This review is based on the MP3 download from Big Finish, and contains spoilers.

First, a confession. I’ve never been a regular follower of any of Big Finish’s Doctor Who series, purchasing rarely and selectively over the years, so much of what I have gathered about their additions to and refinements of Doctor Who mythology has been gleaned secondhand. However – metaphorically – they have a well-stocked larder of Doctor Who ingredients and can call on the services of confectioners of the highest skill. Here, the writer-director is Nicholas Briggs, who has reportedly been known to marshal his cast in character as a Dalek and so could surely be the focus of some bizarre reality TV series.

Returning to the kitchen, Doctor Who is like chocolate in that it is served in a wide variety of forms and has its addicts and connoisseurs. Dark Eyes is presented as the sort of event story which sets out to appeal to both. Its four instalments – The Great War, Fugitives, Tangled Web and X and the Daleks – provide several hours’ worth of concentrated essence of Doctor Who, more than enough to quieten the withdrawal symptoms of the fan desperate for a new hit, but it’s the substance and texture which are the proof of this pudding. Dark Eyes is constructed from layers of Doctor Who sponge, fudge cake, cream, ganache and mousse, but it’s the craft and the proportions which count, and some of the best chocolate recipes depend on the juxtaposition of the dark and light, the bitter and the sweet.

Dark Eyes is both a literal reference to a remarkable physical characteristic of the story’s heroine, Molly O’Sullivan, and a comment on the gloom which pervades the eighth Doctor’s universe. Lucie Miller is dead, Susan betrayed, the ascendancy of the Daleks seemingly inevitable. Seeking a vantage point at the end of time from which he can look back on the universe in the hope of ‘a wonderful view’, the Doctor is tempted away from this act of finality by the promise of hope elsewhere. The Western Front in the middle of the Great War is not necessarily an unpromising place to start looking for universal redemption, and the first instalment of the story is full of great kindnesses partially masked by circumstance.

In his short time on screen, the eighth Doctor was contextualised by a heady cocoa of religious imagery, and this is reinforced here. Within a few minutes the Doctor is gassed and buried and ‘resurrected’, only to be thrust back into a series of personal hells. Somewhere along the way he presumably gains the new costume which adorns the cover illustration of Later, he and Molly go for a perspective-shifting dip in the English Channel, and she takes to referring to his home planet as ‘Galilee’. For the Doctor, though, Gallifrey is not just the place he came from, but the heaven with all the answers to which he is not allowed, in this story, to ascend. The fragmented and state of the Doctor’s mind at the start of the story is conveyed through disorienting sound design and the tones of a Paul McGann who knows how his reading of the Doctor as a forsaken immortal tortured by existence can guide the listener through a convoluted and non-linear plot.

Ruth Bradley gives Molly a rich, dark, peaty voice, capable of expressing extremes of love and defensive cynicism. Molly is an Irishwoman in domestic service in London, effectively adopted as a sister by her mistress Kitty, whom she has joined in France as a member of the Voluntary Aid Detachment of nursing auxiliaries. She is naturally well-suited to travelling with the Doctor: she is broadminded, adaptable, capable of command and not overawed by TARDIS-travelling, albeit for reasons both good and sinister. There’s a playfulness too, even a flirtatiousness, though there are also flashes of old-fashioned companion dependency which sit ill at ease with the rest of her character.

Doctor Who Magazine compared Dark Eyes to The War Games, to which it bears some similarities of setting, structure and iconography. Most of the first episode, The Great War, is set on the Western Front, where the question of whether the Doctor is a spy is raised, strange and threatening mist falls, and there is evidence of non-terrestrial intervention in events. However, the differences are perhaps more striking. At the start of The War Games the Doctor fell among the (junior) officer class, finding allies in a lieutenant and the ambulance-driving daughter of a peer of the realm. Here there are no officers, and privates and VADs are oppressed by a status-conscious matron and a doctor who hides his hostile agenda behind an American accent.

