Written by David Llewellyn
Directed by Neil Gardner
Starring: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Steven Cree (Neil Redmond), Emma Reeves (Miss Trent)
Released by Big Finish Productions - January 2016

Every now and then, Big Finish launch a work of audio drama which, against all of the odds, somehow manages to catch the audience (this reviewer included) completely off-guard. Just think back to last September’s Torchwood: The Conspiracy: in light of the wholly underwhelming nature of its source material’s fourth televised season, Miracle Day, few listeners would have likely been surprised if the studio’s first venture into the world of Captain Jack, Gwen Cooper and Torchwood Three had only served to further highlight the show’s supposed decadence in an age of myriad near-identical detective dramas. But quite to the contrary, Season One’s opening chapter had precisely the opposite effect, incorporating inspired contemporary storytelling devices such as social media and video-blogging whilst reminding us how captivating and morally layered a performance John Barrowman could offer up when gifted with the right script by placing the actor front-and-centre in a storyline which took full advantage of his considerable capabilities.

Fast forward four releases, and we reach a similarly masterful new chapter in the form of Torchwood: Uncanny Valley, which wisely brings Barrowman back into the fold in order to depict Jack Harkness’ ongoing efforts to decipher the still-ambiguous origins of the sinister Committee by investigating their backing of the reclusive billionaire Nick Redmond (Steven Cree). That’s not to say that spending time in the company of the rest of Jack’s gang – Gwen, the much-missed Ianto and even Yvonne Hartman included – over the course of Season One hasn’t been a treat unto itself, yet whereas titles like Fall to Earth, One Rule and in particular Forgotten Lives have each taken fairly predictable approaches to developing the mortal members of the series’ ever-changing ensemble, this penultimate chapter mirrors Conspiracy in its emphasis on quite how much of an unknown quantity Barrowman’s beloved construct remains more than ten years on from his debut in 2005’s “The Empty Child”. We may have seen Jack adopt the roles of Time Agent, conman, leader, mournful sibling and lonely immortal over the years, but given how many facets of himself the man has revealed in these various guises, the concept that there may be plenty still to learn yet still seems highly probable, if not downright inevitable, at this point.

Certainly, writer David Llewellyn (who, unsurprisingly, penned both Conspiracy and Uncanny) does little to diminish this trail of thought here, either, delving further into Jack’s increasingly flexible sexuality, his almost despicable mastery of psychological manipulation and the rules he’s willing to break in order to complete the mission at hand than any of Big Finish’s other Torchwood releases, to the extent that the hauntingly ruthless soul we saw murder his own son in Children of Earth’s closing moments fades back into view at times. Thankfully, though, the manner in which Llewellyn elects to portray his protagonist this time around doesn’t represent him in a wholly pessimistic light, with his exploration of how striving for immortality, be it literal in Jack’s case or cultural in Redmond’s, can take a substantial toll on one’s sense of their own identity casting the supposed Face of Boe in an entirely different, often more sympathetic shade than that which we’ve seen before, thereby ensuring that despite the character sporting a fascinatingly complex moral compass which often forces him into questionable territory in the eyes of the audience, many elements of his personality can and will still resonate with listeners everywhere as they contemplate along with Barrowman’s ageless vagabond and Redmond’s ageing icon whether it’s possible to stay true to their core values if they spend their lives only trying to ensure themselves a lasting legacy.

As for the narrative through which Llewellyn effortlessly develops Jack’s characterization, to spoil too much beyond Uncanny Valley’s previously-discussed premise would undoubtedly ruin our reader’s enjoyment of a relentlessly surprising, thought-provoking tale which had this reviewer thrilled, intrigued on an intellectual level and emotionally invested in equal measure throughout its running time. Suffice to say that what with its depiction of multiple incarnations of Barrowman’s character, the rather dazzling cover artwork Big Finish have produced for this instalment’s CD release at least provides a hint or two as to some of the issues which are explored as Jack discovers how Redmond attends corporate events while remaining safe and sound inside his cosy mansion. For anyone worried that the sight of doppelgangers might indicate they’re about to endure an hour-long ‘Greatest Hits’ tribute to recent cloning-orientated greats like Humans and Ex-Machina, however, rest assured that Llewellyn, director Neil Gardner (who lends a refreshingly intimate air to proceedings, ensuring that Jack and Redmond’s increasingly heartfelt conversation isn’t rendered as a farcical one by an overly heart-wrenching score or similarly clichéd technical elements) and the remarkably versatile three-player cast seem only too aware of these potential comparisons and as such make every effort to connect with their audience on a deeper level – both emotionally and intellectually – than any of their esteemed rivals.

Speaking of the cast, whereas Tracy-Ann Oberman’s backing players went some way towards reducing the overall impact of her return as Yvonne in last December’s One Rule with their one-dimensional portrayals of the most stereotypical representations of Welsh society in recent memory, the same can hardly be said of Barrowman’s co-stars; instead, Cree and Emma Reeves both seem born to play their respective roles as Redmond and his far-from-selfless benefactor Miss Trent. Admittedly Reeves has, for whatever reason, guest-starred in Forgotten Lives already this season and her ‘screen-time’ here remains particularly limited, meaning that Uncanny Valley places much of the onus on Cree’s dynamic with Barrowman, hence why it’s such a welcome surprise to see the pair develop such a deep, near-intoxicating chemistry in the space of but a single series of captivating discussions. By turns egotistical, pathetic and immensely relatable, Cree’s Redmond stands as easily Big Finish’s most compelling addition to the Torchwood pantheon to date (a remarkable feat in and of itself given how quickly many listeners adored Lisa Zahra’s hapless-but-endearing call centre worker Zeynep in Fall to Earth), and whilst Llewellyn’s constantly evolving portrayal of the character helps no end, that he’s such an instant success is primarily down to Cree’s unpredictable, unforgettable performance.

