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.

Right on the heels of their last adventure, the Fourth Doctor and Leela are heading for the planet of Telos, but without the (often vital) support of the genius computer dog K9.

What new discoveries will feature when the Cybermen's base on Telos is distrubed, and how can the Doctor deal with a combined force of the imperious Cyber-Controller and crafty Cyber-Planner? What will happen when the Doctor is having to try and uncover the consequences of his actions when he first visited Telos with Jamie and Victoria in his Second incarnation? Will the spare parts obtained from Krelos be implemented into making a new Cyber-army?

The answers are immediately forthcoming, but not necessarily pleasing.

The big - and for many long-term fans huge - draw is the involvement of bothFrazer Hines andBernard Holley, who are part of a small group of people to still be with us from the main cast of the highly regarded The Tomb of the Cybermen. Hines reprises Jamie once again, and also provides the voice of the Second Doctor to a  very convincing level. Holley is certainly convincing as the young man he played in the opening episodes of Tomb, but I do find this script simply repeats one of the Troughton story's flaws in not giving a strong actor enough to do. Also we do not actually get a proper crossover of the two TARDIS crews, which admittedly is owing to the plot and to the Cybermen needing to observe timelines carefully for their agenda to work. Given how the cast in the making of documentary even point out this 'missed opportunity' I just wonder if Nicholas Briggs was at one point thinking of revising his story to allow this, or just wanted to make a coherent plot and finale story his priority.

Also there is some clever use of what on TV were vibrant and memorable clothing props in the form of the Doctor's endless scarf and his former companion Jamie's kilt, and how they drive the story forward. Just as in The Fate of Krelos the use of a malignant K9 is very welcome as this plot device was rare and only used to any notable effect by creators Bob Baker and Dave Martin. Even though the Cybermen are meant to be one collective race, the sheer personality of K9 means that there appears to be more of a dynamic than one would expect, so I must praise John Leeson for some fine work there.

If the main objective was for the listener to be entertained then this two parter certainly meets that in workmanlike fashion. It has decent pace, clear enough sound effects, and not overly intrusive music. Louise Jameson is as accomplished as ever, really making you appreciate Leela's many natural gifts and her devotion to the Doctor even when he appears to feel helpless. Tom Baker is always very engaging owing to his huge reserves of charisma, but perhaps were one to see a story from Season 15 and then listen to this, there are some definite signs of this being an older and less bombastic Fourth Doctor. Furthermore I say that when I personally feel Tom's weakest season and set of performances were overseen by Graham Williams when he first took charge and had much less budget to work with.

But what matters is having a duo of heroes to care about, and the Tom/Louise team have certainly produced many a fine outing together both onscreen and via audio.

Of course knowing how the actors have become much more on friendly terms with each other through doing commentaries, conventions, and so on may be something Classic Who followers may take subconsciously into these original plays.  But to my mind, one example of the brilliance of Tom Baker was that he was just as strong acting against those he agreed with as those he did not, and regardless could always convince as the main hero of the story - one who may have been unpredictable but always knew how to overcome opposition.

Nicholas Briggs of course is at hand to do the Cyber-voices and makes the silver giants as chillingly robotic and soulless as we have come to expect, over the years of Big Finish stories and obviously the revived TV series. The Cybermen are certainly not holding back and wish to leave their individuality-destroying-mark on a rather less malevolent civilisation. Without giving too much away, the legacy of their destructive ways was already shown in 'Krelos' and this story hinges on just how much the TARDIS crew can act to avert this - bearing in mind that K9 is still under Cyber control at the start of this season finale.

Other supporting cast is also more than up to the mark. Michael Cochrane has been a first-rate contributor to Doctor Who as evidenced in his two 1980s turns; one alongside Peter Davison, and one with Sylvester McCoy. Even when a script wobbles he is magnetic and memorable, and this again holds true for the 'multi-person' Geralk. Veronica Roberts' Relly is also more than serviceable, even if she is not given too many of the play's best lines of dialogue. We are invested in her fate and that makes the overall story work.

What  prevents this play from being a real winner is the slightly muddled ending. It plays out compellingly enough but just veers on the wrong side of deus ex machina and seems to nullify some of the actions of characters that we really thought would matter more. I do like how the method used to achieve a good result has a major impact on what the Doctor and Leela will ultimately take away from their escapades. They show their resourcefulness under pressure but perhaps it is left to others to somehow appreciate that effort. There just seemed more potential from the various enticing components of the play for a really explosive finish. While an interesting approach to have two plays with lots of 'timey wimey' I did end up feeling a little more impressed with The Fate of Krelos (if ultimately it aspired for less grandiose effect) than I did this finale.