Fittingly for an incarnation of the Doctor whose experiences seem to express his inner torment, the Doctor is dogged in this story by characters who are his mirrors. Peter Egan’s urbane Straxus may be supercilious and condescending, but his ability to step outside the well-worn conventions of Time Lord thinking is an asset and he is, despite himself, quite at home conversing with the arch-yokel goatherd (a descendant of Pigbin Josh, The League of Gentlemen’s Papa Lazarou, and Babylon 5’s Zathras) who adds an appreciated bizarre note to a couple of the early Srangor scenes. Toby Jones lends believability to the somewhat inept Kotris, an ex-Time Lord crippled by self-loathing psychosis. If this didn’t remind the listener of recent interpretations of another character somewhat central to Doctor Who, the Doctor’s denunciation of Kotris’s belief in the wrongs done by the Time Lords must intentionally recall one of the most well-remembered speeches in The Trial of a Time Lord.

There’s often been an element of comfort food in Big Finish releases, and even amid the 70% cocoa questioning of the Doctor’s moral purpose, there is the chocolate cream of retroengineered continuity and allusions to the past and future of the television series. Ian Cullen’s Nadeyan enunciates names rather like his Ixta did nearly fifty years ago in The Aztecs. There are characters in The Great War whose names seem to be borrowed from early production personnel. There are time winds and of course medical personnel to be baffled by double heartbeats. As suits a story by Dalek scholar Nicholas Briggs, there are lots of homages to the work of Terry Nation in both theme and incident.

Against this Dark Eyes is animated by a relentless pressure to move on. It’s expressed in the different settings, realised in the Doctor’s search for meaning; in a breathtaking diversion which teases the listener with the prospect of the Daleks building a flower-garlanded variant of Prince Charles’s Poundbury; and the increasing complexity of the four-dimensional dance of death between Daleks and Time Lords. Andy Hardwick’s sound design deserves a large amount of credit, particularly in his imagining of the distinct sounds of different wars. There are references forward to what is from the point of view of Dark Eyes the Doctor’s future, too, tantalising as Big Finish inch closer to that bend in both licence and Doctor Who universe, the Time War.

Molly says that the Doctor reminds her of a victim of shellshock. Dark Eyes – as Straxus and the enigmatic Time Lord President seem to recognise – is not the best therapy for someone suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The scenario repeats several of the elements of the Doctor’s ill-fated relationship with Lucie Miller. The Daleks seem ubiquitous, undermining almost every small triumph the Doctor and Molly have. The way in which the schemes of Daleks and Time Lords are upset fits a story which concerns over-reliance on the analyses of processes psychological, managerial and temporal, and blindness to the fates of individuals. The nature of this kind of victory is the dusting of sugar on this particular gateau, counterbalancing some of the more bitter curls to make one wonder what flavour the eighth Doctor’s adventures will take next.

This review is based on the MP3 download from Big Finish, and contains spoilers.

Penned by 4 different authors, this years Big Finish Christmas offering is a wonderful adaptation of the ancient tale 1001 Nights, maybe better know on these shores as the Arabian Nights.

The classic version of the tale is a collection of short stories from far and wide, hence the multiple contributors – though these are actually estimated as being somewhere in the region of 260 and the phrase 1001 nights considered just an exaggerated term for many. Legend says that any person who reads the whole collection would go insane and the theme of insanity is one that is touched on throughout this intriguing reimagining.

Though there are countless versions of the tale, all share a common theme, that of a Persian King and his new bride. Having had his wife executed for her infidelity, he becomes bitter and marries a succession of virgins who he executes the next morning, until he meets the daughter of Vizier – the man charged with identifying them on his behalf. In order to ensure her survival, the daughter tells the King a story, but she purposefully does not finish by nightfall. A curious King orders her to proceed with her tale the following evening - and so she continues for 1001 nights.

Here, the storyteller is Nyssa, who is forced to recount tales of her adventures with her time travelling companion, so as to keep the imprisoned Doctor alive. But who is the mysterious Sultan and the captive who resides in the dungeon with our timelord hero?

The Plot:

With the Doctor locked away in a prison cell awaiting execution, Nyssa plots to delay his demise by telling stories of their travels to the Sultan. Speaking of their adventures and how they moved between worlds, she explains that they came to the planet to deactivate a beacon that was hidden in the Palace, belonging to the Gantha - the Sultan’s interest is peaked.

