The Third Doctor Adventures Volume 1

Anyone seen The Sound Of Music? Your silence speaks volumes…. However there is a song in it that springs to mind when writing this review, its “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” Why you may ask, well dear reader, please read on and I promise this will be the last time I mention singing nuns, Lonely Goatherds, Edelweiss, or being 16 and going on 17. I promise. So (in the style of Julie Andrews) “How do you replace a legend like Jon Pertwee?” (yay odelay odelay hee hoo!). Stop it!

But how do you?

I am sure it was a very difficult decision for Big Finish to make. Pertwee is an icon, a hero to a whole generation of Who fans, anything less than respectful could have giant Wicker Men in the shape of Wurzel Gummidge erected outside Big Finish Towers with Mr Briggs playing the part of Edward Woodward…

In Tim Treolar Big Finish have got things just right – you can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Tim is not “doing a Pertwee” in the same way that for example Jon Culshaw “does Tom Baker”, his interpretation is more subtle, more real, and more engaging. Tim Treloar has captured the essence of Pertwee – the cadence of his voice, the tone, the inflections, the Pertwee-isms. He is no mere sound-a-like, but genuinely channels Pertwee. Listening to this box set I could just see the man himself standing tall, hands on hips, cape flowing. Give it a listen, there is even a free episode on Big Finish’s website HERE. Give it a listen and you’ll see what I mean.

So on to the stories, there are two four-parters here and a new style of storytelling. They are full cast audio dramas but there is a central narrator (also Tim Treloar) who frames the episodes and keeps the story moving along. Joined by the ever wonderful Katy Manning as Jo Grant and the stalwart Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, the two tales are typical Pertwee affairs but very different.

Prisoners of the Lake by Justin Richards

An archaeological site deep beneath Dunstanton Lake is hardly the usual scene for UNIT to investigate, but when an ancient structure is discovered a long lost, long buried threat to Earth is discovered. Listening to this reminded me of the underwater ballet of Thunderball with the Third Doctor in full James Bond mode as a great chunk of the story is set under water, I can just imagine Pertwee utterly loving the opportunity to don scuba gear and film underwater. It is a very typical Pertwee era story and would probably have fitted in well in season 9 – it has the Third Doctor being diplomatic with some, sarcastic with others, an action man with cries of “Hai!”, and always but always trying to find a peaceful solution.

Katy gives us a wonderful pitch-perfect performance as Jo Grant, with Richard Franklin giving a commanding performance as Captain Mike Yates. The cast are ably assisted by Caroline Seymour as archaeologist Freda Mattingly.

It is a perfectly serviceable story, and as I have previously stated very mush a product of the early 1970’s, but it really does not get out of second gear; it is quite slow paced and tells a perfectly acceptable story, but it is never going to set the world on fire. It really is more of a character piece than a plot-driven blockbuster but showcases Tim Treloar’s astonishing performance as Jon Pertwee.

The Havoc of Empires by Andy Lane

Where Prisoners of the Lake was a Season Nine story, this is set in Season Ten. The narrator tells us this, and it begins with The Doctor taking Jo and Mike in the TARDIS so they can go on a date to the Cavern Club in Liverpool 1962 – or is it to see WG Grace play cricket? In fact it is neither. The TARDIS takes the Doctor once again to where he is needed rather than where he wants to go – and this time he is needed on a space station where an arranged diplomatic wedding between the Chalnoth Hegemony and the Teklarn Incorporation is about to take place. However a saboteur has different ideas…

This is a cracking whodunnit story in the style of The Curse of Peladon and really is a brilliant showcase for Katy Manning as Jo, who gets to impersonate security expert Alex Filton and investigate the bombings and expose the perpetrators. This really is good stuff, familiar yet edgy, and Tim Treloar gives us a diplomatic Pertwee, always looking for a third way, abhorring violence, and believing utterly in the calibre of his companions. But the star of this one really is Katy Manning who’s superb as Jo. She’s vulnerable, sometimes needing reassurance from The Doctor and Mike, but when she is left on her own, is more than capable of rising to the challenges of her assumed identity.

So a very safe start to a new range for Big Finish, but a Third Doctor box set really has to be what it says on the tin, and this really is. t follows the format and structure of the era, has the warmth and camaraderie of the “UNIT Family” era, and in Tim Treloar an excellent homage to the essence and legacy of Jon Pertwee.