The word “unforgettable” seems as fine an adjective with which to summarize Uncanny Valley as a whole, come to think of it – like Llewellyn’s The Conspiracy before it, this morally subversive, intellectually stimulating and yet somehow incredibly understated tale takes full advantage of the strongest elements of the original TV series (Barrowman’s performance and its dealings with far more adult topics than his character could ever encounter in the world of Doctor Who). More impressive than that, though, is how its scribe goes one step further with his second script, placing his primary supporting construct on equal (if not superior) footing to Jack and in doing so creating that much more of a thematically rich narrative which brings out the best in both of its leading players whilst allowing the audience to connect with its events to a far greater extent than they might have when viewing them solely from the perspective of an immortal being whose humanity is debatably fading by the day. An all-out blockbuster Uncanny Valley mightn’t be, but in truth, we wouldn’t have it any other way, for in place of a shallow, action-driven storyline, we’ve gotten one of the most cunningly crafted and emotionally satisfying productions in Big Finish’s history.

Written and directed by Nicholas Briggs
Produced by David Richardson
Big Finish Productions, 2015
Stars: John Hurt (The War Doctor), Jacqueline Pearce (Cardinal Ollistra), Lucy Briggs-Owen (young Rejoice), Carolyn Seymour (older Rejoice), Beth Chalmers (Veklin), Alex Wyndham (Seratrix), Kieran Hodgson (Bennus), Barnaby Edwards (Arverton), Mark McDonnell (Traanus), John Banks (Garv), Nicholas Briggs (the Daleks)
 

“Isn’t that a testament to what a sick place the universe has become?  A man harbours a hope for peace ... That should be a good thing, a noble thing ... But instead, that hope could have led to the destruction of everything good in the cosmos ...”
The War Doctor, Only the Monstrous

Going back less than three years, it’s amazing to think how unlikely it was that there would ever be tales about the Great Time War.  The mysterious temporal-celestial conflict had underlined so many adventures since Doctor Who’s return in 2005, with the multiple appearances of the Daleks and the Master adding some flesh to bare bones. Even the Time Lords’ triumphant return in The End of Time still only gave us a tantalising glimpse of what the war was like (and how monstrous the Time Lords had become), and of the Doctor’s role in its climactic events.

Of course, we finally saw the climax to the war in the 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor, and even then the Doctor who fought in the war – in the guise of legendary thespian Sir John Hurt – was not the version of the Time Lord we would ever have expected (Hurt as the Doctor would have been the stuff of fantasy by Whovians in the dark decade of the 1990s, although this is precisely what motivated Steven Moffat to cast him!). As brilliant as he was in The Day of the Doctor, it seemed pretty clear that this would be Hurt’s one and only foray as the Time Lord. It seemed highly unlikely he’d ever reprise the role, especially as he recently overcame a cancer scare.

It’s therefore a massive coup for Big Finish that not only can it now tell stories that are set during the Time War but that Hurt has reprised the War Doctor on audio. Again, three years ago, the prospect of BF doing any material based on modern Doctor Who was remote - as was the sheer impossibility of someone of Hurt’s stature ever playing the Doctor on TV and audio. How time makes fools of us all!

The War Doctor - Volume 1: Only the Monstrous retains all the moral themes, intrigue, action and adventure that we associate with Doctor Who but with an edginess, darker tone and sometimes black humour that arises from telling what is effectively a war story. Prolific script writer, director and resident Dalek voice artist Nicholas Briggs admits in the CD extras that he is a wartime history buff (he previously touched upon the subject in the first volume of Dark Eyes, when we were first introduced to First World War nurse Molly O’Sullivan) and he uses his extensive knowledge of wartime politics and psychology to great effect in this boxset.
In particular, Briggs explores the values and dilemmas of pacificism and appeasement, both in the broader context of the Time War itself and the more “domestic” example of the planet Keska, whose peace loving and gentle inhabitants find themselves under siege from their ancestral adversaries the Taalyans. In many respects, Briggs explores themes that date back to the very first Dalek TV serial in 1963, in which a similar race of people – the Thals – find themselves at the mercy of their perennial rivals but are reluctant to resort to violence to defend themselves.

The Doctor, who has traditionally opposed violence as a means to an end throughout his incarnations, is thrust into circumstances where he can see how pacifism and appeasement is simply lost on implacable, warlike enemies. Indeed, it all becomes a “no-win” scenario, with our hero having to implement a remedy that is utterly distasteful to him and which only entrenches the self-loathing that will plague him in his subsequent incarnations. As the 12th Doctor so beautifully put it in Doctor Who’s most recent TV season: “Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones but you still have to choose ...”

Only the Monstrous comprises three one-hour episodes that, like other boxsets across BF’s range, form one greater story. The first episode, The Innocent, has a very different style of pace to the later instalments, as the Time Lord formerly known as the Doctor (“Don’t call me that! It’s not me!”)  crashes on Keska after an initial stoush above Gallifrey with the Dalek time fleet. Much to his confusion and disapproval, he is cared for by a young Keskan woman Rejoice (Lucy Briggs-Owen), whose gentle, almost childlike and naive outlook on life is refreshing and comforting for the aged, weary and embittered warrior.