Her next tale sees the travellers aiming for the Celestial Basilica, but in true Tardis style, they arrive instead in prison grounds, to find a man tortured in an electric chair surrounded by a fixed atom force field. Here we are introduced to the Myaxa and a truth that binds prisoner and executioner together throughout eternity.

Next we meet Elizabeth Spinker, resident of a large house with a single aid –her other servants having long since fled. Screams are heard loudly in the distance as she awaits the arrival of the specialist, a man her father knew long ago. A ring at the doorbell indicates his arrival and reveals the identity of a man who left the patient there long, long ago – so as not to infect his Tardis. Here he tackles a mysterious virus and tries to release the friend within whom it resides.

As Nyssa moves on to her next tale, deep in the dungeons, the Doctor finally uncovers the true identity of the man aiding his escape and they make their way towards the Tardis – but they are not alone in their quest. As Nyssa feeds her captor more and more information, so the Doctor begins to weaken and his memories begin to fade. Will they arrive before his mind is lost forever?

What Works:

Well firstly, he’s my Doctor… we’ve all got one and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Peter Davison is on top form in this offering and Sarah Sutton delivers an equally accomplished performance.

The individual stories are of differing strength, but the tale that underpins them is very strong indeed and a great way to bring the curtain down on an exceptional year for big Finish.

I do love an affectionate nod to the past and this time it is delivered by Elizabeth Spiniker. Those who recall Sharaz Jek’s verbal jousting in The Caves of Androzani will remember that, whatever people make of the Doctors appearance, the eyes tell a different story.

What Doesn't:

Well not an awful lot in fact – my only gripe is the 'story of stories', where tales and jokes are currency. The concept here is very weak in comparison to the rest of the tale and brought my final rating down to reflect my disappointment.

Summary:

A really strong offering with a clever and intricate plot. As for the ‘story of stories’ section, it’s what the fast forward button was made for!

Rating 7.5/10

This review is based on the MP3 download from Big Finish, and contains minor spoilers.

Featuring the blustering, bombastic Sixth Doctor, as portrayed by Colin Baker, The Acheron Pulse is the second in a trilogy of recently released Big Finish audio adventures set in the Drashani Empire – a galaxy-spanning civilisation akin to a futuristic Rome, and like the Roman Empire, beset both by internal turmoil and external invaders.

In the first part of the trilogy, The Burning Prince, the Fifth Doctor found himself caught up in an interplanetary rescue mission to the swampy planetoid Sharnax, populated by marauding alien beasts known as the Igris – later revealed to be a rebellious, genetically engineered slave race.

Despite the Doctor’s involvement, the mission – intended to unite the Empire by ensuring a wedding between two warring noble houses – was not a success.

The Plot:

Following the deaths of Princess Aliona of House Gadarel and her fiancée Prince Kylo of House Sorsha, in the skies over Sharnax, Aliona's infant cousin, Cheni Gadarel (Kirsty Besterman) was crowned Empress of the Drashani. Thirty years later, the Doctor – once again travelling alone – returns to the Empire, though a little later than he’d intended, in order to visit Empress Cheni and fulfil a promise made to a dying man. Landing on the relatively primitive planet of Cawdor, he is quickly caught up in a drama involving bloodthirsty native tribesmen, arrogant aliens who think themselves better than the local populace, and a monomaniacal, vengeance-obsessed foe.

For many years, under Cheni's rule, peace reigned. Now that peace is threatened by the Wrath – a mysterious race led by the sepulchral Lord Deliverer, Tenebris (James Wilby).

Wielding a dreadful weapon capable of laying waste to worlds – the Acheron Pulse – the Wrath seem intent on destroying the Empire completely, and only the Doctor stands in their way – as long as he can get away from the barbarian warriors who have taken him prisoner on Cawdor…

Observations:

Compared to its predecessor, a tightly scripted and fast-paced adventure, The Acheron Pulse feels cumbersome and clumsy. Plot strands feel forced and predictable, and despite a technically proficient production overseen by director Ken Bentley, the story fails to generate tension and drama.