So before I say “so long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, good bye”, I will say It was okay in the 1970’s, and it is most definitely okay now. 8/10.

Etheria

Oddball. Now there is a word. Oddball – What is an Oddball story? To my mind it encompasses everything that isn’t normal in Doctor Who storytelling, be it The Web Planet, The Celestial Toymaker, The Macra Terror, Kinda, Paradise Towers, The Happiness Patrol or Big Finish’s own pantheon of oddities like Creatures of Beauty, and The Pirates, Brotherhood of the Daleks or The Fourth Wall to name a few.

These left field stories in a way define what traditional Who stories are by being themselves not traditional (if you see what I mean). As always I digress – and my pomposity levels are rising! – and in my usual roundabout way I come to this months Short Trips release – Etheria.

This one most definitely falls in to the Oddball category.  It’s a tale of the First Doctor, Vicki and Steven, told by Peter Purves (Steven Taylor) the story concerns The Doctor and Vicki (having lost Steven in an ambush by Pirates) traversing the strange “Etherlands” of the world they find themselves on, a strange world where the Ether alters the perception, where they have to tether themselves to the ground at night for fear of wandering off possessed by the Ether – and where their guide may or may not know the way through the increasingly treacherous environment.

Peter Purves gives a great rendition of Hartnell, you can just see him standing there all imperious, clutching his lapels as events unfold around him. It really is an oddball story and relies on the fact that not only could the narrator be unreliable but also what the characters perceive is unreliable too. It’s a very clever piece of writing that really uses the audio format to its advantage. Long time listeners of the Big Finish Main Range will understand what I mean when I say it reminds me of Scherzo. The story may not be atypically Hartnell, but it is very much in keeping with the off the wall oddities that Doctor Who sometimes throws up. I perceive that this one will go down well with the more out-there fans. 8/10.

This Is Colin Baker

It’s been a bit of a Colin-Tastic month at Big Finish, what with his final bow The Last Adventure and now this very special two disc release in which Colin discusses his life and his career.

Colin is interviewed by the ever enthusiastic Nick Briggs – they are obviously good friends as this sounds more like a couple of old mates putting the world to rights.

Last year’s Tom interview was marvellous, but I did get the impression that Tom was wheeling out the old anecdotes and we were not seeing much of the real man. With this release, nothing could be further from the truth. There is a real truth and honesty to the proceedings, whether discussing his upbringing, his schooling, his career, or answering some pretty difficult questions from Nick, Colin is honest, truthful and direct.

Colin is not a person who tends to wheel out the old anecdotes so all his stories are fresh and vibrant. This release feels like an audio Who do you Think You Are as it moves chronologically through Mr Baker’s life, from his birth during the blitz, to the family’s move to Rochdale, to his not going to University, to acting, and at each point we get a frank reflection on the building blocks that made Colin the man he is today.

The interview isn’t always pretty and sometimes brings up painful memories but it is always truthful & candid. Nick Briggs teases out a lot of information from Colin, sometimes asking a question and letting him get on with it, sometimes probing further when the subject demands it, but always pitches it just right and whilst he may not always get the answer he expects, he always gets the answer that the listener needs to hear.

Highly Recommended!

The Early Adventures 2.1 - The Yes Men

There is a old saying that all power corrupts, but that absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is another saying regarding the road to hell being paved with good intentions.

Both are very relevant in this months release, the first in a new series of Early Adventures. Whereas last years releases concentrated on the Hartnell era, these are from the Troughton era. Time and BBC archivists have been particularly cruel to seasons 3, 4 and 5 of Doctor Who, this story set in Season 4 features Doctor 2 along with Ben, Polly and Jamie. It is narrated by Anneke Wills who also plays Polly, has Frazer Hines as Jamie & the 2nd Doctor (and boy does he do a good Troughton). Instead of having the narrator or Jamie voice the lines for Ben (who was originally played by the late Michael Craze) Big Finish have taken a very brave decision in recasting Ben for the audios. The unenviable task of trying to fill Mr Craze’s boots goes to newcomer Elliot Chapman. He really has respect for the era and the mantle he is taking on – he watched and listened to all the episodes featuring Ben Jackson to pick up the nuances in his vocal performance – in the special features that follow episode four he even comments on how Craze’s performance changed during his time on the show – his performance was lauded by Frazer and Anneke. Whether you think it is ok to recast or not, Elliot Chapman gives a fab performance as Ben & I look forward to hearing more of his interpretation.

