Adapted by Guy Adams,
from the original novel by Andy Lane
Directed by Scott Handcock
Produced by Cavan Scott
Big Finish Productions, 2015

Stars: Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Lisa Bowerman (Bernice Summerfield), Nicholas Briggs (Sherlock Holmes), Richard Earl (Doctor John Watson),
Hugh Fraser (Sherringford Holmes), Anthony May (Baron Maupertuis), Aaron Neil (Tir Ram), Samantha Béart (Mrs Prendersly/Azazoth), Michael Griffiths (Ambrose), Guy Adams (K'Tcar'ch)

Holmes and Watson were brain and heart, one cold and logical, the other warm and emotional. Between them, they made a whole human being!

Bernice Summerfield

Last November, during the Australian leg of the Doctor Who Festival, a fan asked (the now departing) executive producer Steven Moffat if we might ever see a crossover between modern Doctor Who, with Peter Capaldi’s rendition of the Time Lord, and Sherlock, Moffat and Mark Gatiss’s modern day interpretation of Sherlock Holmes starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Moffat was unequivocal in his answer – “Definitely no” – and did not elaborate, much to the disappointment of the adoring masses.

A few weeks later, Gatiss emphatically told Entertainment Weekly that a Doctor Who/Sherlock crossover would happen “over his dead body”. Gatiss revealed more behind his reasoning but given this is the same man who once vowed never to do an episode of Sherlock set in the Victorian era – at least until The Abominable Bride – the likelihood is the fans of both franchises will continue to live in hope that Gatiss changes his mind.

Whatever the truth of the matter, with Moffat about to embark on his final series of Doctor Who and the fourth series of Sherlock as well, it is more likely than not that the prospect of a crossover (if indeed there ever was one) has well and truly receded. Moffat and Gatiss will be too busy on both to give the idea a second thought.

Fans of both franchises (almost one and the same thing, as it’s likely many fans of Sherlock were also Doctor Who fans to start with!) will therefore have to accept the recent Big Finish Doctor Who audio adventure All-Consuming Fire as a consolation prize. This is an audio adaptation of the 1994 Virgin Publishing New Adventures novel by Andy Lane which paired the Time Lord’s seventh incarnation (as played on TV by Sylvester McCoy) with the consulting detective from 221B Baker Street. In the original novel, the Seventh Doctor, along with companions Bernice Summerfield and Ace, joined forces with Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson to repel an extra-terrestrial and extra-dimensional threat from the dawn of time (which back in the mid-nineties was a recurring, and unfortunately tedious, feature of the NA novel line after the success of the 1989 Doctor Who TV serial The Curse of Fenric).

For this audio adaptation, Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred reprise their signature roles as the Seventh Doctor and Ace from the TV series while long-time BF afficionado Lisa Bowerman again portrays wise-cracking archaeologist Professor Bernice Summerfield. They’re joined by prolific BF alumni Nicholas Briggs and Richard Earl who reprise their parts as Holmes and Watson from Big Finish’s corresponding range of Sherlock Holmes audio serials.

Just as the novel sought to capture the first person prose of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legacy stories by installing Watson as narrator, ably assisted by Professor Summerfield’s diary entries, so Guy Adams’ audio adaptation has Earl’s Watson, with support from Bowerman’s amusing Bernice and Briggs’ laconic Sherlock at various stages, recount the plot in the first person. This means the serial is an eccentric mesh of spoken word narration and cast dramatisation (not unlike BF’s Doctor Who Companion Chronicles serials) but this does not in any way detract from the story’s tempo or mystery.

Guy Adams delivers a faithful adaptation of Andy Lane’s original book, with only a few noticeable omissions (at least for eagle-eyed fans who have read the novel). For example, the opening chapters chronicling the meeting between Holmes, Watson and Pope Leo XIII are discarded for the sake of pace (the meeting is prefaced in the audio serial’s pre-titles sequence but occurs “off-screen”), the cameo of Holmes’s nemesis Professor James Moriarty is omitted altogether and the conclusion of the story is less confronting and violent than the original (for the sake of spoilers, it is best not to divulge why). For some reason, from my one and only reading of the original novel more than two decades ago, I recalled this tale being more complex than it actually is (certainly the Virgin New Adventures used to pride themselves on being “too deep and too broad for the small screen”!). However, Adams has managed to distill All-Consuming Fire for audio almost effortlessly and considering the story was supposed to eschew the traditional Doctor Who four-part format in its hey-day, this audio adaptation fits that structure quite tidily.