The tone of the story also gives John Hurt a chance to develop the War Doctor’s character. Hurt’s initial dialogue with Rejoice, which is cranky, dismissive, bad-tempered and cynical, is very reminiscent of William Hartnell’s First Doctor. But whereas the First Doctor often hid a more mischievous and kind-hearted persona behind his veneer of impatience, discourtesy, distrust and arrogance, it becomes clear in this episode that the War Doctor’s reasons for putting up his guard are more psychosomatic – he is traumatised and disgusted by the terrible things he has seen and done so far in the Time War. This is exemplified by the intensity of Hurt’s performance in one scene when Rejoice suggests that the Doctor isn’t a monster. As Donna Noble once remarked, the Doctor needs companions to keep him in check and level-headed – and while Hurt’s rendition of the Doctor may prefer to work alone so that others remain safe from harm, it is clear that he could benefit from the counsel of a travelling companion.

The implication in The Day of the Doctor was that the War Doctor was prepared to abandon the Doctor’s traditional moral code and do what his other incarnations would not. Yet, when you hear Hurt’s masterful performance, you realise his interpretation is not that far removed from his predecessors and successors. Far from being immoral, the War Doctor is the most ethical character amongst the Time Lords we meet, if not the most principled protagonist full stop. At one point, he admonishes his people: “We’re better than this! We’re not Daleks!” He remains true and faithful to the Doctor’s core values throughout the saga and especially in later scenes with Rejoice in the serials The Thousand Worlds and The Heart of the Battle he shows compassion and empathy (Hurt’s scenes with an older Rejoice, played by Survivors veteran Carolyn Seymour, are amongst the most touching scenes in the three plays). Hurt’s also not without plenty of moments of humour – some of his lines in the three plays you can imagine were delivered with a twinkle in his eye, again aligning the War Doctor closer to the Doctor’s other incarnations than we previously thought.

The War Doctor has an intellectual equal in the Time Lord hierarchy who is sure to become a fan favourite and memorable antagonist in future boxsets. Jacqueline Pearce brings gravitas, clout and mischief to the devious, scheming and hardnosed Cardinal Ollistra. Although Pearce says in the CD extras that she tried hard to deliver a performance that was not too similar to that of her Blake’s 7 alter ego Servalan, the parallels between the two characters are unavoidable. It is not just Ollistra’s crafty behaviour that echoes Servalan but even some of her dialogue – when Ollistra tells the Doctor at the climax that it is her responsibility to ensure the Time Lords are protected from the “contagious virus of fear and appeasement”, she expresses a sentiment not too dissimilar to Servalan’s famous remark in B7 that “Where there’s life, there’s threat”. Whether it is deliberate or inadvertent on scribe Nick Briggs’ part, Pearce’s character brings an element of B7’s “realpolitik” to this Time War era of Doctor Who. Ollistra’s determination to preserve the Time Lords’ power base at seemingly any cost also illustrates how treacherous and dangerous the Time War-era Time Lords have become (and why they were so feared in The Night of the Doctor and The Time of the Doctor).

The other Time Lord characters we meet are by comparison to the War Doctor or Ollistra typically arrogant, cold-mannered and ruthless or at the very least morally compromised and craven. BF regular Beth Chalmers shrugs off (as she describes it) her more “wholesome” demeanour as the frosty, abrasive Time Lady operative Veklin, a woman who makes Mary Tamm’s initial portrayal of Romana in The Ribos Operation look positively cuddly! Chalmers has played numerous parts across BF’s Doctor Who range over the years (most notably as Seventh Doctor companion Raine Creevy) but Veklin by far is her most memorable performance. She deserves to reprise the role in future War Doctor instalments, as Veklin is precisely the type of “companion” the War Doctor needs!
Barnaby Edwards’ Arverton and Kieran Hodgson’s Bennus are virtually the “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern” of the saga. Unlike Veklin, they do not strike you as fearless, battle-hardened soldiers at all, but hapless stooges, especially the more timid Bennus (although it becomes clear late in proceedings why Bennus behaves as he does and why he and Arverton have been selected for the mission to Keska). Alex Wyndham also delivers a plausible, sterling performance as Time Lord official Seratrix, the apparent holder of vital strategic secrets that could decide the outcome of the Time War. As noble as Seratrix originally appears, it becomes all too clear in The Heart of the Battle that this dignity hides a selfish, heartless and unsympathetic streak that seems inescapable in all of the Time War-era Gallifreyans.

The other supporting characters in Only the Monstrous are well written by Briggs and ably realised by the respective actors. Both Briggs-Owen and Seymour excel as prospective companion Rejoice at different stages in her life. Dalek Empire veteran Mark McDonnell makes the most of a limited, two-dimensional part as the Taalyan warlord Traanus (as Dalek henchmen, the brutish Taalyans don’t seem altogether much brighter than their predecessors the Ogrons!) and John Banks injects dignity into an even smaller but no less important role as reluctant scientist Garv.

Briggs, of course, continues to excel as the Daleks, using his voice to delineate between the regular drones and the sector-controlling Prime Dalek. Strangely, though, the Dalek threat in this trilogy of plays tends to be more abstract. There is a “grand plan” at the heart of the Prime Dalek’s “null zone” empire that could tilt the balance in the Time War but Briggs prefers to focus on the immediacy of that threat to the countless populations of more than 1000 worlds caught up in the Daleks’ machinations; in doing so, he holds up a mirror whose reflection barely distinguishes between Time Lords and Daleks.