The script, by Rick Briggs, features characters so two dimensional that they’re virtually cartoonish, the most exaggerated of which is the barbarian warlord Athrid (Chook Sibtain), into whose hands the Doctor first falls when he lands on Cawdor. Reminiscent of King Yrcanos from The Trial of a Time Lord parts Five to Eight (aka Mindwarp) Athrid is quickly established as a violent buffoon; bloodthirsty and stupid but essentially decent, and certainly a potential ally for the Doctor – an impression which is jarringly contradicted by his sexual assault upon an incognito Empress Cheni in episode one.

Additional characters, including a minor Drashani envoy, Duhkin Stubbs (Joseph Kloska) and Cawdorian technician Teesha (Jane Slavin), as well as Tenebris himself, also lack definition and detail, though Jane Slavin does an excellent and engaging job as Teesha, Athrid’s strong-willed wife and battle-partner.

Uncomfortable sexual politics and thinly-written characters aside, the unlikely idea that an Empress would travel incognito to witness diplomatic negotiations between Cawdor and her Empire, when her Empire is under attack from a mysterious warlord, makes suspension of belief difficult, while at least one of the major plot threads – the defence of Cawdor by Teesha and Athrid’s barbarian horde – feels like filler. Even the main plot, involving the Doctor, Cheni and Tenebris (whose identity, when it is revealed, fails to surprise) elicits little in the way of suspense or narrative tension, while the lack of a regular companion means the listener needs to become emotionally invested in the lives and actions of the supporting cast – a challenge when the characters they play are so thinly drawn.

An additional subplot involving an alternate dimension, the Undervoid, and further revelations concerning the origins of the Wrath and the Igris, also fails to sustain interest, although it does provide Colin Baker with an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the Sixth Doctor’s intelligence and arrogance, via a decision that will no doubt have devastating results come the final part of the trilogy.

Conclusion:

While The Burning Prince was a well-written story marred by a key performer’s overacting (that same actor performs well here, suggesting the fault was primarily a directorial one) The Acheron Pulse is a disappointing story featuring strong performances. Its laboured and predictable plot, two dimensional characters, and an anti-climactic ending fail to sustain interest or narrative tension over its four episodes, resulting in a disappointing middle third to Big Finish's latest trilogy. Thankfully, the epilogue, though again featuring extremely clichéd characters, promises better things to come in the final part of the series, Jonathan Morris’s The Shadow Heart.

This review is based on the MP3 download from Big Finish, and contains spoilers.

Since its 2005 television reboot, Doctor Who has become an integral part of the Christmas schedule and is now widely recognized by broadcasters and critics alike, as the perfect vehicle to convey the magic, mystery and excitement of the festive period.

This years Big Finish Christmas offering is similarly laced with that magical feel; a gentle tale written in the style of a childs fairytale. Penned by regular Big Finish contributor Nigel Friars, The Child is a story of creation and of hope. Fittingly it is also the launch pad for a new era for companion Leela in the Companion Chronicles series, who appears this time as a projection in the mind of Emily – a young girl with old eyes.

Leela’s frequent challenging of Emily’s acceptance of a life in servitude – in the manner her mother supports her father – is perhaps just encouragement to aspire to more; but why old eyes? Call me suspicious, but the smell of a future story arc is as strong as the smell of mulled wine on Christmas Eve.

The plot:

As we meet Emily, she sits alone in her room penning a story for her mother accompanied by her imaginary friend, who uses her as a channel to convey stories of the Wizard and the Warrior girl and their travels in the magical blue box.

It isn’t long before the pair arrive on a snow covered planet, the first snow Leela has ever seen. Placing a snowdrop in the palm of her hand, the wizard tells his sceptical companion that in it she holds the answer to all creation and he promises to show her the map of life – which holds all the answers.

The map, a creation by Richard Stempuss – a dying man with grand ideas when the Doctor last met him - is the largest work of art in the universe. In fact it is so big that it covers an entire continent. But when they reach the map of life, it bares little resemblance to the image in the Doctors crumpled photo – instead they enter via a Golden gate now blackened and decaying with age.

As they explore their new surroundings, the Doctor is captured by a mysterious woman, fixated by a desperate need to understand the meaning of existence and to destroy those without purpose.