Apart from what I said earlier on about the casts' muted misgivings, the making of documentary is certainly worth a listen and will especially interest those who either know and love Tomb, or who still are keen to see it either on a stream or on one of the increasingly scarce Revisitation DVD box sets. Briggs was certainly as good in direction as ever, and the enthusiasm of the cast for their work together is as bright as the unrelenting sun that makes Telos an arid environment. That is until curiosity draws would-be-pioneering travellers down to the underground...

Written and Directed by Nicholas Briggs
Starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, and John Leeson
with Michael Cochrane and Veronica Roberts
Released July 2015

When is a story not really a story? Doctor Who's famously flexible format, whether you watch, listen, or read has so many possibilities - good or bad, and so many different types of pace to play with.

One episode cutaway with Daleks and no regular cast? Check. Epic serials with serials tucked within? Check. Trilogies, season-long arcs, Doctor-lite episodes, box sets, monologues? Check. It's a versatile old stick.

The Fate of Krelos represents a bit of a departure from the tight storytelling of the recent Fourth Doctor Adventures. The structure is unique, as three quarters of it is set-up for the following story, season finale Return to Telos - more about that later.

The Fate of Krelos is ostensibly a story about the Doctor and Leela taking a day off to climb a mountain and go fishing. They chat, bicker, and discuss the purpose of fishing. It's all quite uneventful for them, until they meet a collapsed mechanical man whilst climbing. The mechanical man is actually a vessel for the consciousness of the elderly mountaineer Geralk (played delightfully by Michael Cochrane) - who's safe at home in the opulent city of Krelos. They while away a little time together until a frenzied K9 attempts to climb the mountain to rather incoherently warn them of a terrible danger that he can't.....or won't explain. Then they make their apologies and leave Geralk to it.

The Doctor dutifully 'parks' the TARDIS in hover mode, and next thing they know, they step back out to find Krelos decimated - overrun by parasitical creatures as a by-product of K9's meddling with the TARDIS's architectural configuration. 

And what has K9 done? Well, for reasons best known to himself, he's plugged himself into the TARDIS and taken it upon himself to flip the desktop theme back to what us fans might describe as 'Lime Grove '67', complete with a bit of Jamie's kilt snagged on the console, and possibly the odour of foam and the odd kirby wire. Much is made of this change of atmosphere and configuration. It's odd to hear this Doctor, never one to look back, musing over his past. It's not that subtle, and with the Doctor and Leela talking at length about Jamie and the past in general, it's quite clear that it's building to something. 

What's less clear is why neither the Doctor or Leela notice that K9 is behaving very strangely right until the end, he basically disobeys every order given, puts everyone in danger, and makes no sense whatsoever. The listener is given every clue that something is seriously awry, and John Leeson works hard garbling and stuttering his delivery to emphasise this. K9 is, essentially, possessed - and the culprit is clear when he utters a familiar phrase at the cliffhanger. But, he is acting oddly throughout, and it's painfully obvious that we're supposed to know something is wrong. I'm not sure if the point was to highlight how little the Doctor and Leela really listen to K9, but it sticks out a mile, and it's jarring how unaware they are, when everything from script upwards is screaming at us that K9's having something of a metal breakdown.

The Fate of Krelos is really just build-up for the big finale of Return to Telos. We don't learn a lot about Krelos, bar some engaging scene-setting by Geralk. We also only meet two of its inhabitants, so it's hard to get too involved in what happens to its civilisation. Writer-Director Nick Briggs gets some nice stuff in about the technology and culture of Krelos, but the meat of what goes on in these two episodes is the conversations between Tom Baker and Louise Jameson, and John Leeson's off-kilter portrayal of the possessed K9.

Baker and Jameson are coming to the end of their time together, as we edge towards the end of Season Fifteen - so this is the Doctor and Leela's pause to reflect. Very effective too, from fairly trivial exchanges to the weightier stuff when the Doctor spells out his reasons for not crossing his timeline and saving Krelos. Tom and Louise are, as ever, wonderful. Leeson gets a meatier role than usual, and has a lot to do, which he does well. Selling the character of a robot dog suffering from possession by a malign force whilst still staying true to your character can't be easy.

The Fate of Krelos is very enjoyable. It proves that you can continue to do different things with a set format, and will no doubt make a lot more sense in context next month when Return to Telos is unveiled. This is perhaps the least individually effective of this years series, but it proves in more ways than one that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Written by Jonathan Morris
Directed by Nicholas Briggs
Starring Tom Baker and Louise Jameson
with Rowena Cooper, Richendra Carey, and Claudia Grant
Released June 2015

Set in the former convent school of St Matilda’s College in 1977, The Cloisters of Terror deals with the centuries-old phenomenon of young girls disappearing shortly after they see an apparition of three ghostly Nuns. Young Megan (Claudia Grant, of An Adventure in Space and Time fame) witnesses her friend Lynn (Allison McKenzie) fall under the thrall of the ghostly sisters, and the college’s Dean, politely blocked at every turn by the venerable Sister Frances Beckett (Richendra Carey), she has no other option than to get the police involved.