If you’re a long-term listener of BF’s Doctor Who range and its assorted spin-offs, then you will not be surprised by the high quality of the production, whether that be Howard Carter’s outstanding incidental music and sound design (eg crashing TARDIS engines, Dalek and Time Lord weapon discharges, the motorised whirring of Daleks on the move) or Briggs’ direction and editing. Carter’s rendition of the Doctor Who theme for the War Doctor’s adventures is particularly inspired – heavy metal sounds and drumbeats underscore a fast-paced theme arrangement that effectively conveys a wartime atmosphere. Carter even has some fun in The Thousand Worlds when he devises the Taalyans’ war music – a cacophony of metallic beats that prompts the Doctor to dryly remark that the Taalyans are both “genocidal – and tone deaf!” It’s a delicious irony then that the Daleks are routed after being “deafened” by a premeditated burst of sound!

In all, The War Doctor – Only the Monstrous is a fantastic start to what promises to be an epic series of boxsets over the next two years. Briggs has certainly set a high standard for other writers to follow in future volumes. Coupled with a magnificent cast led by John Hurt and Jacqueline Pearce, and with veteran David Warner also set to join them in Volume 2, there is every reason to be optimistic that the War Doctor saga will become one of BF’s most popular and acclaimed Doctor Who spin-offs. Who would have picked that when the War Doctor was just a gleam in Steven Moffat’s imagination three years ago?

Written by Jenny T Colgan, Justin Richards,
James Goss and Matt Fitton
Directed by Ken Bentley
Big Finish Productions, 2016
Stars: Alex Kingston (River Song), Paul McGann (The Doctor), Samuel West (Mr Song), Alexander Vlahos (Bertie Potts), Alexander Siddig (Marcus Gifford), Imogen Stubbs (Isabella Clerkwell), Gbemisola Ikumelo (Prim), Charlotte Christie (Daphne Garsington), Alisdair Simpson (Colonel Lifford), Oliver Dimsdale (Archie Ferrers), John Banks (Professor Straiton), Letty Butler (Spritz), John Voce (Jenkins),
Aaron Neil (Sanukuma Master)

“You know nothing about my life! You don’t know what I’ve lost, what I had to do, who I had to leave behind! You think you were a pawn in someone else’s scheme – you don’t know the half of it!”

River Song, The Diary of River Song: The Boundless Sea

Over the years, Doctor Who has hinted at River Song’s exploits away from her husband. On TV, we’ve seen some brief examples of her misadventures, such as her near death experience-cum-rescue on the Byzantium in the prologue to The Time of Angels and her dealings with Winston Churchill, Dorium Maldovar and Liz Ten (not to mention her impersonation of Cleopatra in a Roman army camp!) in The Pandorica Opens. She’s clearly also intimidated the Daleks at some point because she made one beg for mercy before dispatching it! Away from the TV series, she’s even applied her private detective skills in the e-novella The Angel’s Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery.

But it was only recently in the 2015 Christmas special The Husbands of River Song that we really saw River in full flight. She showed that, oblivious to the presence of the Doctor, she can be every bit as resourceful, charming, vivacious, black-humoured, demanding, commanding, duplicitous, ruthless, mischievous and self-interested as the unsavoury characters and groups that she encounters in her travels, eg King Hydroflax, the Harmony and Redemption’s maitre ’d Flemming. And, without his knowledge, she’s not above stealing her husband’s TARDIS on occasions to complete her missions! Alex Kingston’s performance in The Husbands of River Song was strongly reminiscent of Harrison Ford’s famous archaeologist persona Indiana Jones, another character not averse to gambling on huge odds and skating on thin ice while striving to stay one step ahead of the plot’s antagonists.

The Diary of River Song is a great opportunity to hear River in her prime, strutting her stuff and (no doubt in her mind) being pretty marvellous without the Doctor around. It follows a similar formula to Big Finish’s other Doctor Who boxsets (including the recent adventures of BF’s other resident archaeologist Professor Bernice Summerfield) – four linked tales, each part of a greater story but each being sufficiently different in style and atmosphere to maintain the listener’s interest. There is definitely a pay-off in the final instalment, as River runs into an earlier incarnation of her husband – the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) – and must assist him without giving away her identity and potentially disrupting the Doctor’s timeline.

Jenny T Colgan’s The Boundless Sea is the most entertaining of the first three instalments. It’s a riff on the old MGM/Hammer Egyptian mummy horror story, as River investigates disappearances at a newly-opened Mesopotamian tomb in the 1920s. The tomb is plagued by mysterious fireflies and a reanimated 3000-year old corpse with an insatiable thirst for fluids. Doctor Who in the modern era has really upped the menace of its monsters as protagonists find that they cannot suppress natural, inevitable vulnerabilities that play to the creatures’ strengths, ie blink (the Weeping Angels), don’t look away (the Silence), don’t breathe (the clockwork men in Deep Breath) or don’t think (the Bank Teller in Time Heist). The Boundless Sea offers its own variation on these themes and as a result, the sense of threat in the serial’s climactic stages is convincing. Colgan, however, still manages to elicit enough sympathy from the listener for the villain of the piece; the mummy’s back story is tragic and poignant in equal measure, and even River herself can relate to the character’s desire for another chance at life – and revenge.

