whose name Stoker used; he's definitely not a vampire here), and with his brother Radu the Handsome. Dracula gets played by James Purefoy (still best known for playing Antony in Rome, I think) who can't resist doing the accent (though the actor playing Radu doesn't follow suit) and lowering his voice. This is one of the darker Big Finish stories, opening as it does with the TARDIS arriving in a village burned to the ground by Dracula's troops and including one of Vlad's most famous atrocities later - which earned him the nickname "Impaler" which is what "Tepes" means - the impaling of 20.000 people and leaving them for the Turkish invasion troops to find (after which the Sultan decides he can't win against this man and leaves, though brother Radu does not). I'm pretty impessed by the amount of actual history that shows up in this script, including the fact both Radu and Vlad grew up as hostages in Constantinople - only Radu remained with the Turks and Vlad became a crusader in response - , and Dracula's divided reputation among his contemporaries as a horrible butcher on the one hand and heroic leader defeating the Turks and establishing regular law again in Romania on the other. Making this an adventure for this particular Team TARDIS was inspired because the story can use Peri to convey the audience horror and Erimem (to whom impaling people actually is not unheard of as a punishment and who when Dracula mentions why he killed the nobles (they betrayed his father and oldest brother to a horrible death) gruesomely admits she might have done the same to the people responsible for her family's deaths if not leaving her country with the Doctor. Mind you, Dracula is still the antagonist in this tale, but the story takes the trouble to show the listeners why he became the way he is (without excusing what he does).
The Crimes of Thomas Brewster: This one I listened to out of order - the character Thomas Brewster shows up in earlier audios I'm not famiar with yet - because it promised a) more Six and Evelyn and b) more D.I. Patricia Menzies. It's a blast of an adventure, opening with a James Bondian teaser where the Doctor and Evelyn are chased by a killer drone while trying to escape on a speedboat on the Thames, but with a very Whovian twist (the Doctor confuses the drone's aim with the garish multiple colours of his coat, which causes some great lines from Evelyn; btw, if you've ever seen the Sixth Doctor's outfit from tv, you know why this works *veg*). D.I. Menzies is in London instead of Manchester because someone calling themselves "the Doctor" has become a new East London gangleader of sorts, the real Doctor really hopes this isn't one of his future selves (spoiler: it isn't), and Evelyn thinks she's getting too old for this kind of craziness (she isn't). As for Thomas Brewster, who basically comes across as the Artful Dodger with some time travel experience, he's just trying to be helpful, honest. Also co-starring: alien hiveminds, symbiotic planets, original uses for the London Underground and people of both genders pretending to be the Doctor. Loved it all.