That Dean is none other than Dame Emily Shaw, (Rowena Cooper) mother of Liz, previously introduced by Big Finish in The Last Post. And Dame Emily finds a police box in her office, as the Doctor and Leela have intercepted her call and elected to investigate.

Dame Shaw quickly gets to know this incarnation of the Doctor, having previously met his ‘very odd’ predecessor - and their repartee is a joy. There’s a gentle nod to absent friends, as the Doctor asks after both Liz and the Brigadier. (Also, UNIT-dating fans - this is set in 1977, and the Brig is apparently in South America, presumably just about to pack it all in for teaching. Can we just say that Sarah Jane bumped her head before she mentioned being from 1980, or was just rounding up?)

Rowena Cooper plays Emily as a formidable but fun old battle-axe, and Tom Baker thrives with this kind of character to bounce off, giving us a slightly less irreverent but clearly grinning Doctor, a man who relishes a good mystery to solve. He’s also excellent when faced with the layered character played by Carey. Clearly all-female casts agree with Tom Baker, who's having fun but is also on his best Doctorial behaviour. He does manage to get a terrible pun about a wimple through, though.

Leela, meanwhile goes ghost-hunting with Megan, and it doesn’t take her long to get headhunted by the ghostly sisters. Everyone very soon gets locked in the crypt with the sisters by the duplicitous Sister Beckett, and it’s all very atmospheric, with reverse-reverbed ghostly voices and echoey cloisters. Perhaps the only criticism of this story is slightly blowing the whole story pretty much wide open a little too early, but Jonathan Morris’s clever script makes it all work. Bits of what could be quite clunky description and exposition are neatly handled by making the sisters only visible to young women, therefore Leela and Megan do a lot of the talking for them.

Classic Doctor Who largely stayed away from the sticky subject of religion. The BBC already had Mary Whitehouse to worry about, let alone complaints from the church - who were remarkably understanding about an alien mass-murderer posing as a vicar, then apparently raising the devil, culminating in an exploding church and a bit of gentle tea-time pagan ritual. The Daemons is a bit of an exception, and can’t be seen as a dig against religion. Bloodthirsty priests do get around a bit in classic Who, but only really in alien cultures or a distant, barbaric past. Nothing too close to the knuckle. Best not to push your luck, when depicting people of the cloth as monsters or villains.

The Cloisters of Terror seems to do just that, but manages to neatly subvert the notion of a sinister sisterhood in what turns out to be a meditation on self-sacrifice for the greater good. To say too much would be too much of a spoiler, even if the eventual resolution is signposted right from the episode one cliffhanger. Let’s just say that the obviously alien threat isn’t actually evil, this is more of a ‘stuck switch’ kind of story. 

This is a thoughtful minor tale, creepy and atmospheric, but somehow fairly cosy, with a touch of the BBC drama Ghost Stories at Christmas series to it. It’s perfect late-seventies contemporary-England Who. It’s not as original as Suburban Hell, but it’s very good indeed.

Written by Alan Barnes
Directed by Nicholas Briggs 
Starring Tom Baker and Louise Jameson
with Annette Badland, Katy Wix, and Raymond Coulthard
Released May 2015

One of the joys of Big Finish's Fourth Doctor Adventures is the licence to take familiar characters and throw them into new and interesting situations. Suburban Hell is one of those times, and it's a bit special. It's a Timey-Wimey tale that takes in a monstrous suburban housewife, a hen-pecked husband, a delightful old dear over the road that hunts witches, boorish party guests, eerie fog, and a coven of taloned blue creatures conducting a black mass - all of this set against a backdrop of horrid wallpaper, garish art, prawn cocktails, golf clubs, fondue forks, and Pong. 

At first glance, it's a riff on Abigail's Party, and writer Alan Barnes goes to town with a witty, clever script full of all the minuitae of the bad taste late 1970s, with the Doctor and Leela dropping in as unexpected dinner party guests when the TARDIS vanishes on them. The party is hosted by the quite ghastly Belinda (an excellent Katy Wix, clearly channelling Alison Steadman) and her luckless husband Ralph (Raymond Coulthard). It appears to be the late 1970s, decor, dress, and menu included - but all is not what it seems.

It's difficult to say too much more about this plot point without revealing all through spoilers, but the use of time travel here is some of the best in Doctor Who ever. Mundane elements (a prank phone call, Belinda asking Leela what she fancies to drink) become pivotal, penny-drop moments. The creepy reveal of the true nature of the 'prank' call is positively Moffatesque. This story may also finally explain all those strange, kitsch paintings of blue/green women from the 70s that crop up in charity shops.

