Doctor Who - Short Trips 9.4: Year of the Drex Olympics
Narrator: Fraser Hines, Cover Artist Mark Plastow
Executive Producers: Jason Haigh & Nicholas Briggs
Music: Richard Fox, Producer: Alfie Shaw
Script Editoe: Alfie Shaw, Sound Design: Richard Fox
All the Doctor wanted to do on Venus was learn their aikido. But as ever, his plans have gone awry. The TARDIS has been stolen to be a prize in the Venusian Olympics. The Doctor is furious, not only at the theft but also that it is the third place prize! Now Jamie and Victoria must compete to get the TARDIS back, and soon find themselves winning every event.
The TARDIS crew normally win, but this time it might cost them everything…
Year of the Drex Olympics is the sort of fluffy second Doctor story that sits perfectly in that era. There is a lot of banter between the three companions (here Jamie and Victoria), with the Doctor (as voiced by Fraser Hines) getting into a few comical scrapes.
The story is that unbeknown to the Doctor, the TARDIS has been volunteered as a prize in the Venusian Olympics. The only way that the Doctor and his companions can get it back is to compete, and when they do - some very odd genetic changes start to affect them.
Listening to this audio, I think Fraser Hines must be my favourite narrator. He can still capture Jamie perfectly, and even has a fair stab at Victoria - but it is his impersonation of the second Doctor that is the real winner. Very impressive indeed.
This story is penned by Paul Ebbs, who handles proceedings perfectly, capturing all of the characters in their prime, and introducing us to a very strange new race.
Year of the Drex Olympics is available HERE from Big Finish.