Justin Richards’ I Went to a Marvellous Party is a traditional “who-dunnit” on a spaceship that is host to one of the galaxy’s most exclusive, elitist parties, hosted by a triumvirate that informally self-style themselves as the Rulers of the Universe: Marcus (Star Trek DS9 veteran Alexander Siddig), Isabella (Imogen Stubbs) and Bertie (Alexander Vlahov, better known as BF’s Dorian Gray). River, of course, receives an invitation for the most mysterious of reasons, and it is not long before she is playing sleuth after two murders occur aboard “The Party” ship. This instalment is the weakest of the four serials. As Richards himself admits in the “Making of ...” CD, his task as a writer is to ensure that events unfold in a manner that links with the next story in the quadrilogy. Unfortunately, this means Richards’ story is really a “by-the-numbers” contribution that appears to have been hastily written and isn’t necessarily well thought out (and given this is the first boxset in a new series, I’m surprised that a “by-the-numbers” affair is required so early!). The reasons for the murders and the identities of the killers are anti-climactic and dull and as a result the serial proves to be quite underwhelming and disappointing.

James Goss’s two-hander Signs is a little more engaging than Marvellous Party, largely due to the camaraderie between River and Samuel West’s Mr Song (in the CD extras, West jokes that the part is a great opportunity for him to show off his wares as the next Doctor Who!), but the plot is not compelling faire either. River goes on a quest in search of the spore ships, vessels that are once believed to have seeded life in the universe but are now being employed to extinguish it on civilised worlds. The narrative flits back and forth through time, as River battles radiation sickness and is nursemaided by the enigmatic Mr Song who seems more concerned with the ways you prepare triangle sandwiches and a pot of tea than he is with River’s health or the threat posed by the spore ships. Of course, Mr Song’s agenda is not as benign as it ought to be and River proves to be ... well, not quite herself (spoilers!).

However, the ending to Signs feels hurried and ill-thought out – and the manner in which River extricates herself from her predicament is unconvincing. One of the common criticisms of modern Doctor Who is the manner in which the Doctor and his companions can often “magic” their way out of trouble without logical explanation. In Goss’s conclusion, we’re also expected to believe that River simply out-thinks her way out of her predicament but there is little evidence in the dialogue to convey how she worked out she was ever in danger in the first place! In the CD extras, Goss says that he wrote this piece within a day or so – you are definitely left wondering if he should have committed some extra thought to the conclusion.

Fortunately, the quality of the writing improves in the final instalment The Rulers of the Universe, as the Eighth Doctor becomes entangled in “The Party” society’s agenda to capture a spore ship. Not only does Matt Fitton deliver a cracking script after Richards’s and Goss’s weaker efforts but he also raises the stakes at two levels – for the Doctor, it’s about averting a cosmic plan that will change the universe forever, while for River, it’s about assisting her man and ensuring his survival without letting him know who she is.

Paul McGann gets to stretch his performance as the Eighth Doctor; this is the Time Lord closer to the end of his eighth incarnation, at an unspecified point of the Time War (before The Night of the Doctor), not the Eighth Doctor as we last heard him in the first volume of The Doom Coalition. McGann conveys a sense of weariness and cynicism in his Doctor that comes from having already witnessed aspects of the Time War first hand, even if at this point he has resisted pleas to actively take part. As a result, with the focus more on the Doctor, The Rulers of the Universe feels more like a regular BF Doctor Who serial than a River Song adventure. Nevertheless, there are still some quirky River moments – especially when she explains to a perplexed Bertie how she manages to sabotage “The Party” ship, despite apparently lacking the resources to do so. This wouldn’t be possible in a regular Doctor Who release; it’s the sort of behaviour the Doctor (not to mention most other Time Lords) would frown upon and would never dare to attempt or exact!

The dialogue between Alex Kingston and Paul McGann suggests this will be a great River/Doctor pairing for audio. With River set to guest star in The Doom Coalition saga later this year, it will be fascinating to see how this relationship is developed, especially as she will be journeying even further back in the Eighth Doctor’s timeline.

Despite the inconsistency of the scripts in this boxset, Big Finish’s sound production values as ever remain high (I particularly enjoyed Howard Carter’s James Bond-like signature tune for River) and director Ken Bentley does an impressive job of casting the supporting characters. Alex Kingston, of course, owns not just the part of River but really the entire saga. She has a commanding presence on audio that maintains your attention from the get-go, even in the two faltering middle instalments. We see how ruthless River can be when she’s crossed, especially in the concluding moments of Signs: “I’m sure it’s all very nice for two omnipotent forces to play chess with the universe ... but they’re about to discover that a pawn can become queen!”

Kingston also skilfully conveys moments when River expresses a whole gamut of emotions, eg compassion, humour, sarcasm, sadness, anger and remorse. She really puts her heart and soul into the performance and eclipses most of the supporting actors around her.

Overall, The Diary of River Song is a relatively good, if not brilliant, start to River’s adventures on audio. The boxset has its hits and misses but Alex Kingston proves that she can hold her own in a River-centric series and the stories, as diverse as they are in terms of style and settings, at least show that there is great potential for ongoing adventures. There’s an unanswered question from this boxset that, while probably minor in the scheme of things, could inform future adventures. River talks in The Boundless Sea of doing her “penance”, as if the reason she has taken up residence in 1920s London is because of an overwhelming sense of guilt (perhaps over her part in the Silence’s efforts to assassinate the 11th Doctor).  By the end of the boxset, it’s clear she is done being manipulated, whether that’s by the Kovarian chapter of the Church of Silence, or the Rulers of the Universe. No doubt in future series, this is one lady who will mean business!