But who is the mysterious figure? Can Leela find her time travelling companion? Why would I want nuts in the bottom of my Christmas stocking (I don’t even have a nut cracker!)? The answers to all these questions – well almost – are neatly packaged within The Child.

What works:

Firstly I think the soundtrack is a really good accompaniment to the production and helps the story to seamlessly flow.

There is a nice interplay in the early exchanges between Emily and Leela, where they discuss story structure and its level of detail as Emily tries to perfect the tale for her mother. It rather reminds me of sitting with my parents doing my homework.

Constant reminders of the charming relationship between the Doctor and his companion, as he continues to challenge and educate her, are a nice throw back to Saturday tea times gone by – and the jelly babies make a welcome cameo appearance.

What doesn’t:

Sorry - but for me, it’s the story itself. Christmas TV Who episodes are often a little lightweight in comparison to the regular show and this is very much in the same mould. The problem here is that, while TV uses it to attract a wider audience, the Companion Chronicles are for the Doctor Who hardcore, who I doubt are looking for easy listening.

The Fourth Doctor is back – and when you’ve had a taste of the real thing, its difficult to accept anything less.

The minor characters that the Doctor projects to help Leela – if you didn’t like Frobisher, its time to cover your ears!

Summary:

A pleasant tale for a winters evening by the fireside with your children and a good way to introduce them to the franchise. However, if you’re looking for something more challenging, this is maybe one to avoid.

6/10

This review is based on the MP3 download from Big Finish, and contains minor spoilers.

Two planets, both alike in dignity,
In fair Drashani, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

John Dorney’s latest Big Finish adventure – the first of a trilogy featuring the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors – is, at least initially, reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet.

Travelling alone, having temporarily left his companions Tegan and Nyssa behind in Amsterdam after the events of Arc of Infinity, the Doctor finds himself on a spaceship in the midst of the Drashani Empire; a galaxy-spanning civilisation caught up in a long and bloody civil war. Two noble houses, Gadarel and Sorsha, are fighting for the imperial throne, vacant for decades since the death of the mad Emperor. The wedding of star-crossed lovers Prince Kylo of Sorsha and the Gadarel Princess Aliona is intended to finally bring peace to the Empire, but behind the scenes, fanatics are plotting a very different outcome.

The Doctor’s arrival coincides with a sudden escalation of hostilities. Aliona’s wedding-barge has crashed on Sharnax, a remote and swampy planetoid and a rescue mission is underway. Unfortunately events aboard the rescue ship, where the TARDIS has landed, quickly degenerate, and the story becomes less Shakespeare, more Drashigs on a Plane – and that’s just the first episode!

Observations:

Despite its simple premise, The Burning Prince is a rich and engaging story, featuring a judicious balance of political intrigue, personal drama and thrilling action sequences. A genetically engineered slave race running amok and the wayward use of psychic powers by a key character further enliven the narrative.

Dorney’s script is generally excellent; he quickly and efficiently establishes the tone and setting of the story with help from Martin Montague’s evocative sound design and Toby Hrycek-Robinson's dramatic score. The story’s numerous characters are also effectively introduced, including the non-nonsense Captain Shira (Caroline Langrishe); hot-tempered Prince Kylo (George Rainsford); elderly Tuvold (Clive Mantle), Aliona’s uncle and the Gadarel ambassador; conflicted Commander Corwyn (Dominic Rowan); the bigoted spaceship pilot Riga (Caroline Keiff); and solid, dependable trooper Tyron (Tim Treloar).

Not every character is written quite as effectively; Princess Aliona (Kirsty Besterman) comes across as somewhat two dimensional, an impression not helped by Besterman’s occasional overacting. Another minor script flaw is the introduction of a somewhat grating catchphrase, "Empire be praised!" uttered by most of the characters at one point or another during proceedings. It sounds extremely forced when first heard, though as events progress, the phrase takes on a more ominous, ironic tone.

