For years, the most iconic of all Doctors- I think only David Tennant rivals him in the public consciousness as the definitive Time Lord- was unavailable for audio work with Big Finish. Sadly, he never reunited with the late Elisabeth Sladen before her passing. But, after the Nest Cottage Chronicles, three series of linked, partly-narrated audios written by Paul Magrs for BBC audio, we were rewarded by season after season of Baker-rific single-disc plays.
One co-stars the late Mary Tamm as the sublime original Romana once again; then, the second incarnation of Romana, Lalla Ward, the ex- Mrs. Baker co-stars in two seasons; and three feature the magnificent Louise Jameson as Leela of the Sevateem. There is also a box set of unmade scripts for Leela and the Doctor and new adventures by 70s producer, Philip Hinchcliffe, architect of the series' most Gothic horror era. Finally, three of Gareth Roberts' tributes to Douglas Adams star Tom and Lalla in adaptations of 90s Virgin Missing Adventures. A cornucopia of Baker, T.
In 2019, BF will introduce Jane Slavin as Ann Kelso, a 70s WPC ( a Juliet Bravo for the Doctor?) in an eighth season. Meanwhile, this year, season seven is split over two box sets. Box one comprises The Sons of Kaldor; The Crowmarsh Experiment; The Mind Runners and The Demon Rises.
Andrew Smith, who as a teenager himself, inspired me to write in the 80s with his one-off Who serial Full Circle, is the author of BF's second sequel to The Robots of Death. This is, unfortunately, quite a "vanilla" story and also a redundant one. Here, human supremacists are preying on robots; in the superior Robophobia by Nicholas Briggs, a human impersonates a killer robot.
I think I feel a bit more positive about it than I did seven years ago: https://somefantasticplace-dougie.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/eyes-of-troubled-prince.html
I haven't been a fan of the dour Liv Chenka despite the superb ability of Nicola Walker but Briggs' play is superior to this bland rehash of Chris Boucher's Agatha Christie homage. ( 1/5 Talmars).
The Crowmarsh Experiment is touching and very well-acted. I was however reminded strongly of the premise of this comic:
Set in 1978, Leela is encouraged to believe that her adventures have been the creation of psychological technology and that she is, in reality, a scientist who has experimented on herself. It does depend, however, on a familiarity with the Rocket Men two-parter from Season Four, three years ago. ( 4/5 Talmars).
The third and fourth plays form a four-parter set on the planet Chaldera. Writer and actor John Dorney tries to tap into the Blade Runner milieu with a conspiracy among the Mind Runners, who "hitch" in the consciousness of other citizens. But I was reminded very strongly both of Byrne's Cityscape in FF and that story's probable source, the Exxilon city of Death To The Daleks.
In Bond villain fashion, there was a coda in The Demon Rises for Dorney's gaseous assassin, Mr. Shift. I wasn't taken with the character and I hope if he makes his return in box two, it'll be his last appearance. ( 2/5 Talmars- a Talmar each, Citizen.)
Ultimately, this wasn't a terribly significant or even memorable box set. If the first or final plays had been more whimsical, more in the vein of the work of the late David Fisher ( Androids of Tara, The Leisure Hive), it might've been more enjoyable for me. I don't feel Dorney writes at all well for the 4th Doctor; the authorial voice is too modern and the tone feels off. Nonetheless, I will of course be there for the second box in May.
The great pleasure of these audios, I think, is the interplay of the 1977 team: Tom, Louise and John Leeson's K9 - and their enjoyment of their work. But are we still pretending that these are adventures that would fit with the aesthetic of 1977's Season 14? Big Finish's original output, nearly twenty years ago, operated under this conceit.
To me, continuity and canon are stifling and represent a limited point of view. For instance, Whovians decry the final scenes of the recent Shada recreation on dvd because they feature an elderly Tom. They don't seem capable of seeing that cameo as a loving and respectful tribute. That's the saddest thing.
Coming soon: River Song and Dark Shadows.
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