Tom Baker and Louise Jameson have been on very good form this series, and continue to excel here. The Doctor is having a fine old time, with Baker clearly relishing Barnes' script. Leela gets plenty of good lines and jokes at the expense of just how ridiculous the 70s could be. Jameson is pitch-perfect as ever, and sells a small, hurt-sounding nod to her recent loss of Marshall in Death Match with quiet economy.

They're well matched against hostess-from-hell Belinda. Comic actress Katy Wix is inspired casting, delivering Belinda's acid-tongued dialogue with expert comic timing. The real highlight though, is Annette Badland as 'Thelma from over the road' - a fantastic character in the mould of Miss Hawthorne and Amelia Rumford, perfectly played by Badland as a terribly meek elderly lady who just happens to be a witchfinder with psionic powers. She's never quite fully explained, and Big Finish should bring her back for a rematch, her scenes with Baker are marvellous, and a lot of mileage could be had from Thelma and the Doctor meeting again.

Suburban Hell is another excellent entry in this very strong series of Fourth Doctor Adventures, it's very funny, very well-written, and full of memorable characters. Definitely a party worth attending. Just watch out for the fondue.

Written by Matt Fitton
Directed by Nicholas Briggs
Starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, & John Leeson
with Geoffrey Beevers and Susan Brown
Released April 2015

Picking up from the Master’s abduction of Leela at the end of Requiem for the Rocket Men, Matt Fitton’s Death Match is very much a sequel to that story. Once again it focuses very much on Leela, as she’s picked as the Master’s champion in the eponymous Death Match - a gladiatorial contest-slash-gameshow where champions duke it out to the death. There are bonuses, there’s fine catering, and it’s an expensive hobby for those with money to burn. It’s the Master’s own invention, and gives a nice insight into what he gets up to between his usual evil schemes.

Leela’s kidnap is news to the Doctor and K9, travelling alone together, unaware of the Master’s last-ditch skulduggery - and under the impression that she’s happily building a new life with her student/‘pair-bond’ Marshall (Damian Lynch). They intercept a distress call from Marshall, and all three quickly end up in the middle of the Death Match.

If Rocket Men was a sort of Ocean’s Eleven-styled caper movie, then Death Match owes a clear debt to The Hunger Games, with its sponsors, posh officials, and tactics of elimination. There’s a touch of Battle Royale here too, with exploding jewellery that goes off if anyone forfeits the games.

Leela carries a lot of the story and the action, most of which has her mid-fight and panting with exhaustion. Her relationship with Marshall is key, and he proves himself worthy of her love. Lynch again gives a strong, understated performance as Marshall, the noblest of the Rocket Men. They’re so well-matched that you know it’s going to end in tears, but the ending makes perhaps more sense of the fact that we know she’ll eventually end up with Andred, and not too far in the future considering the mid-season fifteen setting of this series. Louise Jameson is by turns brave and hard-as-nails, but the ending of the story shows her the bravest she’s ever been, as she stoically deals with her loss. 

The Doctor and K9 have a lot to do, and have a rollickingly sarky rapport, but rightly, take a back seat to the story of Leela and Marshall. Tom Baker is, as ever, Tom Baker - perhaps not quite on the belting form of Rocket Men, but he has some good moments, angrily facing off against the Master (who is gleeful about the brutality of the Death Match where the Doctor is scathing) and trading quips with the deadpan K9. His finest moment comes at the end, where he invites Leela to travel with him again - a quietly emotional moment between the two that shows how their relationship has been given new legs by Big Finish.

Meanwhile, the Master has something of a love-interest of his own, as the ambitious and ruthless Kastrella (an excellent Susan Brown) has designs on becoming his equal partner. Geoffrey Beevers plays another blinder here, his Master clearly respects just how nasty Kastrella is, and the lengths she’ll go to to get what she wants. That said, he’s clearly also not into her - this incarnation is charming, but isn’t flirty in the slightest, and he’s happy to sacrifice her when the moment comes. 

This is another strong effort from Big Finish, and this run of Fourth Doctor Adventures seems to go from strength to strength. Doing action like this on audio can’t be easy, and the only slightly weak part is the scenes with Kastrella’s champion, the Red Knight. He’s given a suitably grisly origin, and we’re told his armour is fused to his flesh - but he comes across as a little underwhelming, sounding like a cross between Brian Blessed at his most bellow-y and Rik Mayall in full Flashheart mode, but without the jokes.

Death Match is a worthy sequel to Requiem for the Rocket Men, it has plenty to offer, and is well-scripted and thought-through - considering that the ‘arena’ concept has been done to death in Sci-Fi. But at the heart of it, there’s Leela and Marshall -  one hell of a match. In a knowing nod to her future, the Doctor notes that she might have to lower her standards a little. That time will come soon, and somewhere on Gallifrey, a chancellery guard won’t know what’s hit him before too long -  but there’s a few more adventures to savour yet before that happens.