Another flaw is the introduction of the adventure’s new monster. In episode one, a saboteur aboard the rescue ship releases a caged Igris, described somewhat floridly by Ambassador Tuvold as "an eight foot tall bipedal killing machine; a sabre-toothed emissary of death". The presence of such a beast aboard the rescue ship strains credibility, and even after an explanation for its presence is offered, it still seems a trifle unlikely.

The narrative itself is fast-paced and engaging; a judicious mix of action-adventure tropes, the occasional in-joke, and more than a hint of the pessimistic tone of such Fifth Doctor adventures as Warriors of the Deep and Resurrection of the Daleks. Director Ken Bentley keeps a tight lid on the story, and maintains the pace nicely. The action never flags across the four episodes; events swiftly propel the Doctor from one drama to another towards a particularly bleak climax.

Conclusion:

Fans of the Fifth Doctor will enjoy hearing Peter Davison on his own, unencumbered by companions (though a head cold the actor was suffering from is somewhat distracting in the early parts of the adventure) and the story’s set-up allows Dorney to explore both the Doctor’s intelligence and charisma, and his habit of walking straight into trouble as soon as he arrives somewhere new. Save for minor flaws as discussed above, The Burning Prince is a fine addition to the Big Finish range, and highly recommended.

City of Death is often regarded as one of the greatest stories from the Fourth Doctor era, and also considered one of the most accessible stories for a newcomer to the classic series to see first. A lot of this reputation stems from the witty dialogue (Douglas Adams on a very good day), excellent music from the then-resident composer Dudley Simpson, and beautifully shot model-work, sets and location filming from director Michael Hayes. However, with such a visually-rich story, how does it translate into the audio-only world of the CD/download? Can words speak louder than action?

Also, some think audio versions of complete stories are simply a waste of time and money; however, there are times when you can't actually watch stories - like driving to your parents' home at Christmas... - and then releases such as this become a godsend. So, the question becomes whether the narrated version imparts the story sufficiently to be able to enjoy as well as if watching?

All-in-all, the story is just as entertaining in this form as on the DVD, with the sparkling dialogue of the characters working just as effectively in this format. As with the preceding Destiny of the Daleks, Lalla Ward (Romana in the story) becomes the guide who ably navigates our path through those unseen moments, with the words themselves scripted by David Darlington, who does an excellent job in filling in such visual gaps.

If I have any 'gripe', though, it is that Dudley Simpson's fantastic score is 'lost' beneath the necessary dialogue describing the scenes. For those unfamiliar with the story, however, or those simply not so bothered with the score, a lack of such dialogue might well render those thematic passages through Paris etc. long and potentially boring to listen to - it's a compromise of the medium, of course, so I'm happy to settle for a release of the score instead (are you listening, Mark? (grin)).

Actually, a thought that does lurk in the back of my mind is to whether the narration truly captures the essence of the story or if it is as much my own familiarity with the story filling in any potential deficiencies - with the early days of the range the narration described scenes lost from the archives, but now we have soundtracks for stories readily available on DVD. It's hard to gauge how much influence that has, but when listening to City of Death on the drive I know I was visualising the characters as seen on screen. A good example of this is how the time-bubble is handled, which though described competently by the delightful Lalla, isn't able to quite create the visual impact of the appearance of Scaroth back in time. Similarly, the reveal of the six additional Mona Lisas isn't quite so startling when spoken. But that is a general problem with translating visual to audio rather than a deficiency of this release.

It should also be noted that inserting such elaborations between the gaps of dialogue without unbalancing the flow of the story is no mean feat either - the timing of these passages is impeccable, and the only dialogue I noticed as being 'muffled' was that of the tour guide's initial chatter during the description of the museum, but nothing that impacted on the plot in any way.

Special Features:

It seems a bit odd to talk about "special features" on an audio CD, but with a story you can get on DVD I guess other value-added material is required in order to tempt the buyer.

As with Destiny, there is a brief interview with Lalla Ward included: here she talks about the problems with filming - both with a snowy Paris in May and a cantankerous Tom Baker - and how she feels it is important for an actor to defend the integrity of his/her character when writers might be less familiar with their nuances.

For PC users, the original camera scripts for the four episodes are also provided as PDF files on disc one, so you can read along to the soundtrack too if you like (and spot the ad-libs!).