PERFORMED by Louise Jameson
 

Written By: Dale Smith
Directed By: Lisa Bowerman

 

Sound Design + Music: Rob Harvey

Cover Art: Mark Plastow

 

Producer and Script Editor: Michael Stevens

Executive Producers: Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

 

Released December 2015,
Big Finish Productions

"Why would they continue to worship him?"

"They don't they just fear him. He's the only god they have, and they live in terror of him invading their dreams.. If he comes, that's it. Day by day, you waste away. Then you die."

Jed explaining a dark legend to the Doctor and Leela.

The mighty Earth Empire is about to formally return control of one of its colonised planets back to the original native Alphans. During this handover, the Fourth Doctor and Leela  are soon involved in finding out that some legends can be very much reality; in this case the myth of the planet's undisputed one God, known as "The Black Dog". Leela's very individuality becomes endangered, and the Doctor must take a rather more passive role as he tries to understand a battle being fought in the darker corners of the human mind..

This play once again is narrated and voice acted by someone who portrayed of the most memorable female companions in the original TV show. Louise Jameson is without doubt of the best actresses to grace Doctor Who, and here she makes the most of myriad opportunities to bring an intriguing story to life. She also manages to do the male characters justice, and yet retains the feminine charm of her own primary 'noble savage' protagonist.

The magnetic Fourth Doctor is never going to be forgotten in any story that features him, but here he truly must rely on the amazing willpower of his stout-hearted companion. Lesser mortals would almost certainly be overcome by the potent curse that the 'God' inflicts on its victims. He still gets some nice lines and offers his considerable skill and intellect to finding a solution to the curse.

There are some overlapping themes with Leela's remarkably quirky debut story The Face Of Evil,  which gained a rather unexpected repeat in the UK close to the time this title was released. There is also some interesting and smartly done world-building. For such a restricted running time, the information that the listener processes is arguably comparable with a proper feature length TV story of four episodes. The story is notable in starting somewhere in the middle, and then proceeding to provide explanations that feel organic and of little obstruction to the play's momentum.

The Black Dog has a backstory that is truly grim, but fascinating and poignant too. It is also a worthy foe, that possesses a tangible gravitas. The idea of victims being under this spirit's sway is a core concept, and resonates some time after the last sound has been heard by the listener. Leela is one of the most buoyant naturally optimistic companions that the Doctor ever acquired in his travels, but still human, and still more than able to suffer in terms of her mentality and her spirit.

The Doctor's 'noble savage' assistant is still a character with much potential; even after many more original stories have been done in the last couple of decades. Here she gets some good development, in that flashes of her inner fear are exposed, and yet her determination still comes coursing through. And even if the victorious outcome is inevitable, there are some mental scars that Leela is likely to still contend with. This means the aftermath feels less cosy and flippant than would be the case in a more bland and risk-averse script.

And the play works on multiple levels. One of the most famous British Prime Ministers suffered from his self-described 'black dog'. Yet Winston Churchill managed to live a long and distinguished life. Similarly here, the threat of all-pervading doom is a tough thing to process, but with the right willpower, there is hope. 

The play does not have all that much location changing or full on action in some senses, but there is a real atmosphere that really makes this Short Trip breathe full life. The music is very nicely done, and does not ever come across as intrusive. It also is used selectively by Rob Harvey to punctuate turns of events or changes of scenery.

The dialogue is very natural sounding as well, and helps in distinguishing the different personalities involved. Of course, were this not the case I believe Jameson's skill still would be able to perform this important task. There are some beautiful sentences during much of the narration. Thus, this certainly would work well in written form too. Indeed Short Trips began as book anthologies, and well before this current line of original audios. And the very final passage to close the play is truly poetic and haunting.

One small criticism is that we have a mild profanity uttered by Jed - the main guest character - and on several occasions. Certainly it would never pass the higher-ups involved during the original Hinchcliffe and Williams stories, let alone Mary Whitehouse. And yet the extended Doctor Who universe has often ventured into such territory, partly in an effort to shake off the tag of Doctor Who being just for young children. The legacy of more intricately plotted and authentically characterised tales - arguably forming the most in the Virgin New Adventures book line - cannot and should not be ignored.

So overall, this is another fine title from the Big Finish team and I am glad more Short Trips will continue to materialise on a monthly basis - as of now.

When the previous series of this long-running spin-off  drew to a close, there was a massive game-changer that affected Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot. Having been declared as would-be assassins of the Queen, they had to go on the run and undercover.

The extrapolation of The Talons Of Weng Chiang's brilliant 'double act' - and the more stock types of characters they encounter in a manner that engages - is something that consistently manages to hit the mark. To have the vastly experienced Benjamin and Baxter - who utter every recorded line to perfection - is crucial. These leading men also manage to promote an ensemble dynamic with cast and crew, that ensures the stories feel sufficiently engaging.  

My own anticipation for Series Seven was that some or all of the stories would involve the leads having to be on the run as part of the actual storylines, and probably having to resort to safety abroad. As it turns out, though, the production team opt for more of the same Victoriana mayhem that was prominent in most prior series. With the duo taking on different names and identities, but holding onto as many aspects of their real selves as possible, they somehow are able to inhabit their new lives somewhat convincingly.

There is good continuity and thematic clarity throughout. The first and third stories both often refer to the fictional detective that helped inspire Talons in the first place. However, they are distinct in style, and one does not rely on the other. The second story certainly could be placed in another season where the heroes are not on the run, but still works very well as a character piece that explores the cumulative pressure they have had to cope with. By contrast, the finale not only is kicked off by their 'arrest' for their 'crimes', but goes onto try and address those loose threads from Series Six.