So the plot – set during the original Season 4 the story really plays homage to the early shows “sci-fi” ethos of far out worlds, city states, everything controlled by Robot, consumerism gone mad – you can visualise the denizens of New  Houston all wearing jump suits and everything being silver and functional. It is so authentic to the era that I actually imagined it in Black & White.

New Houston is a Colony Planet, the Doctor decides to look up his old friend Meg Carvossa, but he arrives too late – Meg is dead, but how did she die? Conflicting reports lead our heroes into a conspiracy and a very odd revolution. The era specific atmosphere is helped by some very authentic incidental music, all bassoon if you know what I mean. It also feels like the sort of story that should be listened to in 25 minute chunks rather than in one go – it does feel like a serial rather than a story, and herein lies the problem – the story feels a little disjointed and a little inconsequential. Its not a bad story but just a bit, well, “robotic” and lacking pace. There is a tense political thriller in there somewhere, but it is buried in the trappings of mid sixties sci fi serial, which is a shame – as there is a great deal to explore about the effect a prior visit the Doctor has on a planet and the influence he has on the people he meets. Loathe as I am to paraphrase a Matt Smith story but the Doctor really does make people want to impress him and to me that is the crux of the story.

A great recreation of the era, Elliot Chapman is a revelation as Ben – but the story just didn’t engage me. 5/10.

204 - Criss-Cross

Some stories have a particular purpose – Deep Breath needs to introduce a New Doctor and set up a story arc, The Time Warrior is there to introduce us to Sarah Jane Smith.

Most beginnings and endings are usually there to introduce or to say goodbye to a much loved character, the fact that there needs to be a story is almost secondary to the need to get the story from point A to point B. But sometimes a story serves a purpose as well as being a fantastic story – look at The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Spearhead from Space and Old Sixie’s debut, The Twin Dilemma (no I am not being contrary, I genuinely love it – a truly operatic and commanding performance from Mr Baker), they serve a narrative purpose but also are great adventures.

This month’s second main range release ‘Criss-Cross’ falls in to the latter category. Ostensibly it serves to introduce us (even though we have met her before in End of the Line) to new companion Mrs Constance Clarke (Miranda Raison) – but the tale of 1944 Bletchley Park, code breaking, spies, double agents and aliens is utterly compelling. The story really does have a “start of term” feeling that you get with a new season of Doctor Who (at time of writing we are 8 hours away from the first broadcast of The Magicians Apprentice, so two new seasons in 1 week) it even has a pre-credits sequence. So after last months apocalyptic ending for Old Sixie, we jump back a bit in his timeline to a point where his TARDIS is a bit under the weather and he has become a fixture as “Doctor John Smith” at Bletchley Park – the top secret cypher breaking base of World War Two – he is no longer wearing his coat of many colours, if the cover is to believed he is wearing a similar outfit to Matt Smith’s Doctor (but Old Sixie wears it better) – he is helping to crack codes and has a particular interest in the movements of one Agent Spark, whose name keeps coming up in cyphers with references to “Golden Eggs”… It’s not long into the story before The Doctor’s cover is blown – he is suspected of being a German Spy and he is forced to do a runner along with two Wren’s Sylvia Wimpole (Charlotte Salt) and the wonderful Mrs Constance Clarke. And then it steps up a gear, a huge step up involving said double agents, German spymasters, aliens, codebreaking – it almost features Alan Turing.