1 - The Monstrous Menagerie by Jonathan Morris

Jago and Litefoot have obtained sanctuary at Baker Street, with some help from Professor Dark. They soon meet the famous scribe Arthur Conan Doyle, who has become extremely jaded with his trademark creation of Sherlock Holmes. They agree to taking on the 'roles' of Holmes and Watson, so as to help a woman called Laura Lyons who is facing supposed persecution by a certain Mr Baskerville.

Supernatural creatures soon make this whole affair a lot more complex than even the brilliant Conan Doyle could have envisaged..

Morris knows a thing or two about good Doctor Who, and its extended universe. I was impressed with his linking of well-known Conan Doyle stories to the events the  author is entangled in. It has a lovely performance from Steven Miller as Conan Doyle.  Suitably treacherous and single minded villains also make the story feel urgent and compelling.

2 - The Night of 1000 Stars by James Goss

Leela of the Sevateem has turned up (minus the Doctor) rather unexpectedly. Jago, Litefoot, and Ellie Higson must contain any delight when a dangerous entity forces them all to take shelter in their house on Baker Street. Various tales of the past begin to be told, but paranoia and suspicion also begin to take hold over the group of four.

Whilst the writer is a newcomer to the show this series, he nonetheless comes up with a gripping chiller here. Set in just one room for much of the running time, it is able to use sound effects and have a broader canvass. There is a frequent sense of an act being performed to an indistinct crowd.

Louise Jameson is as good as ever as Leela, but there is a different dynamic to her character which ties in with the story's resolution most satisfyingly. We also get to see the more deplorable aspects of our two title heroes, but this only goes to add depth and believability to them.

3 - Murder at Moorsey Manor by Simon Barnard and Paul Morris

Jago and Litefoot are now desperate to clear their name, and so visit Moorsey Manor. There, they encounter a rather varied group of eccentric people, and any one of those could be behind a gruesome events that ensues. The very finest deductive skill is needed from our two heroes as the body count rises further.

This is quite an enjoyable story, even if the eventual antagonist is portrayed in broad strokes, and a bit less interesting than the 'fake person' they had been beforehand. Also it can be hard to visualise the closing action scenes when they come around, making this feel perhaps somewhat belonging to another medium than audio.

4 -  The Wax Princess  by Justin Richards

Still seeking an all-important pardon from Queen Victoria, there is just the small matter of catching the fugitive Jack the Ripper for the duo. As one would fear, girls have begun to go missing again, and from Jago's very own New Regency Theatre. A dark plan eventually is unveiled, and one that could have catastrophic consequences for the British Empire, as a deceased heir to the Queen somehow is returning to life.

As with other finales from yesteryear, this is dramatic, fast paced and never loosens its grip. The Ripper is a difficult character to do 'wrong' creatively, and furthermore is brought to life by one of the guest cast. (But I dare not spoil who that is, as it provides a nice twist in the tale).

Documentary on Making The Show

Having been underwhelmed by some Big Finish documentaries, this edition does a lot to mend my belief. Courtesy of a generous running time of about 75 minutes, we hear from the team who have much experience by now of working together, but still are able to reflect and summarise their efforts in a fresh way. I particularly enjoyed the  insight into rehearsals and getting to hear Lisa Bowerman's assertive direction.

The Sherlock Holmes themes recurring across 'Menagerie' and 'Moorsey Manor' are  revealed to be through thematic coincidence, and not deliberate design. There also is some good explanation on how the leads are so crucial to the whole enterprise working, and how splitting them up too long is not a good idea in general. 

Most notably, this extra feature showcases plenty of clips from other Big Finish stories, and they are inserted in a suitably organic manner. The excerpts help greatly in either jogging regulars' memories, or piquing the interest of those less familiar in seeking out those other stories.

                                                                                                                   **

This is a confident batch of stories, backed up by a clutch of behind the scenes' gems. Unlike other years' output, I cannot single out a 'weak link' and particularly enjoyed the first and final stories. As such then, this is the most consistently solid box set in the range I have thus far experienced.

Written by Joseph Lidster
​Directed by Barnaby Edwards
Starring: Tracy-Ann Oberman (Yvonne Hartman), Gareth Armstrong (Barry Jackson), Rebecca Lacey (Helen Evans), Dan Starkey (Ross Bevan), Catrin Stewart (Meredith Bevan)
​Released by Big Finish Productions - December 2015

For better or for worse, the quirky premise powering the fourth instalment in Big Finish's first season of Torchwood ​initially sounds more akin to that of a parody take on the original series as opposed to a respectful continuation of what came before; after all, can you really imagine one of the intrepid Torchwood Three team ever spending almost an entire episode roaming the intoxicated (both metaphorically and ​literally, in this case) streets of Cardiff in the hope of protecting local mayoral candidates from a series of grisly demises? Either way, that's precisely the situation which Yvonne Hartman, the short-lived commander in chief of Canary Wharf's Torchwood One who had both her entrance and exit in 2006's two-part Doctor Who ​serial "Army of Ghosts / Doomsday", finds herself in as she travels over from England's capital to Cardiff Bay just three weeks after both cities fell under siege from the Nestene Consciousness' Auton armies in March 2005.

It perhaps shouldn't come as a great surprise to any keen follower of the Whoniverse that far from the aforementioned extraterrestrial attack seeming to have had any noteworthy impact on Welsh society's apparently universal (at least if the manner in which One Rule ​depicts England's neigbours is any indication) appetite for an extravagant, no holds barred nightlife, life appears to have moved on in such a way that Cardiff's residents regard the attempted invasion more as a running joke than anything else. Indeed, in a similar vein, this reviewer couldn't help but gain the suspicion that whereas The Conspiracy and in particular last month's ​Forgotten Lives ​were intended to serve as reminders that the darker, often more enticing elements of Torchwood ​as a franchise still live on in aural form, Joseph Lidster hoped to demonstrate that much of the humour which came to define the show over the course of its five-year tenure still resides in Big Finish's adaptation, even if doing so meant crafting a more simplistic, inconsequential piece of drama than its recent predecessors.

In case any readers are wondering based on that sweeping assertion whether Lidster's latest addition to the history of the organisation which still insists on branding itself as being "outside the government, beyond the police" doesn't deserve their time, rest assured that whilst it's far from the series' finest hour to date (either in terms of its newly-conceived audio incarnation or in terms of the overall saga which began life way back in 2006 with the aptly-named "Everything Changes" on BBC Three), One Rule ​still provides its listeners with more than enough in the way of laughs, memorably exaggerated set-pieces (most of which brilliantly play on Yvonne's undisguised disdain for the working class by placing the character in an all manner of situations where social etiquette is immediately thrown out of the window) and intelligent references to the programme's now less than recent history - look out in particular for an unexpected development with regards to Ianto's burgeoning romantic relations with a certain soon-to-be "Cyberwoman" - to warrant its asking price. There's no doubting that Lidster still holds just as keen an understanding of what the Torchwood ​fan-base was surely looking for from this quasi-prequel tale (not least some insight into Torchwood One's perspective on everyone's favourite ragtag team of Welsh secret agents) and better yet, how best to exploit Tracey-Ann Oberman's character so as to ensure she reaches her full potential here.

Of course, had Oberman not brought the trademark wit, droll outlook on the so-called British Empire in its current state and vengeful charisma which rendered her somewhat tragic construct as such an instantaneous hit in the eyes of fans in 2006, then Lidster's efforts to resurrect Yvonne in style might well have been fruitless at best. As was the case with John Barrowman in September, Gareth David-Lloyd in October and the dynamic duo of Eve Myles and Kai Owen just two short months ago, however, the ​Eastenders ​star brings with her all of those qualities and so much more, infusing ​One Rule ​with a relentless sense of energy and momentum even when its central plot arc - which rarely taps into themes much deeper than surface-level political corruption or the needlessly selfish aspects of human nature - grinds to a halt for no other reason than to have her character down another pint or find herself the subject of social ridicule as a result of the state in which her increasingly digressive mission leaves her. This isn't to say that Lidster and / or Big Finish need necessarily hurry to invite Oberman back for further appearances in the role, but rather that if they elect to take this approach, then even if Ms. Hartman's next outing falls similarly short in terms of overall narrative ambition, then at least we can breathe a sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that having her at the reins will at least guarantee the audience a hilarious (albeit low-octane) ride.

Yet if Oberman represents this oft-uninspiring fourth chapter's saving grace, then unfortunately, her co-stars can easily be singled out as one of the primary factors behind its failure to captivate: neither Gareth Armstrong nor Rebecca Lacey afford their respective councillors any more enthusiasm or political / emotional nuances than the script asks of them, instead simply casting both constructs as wholly one-dimensional Welsh citizens, with only Lacey's Helen Evans coming anywhere close to representing an empathetic construct as she enters into a brief discussion with Yvonne on the subject of her somewhat empowering approach to politics late in the day. Worse still, whilst one could arguably have relied upon the Paternoster Gang's own Dan Starkey and Catrin Stewart to elevate proceedings to a certain extent in most cases, the married couple the pair portray barely make it through a single scene before taking their leave, meaning that neither of the two talented thespians receive more than the briefest of moments to leave an impact despite them having more than proved their joint ability to hold their own in recent Who ​serials such as "The Crimson Horror" and "Deep Breath". Naturally, some characters in an action-driven storyline must inevitably exist only to progress said narrative with their untimely departures, yet to have Starkey and ​Stewart fulfil such menial roles when they might well have served the release as a whole better had they traded places with Armstrong and Lacey seems a counter-productive move on either Lidster or the studio's part(s) at best.

Nevertheless, even if ​Torchwood: One Rule ​won't likely go down as a prime example of what makes Big Finish the strongest possible candidate to carry the show's legacy in its hands now that its televisual days are seemingly done, that it's still a far superior effort to many of the studio's monthly main Who ​releases (at least from this reviewer's modest perspective) should at least instil fans with a fair degree of confidence about the programme's immediate future on the airwaves. Oberman still presents the audience with an authentic, laugh-out-loud take on her character a decade on from her memorable on-screen debut, Lidster's script - while lacking in meaty thematic material - undeniably achieves its goal of taking the series in a more light-hearted, casual direction than was the case with the overly melodramatic Miracle Day ​(the less said about which, the better!) in 2011, and for what it's worth, despite their contributions only amounting to cameos, both Starkey and Stewart do a fine job of attempting to redeem the title's otherwise wholly underwhelming supporting cast ensemble. David Llewellyn's masterful season opener The Conspiracy ​still doesn't have anything to worry about in terms of maintaining its place on Big Finish's recently-erected Torchwood ​throne, but all the same, thanks in no small part to Oberman's return to the role, devotees of the British Empire's most dedicated servant will still find plenty to love this time around.