The story does not let you pause for breath, it’s a true roller coaster ride of a story (in fact you could say the characters are riding a wave… #spoilers). It’s one of those stories, one of those “where were you when you first heard/saw sort of stories, it’s a bit of a classic. No story though, however good is complete without its characters – and this story being a very special story gives us a proper introduction to Mrs Constance Clarke. Sometimes, just sometimes you know a companion is “right” from the moment you first see or hear them and instantly Miranda Raison is a note perfect companion for Old Sixie – like Evelyn before her, or Ace with Seven, or Donna with Ten, Sarah Jane with Tom or Jo with Pertwee – Mrs Constance Clarke is a perfect foil for Old Sixie.  She is obviously upper class, but not annoyingly so and in no way a caricature of a plummy voiced Wren. She is capable, independent, has an overwhelming sense of fairness, duty and decency and insists that the Doctor call her Mrs Clarke for fear of impropriety. Her reason for joining the TARDIS is very interesting, she has a specific time that she wants to return to England – and I am eagerly anticipating the adventures she will have on her journey. All praise to Miranda Raison for making Mrs Clarke such a well rounded character – Mrs Clarke is brought to life by her performance and is a joy to listen to, she instantly joins the list of the all time great companions. In summing up I can confirm that this is no “Imitation Game” its the real deal with no fakery, a real classic story with a classic companion introduced and the beginning of a new chapter in the ever continuing life of Old Sixie – a best of British 10/10.

Foreshadowing

What’s in a name? Good question. In Doctor Who they fall in to two categories, the “does what it says on the tin”, names like Genesis of the Daleks and Tomb of the Cybermen, and more experimental names like Kinda and Human Nature. This month’s Short Trips release probably falls into both categories, but will only fall into the first if – and it is a big if - my hunch is right concerning its links to a certain other box set being released quite soon…

Confused? You will be until you listen to the story, and it’s a story that could ONLY work on audio and ONLY as a narrated talking book rather than a full cast drama.

Read by India Fisher (Charley Pollard) it concerns quite a low key adventure for the Eighth Doctor and Charley involving them both being captured at an army base and being interrogated about why they were there in the first place.

India Fisher gives a great performance as Charley and captures the cadences of Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor perfectly. It is a very visual reading full of atmosphere India imbues the proceedings with a sense of urgency & flippancy that characterised her relationship with Doctor Number Eight. And it ends on a question, a question which I hope will be answered in the near future. Sorry to appear confusing, but any further information would really spoil the story and it really does need to be heard “blind” so to speak for the full impact. A small story with big ramifications, a perfect Foreshadowing of The Doctor’s past & a release yet to come. Intriguing 10/10.

203 - Terror Of The Sontarans

English is a wonderful language. The same words said with different emphasis, or in different contexts, can have completely different meanings. Terror of the Sontarans is a case in point. On the one hand it means Sontarans being terrifying, and on the other, Sontarans being terrified. And they are both of those things in this story.

It’s a very odd story, written by John Dorney, and new series Sontaran stalwart Dan Starkey, and has a number of boxes to tick. First of all it has to fit in with the atmosphere of Season Twenty Four. Check!(for the most part). It feels claustrophobic like Paradise Towers, has a collection of larger than life caricatures as the supporting cast, has the Doctor as slightly bumbling rather than the omnipotent Seventh Doctor of Seasons Twenty Five and Twenty Six. It also has several quite disturbing scenes which would be quite out of character in Season Twenty Four. Also the Sontarans need to be got just right, and here they are hilarious because they are so humourless and literal. Check!

The problem I have with this story is that it takes way too long to get going. The Sontarans do not arrive until the end of Part One and not a lot really happens in Part Two. But Part Three is a cracker and Part Four does what is necessary to end the story.

The plot itself involves the Doctor and Mel picking up a distress call from a deserted mining station that the Sontarans have taken over and are using as an experimentation centre to find out the weaknesses of “lesser creatures”, like a factory version of The Sontaran Experiment. However it turns out that it wasn’t the victims that sent the distress call, but the Sontarans – and what can induce enough terror in a Sontaran that would make them commit an act of cowardice like sending a distress call?

Dan Starkey is superb as Skegg, the Sontaran whose mind has been destroyed by the horrors he has witnessed. It’s a great portrait of post traumatic stress and the way he is treated by his superior officers is horrifying. I like it when we see different aspects of Who characters and to hear a traumatised Sontaran is strangely fascinating.

There is a large supporting cast with a standout performance from Daniel O’Meara as Ketch. He is pretty much in the mould of Pex from Paradise Towers, and as the Doctor and Mel are separated for most of the story, like Pex, he becomes a companion to Mel. It’s a very different story, possibly hampered by the four-part story structure – but it doesn’t seem to “flow” all that well, and while Part Three gets it just right and ramps up the sense of mystery, horror and tension with the best of them, this isn’t a game of two halves, more a game of four quarters that may have played better as a game of two halves. There are some excellent performances but doesn’t quite hit the spot in all areas. 6/10.