Once again, the combination of BF’s high production values and its performers do not let listeners down. Although the Seventh Doctor’s prominence in the literary and audio versions of All-Consuming Fire is limited by the reliance on Watson and Bernice’s first person accounts, the character is a darker, manipulative and more brooding presence in the novel than Sylvester McCoy’s more humorous, mischievous portrayal in the audio (you can tell from McCoy’s humorous snort in the scene before the pre-titles sequence that he has a whale of a time with the script – especially when the Doctor informs the chief librarian Ambrose in the Library of St John the Beheaded that he filed a dead mouse under “M” on the rationale it was supposed to be there!). McCoy’s performance is more reminiscent of his turn as the Doctor in Season 24 (albeit more restrained) but it does distinguish the Time Lord from the earnest, no-nonsense Holmes.

Nicholas Briggs – who continues the superhuman feat of managing a family life with overwhelming professional commitments that include voicing Daleks for Doctor Who on audio and TV, acting on stage and television, all whilst being engaged extensively in a range of other behind the scenes roles across BF’s audio output – effortlessly steps back into the shoes of the iconic detective. While he delivers a less abrasive, less agitated characterisation than Maestro Cumberbatch on TV, Briggs’ Sherlock is nevertheless sharp-minded, quick-witted, impatient and supremely confident. He’s also not without his own moments of humour. When Watson in one scene queries who would frequent a drinking establishment at ten in the morning, Sherlock responds: “Burglars mainly. They keep anti-social hours.” He also has a great exchange with Ace in the last quarter of the serial when he takes offence at being nicknamed “Sherley!”

Fans hoping for much anticipated fireworks between the Doctor and Holmes (especially in the vein of a Capaldi/Cumberbatch match-up) will be disappointed. This is not the fault of McCoy and Briggs. Thanks to the structuring of the original novel, the Doctor and Holmes have very little “screentime” together and while there is competitiveness between the two (especially in their initial meeting when Holmes is flummoxed by extraterrestrial soil on the Doctor’s gaiter), there is actually a fanboyish adoration of Holmes on the Doctor’s part that Holmes simply finds irritating. “You are quite, quite brilliant!” the Doctor tells Holmes in the dying moments of the play. “I know!” is Holmes’ rather cheeky riposte as he turns his back on the Time Lord!

Earl and Bowerman also deliver great performances as the Doctor and Sherlock’s associates. Earl’s Watson is the quintessential upper class Victorian gentleman, truer to the authorial voice of Conan Doyle’s legacy stories than to the more modern interpretations by Martin Freeman and Jude Law in Moffat/Gatiss’s and Guy Ritchie’s interpretations of Holmes. Lane in the original novel and Adams in this adaptation, however, send up his Victorian sensibilities by pairing him with modern women like Bernice and Ace, eg when Bernice asks Watson out to dinner –  “You ’re terribly forward!” “Letting you buy me dinner isn’t being forward! I’ll get to the forward bit depending on how nice the dinner is!” – and when he is confronted with Ace’s one-piece bodysuit which he admits to finding more “pleasing” and practical than obscene.

With McCoy and Aldred’s roles in the story rather limited, and with her own role consigned to the second half of the tale, Bowerman literally steals the show as Bernice – herself the female equivalent of Watson with her upper class English disposition. Although much of Bernice’s character works because of strong writing and characterisation, Bowerman still manages to infuse Bernice with plenty of humour and mischief, eg “Before [the Doctor] crouched, but still brushing the ceiling, was a terrifying looking creature – and I say that as a woman who’s woken up next to a few!”Just as Watson has to contend with phenomena over the course of the serial that defies scientific explanation – spontaneous human combustion, fire-breathing manservants, winged extraterrestrial creatures – so Bernice is also confronted with sights in 19th century India that are in many respects more “alien” than the worlds she has visited over the course of her career. “Have you got any idea how they treat women in this period?” she berates the Doctor upon first meeting him in India.

The other performers in the serial are also impressive, in spite of their characters being one-dimensional and underused. Hugh Fraser, who greatly impressed as the villainous Federation President in BF’s Blake’s 7 audio series, appears as Sherlock’s elder brother Sherringford Holmes and oozes charm and authority, while Aaron Neil and Anthony May play antagonists Tir Ram and Baron Maupertuis respectively. A special mention also goes to Samantha Béart, another promising up and coming actor in the BF acting stable. She took this writer completely by surprise with her portrayal of hapless cat lady Mrs Prendersly. Béart delivers such a regal and Victorian performance in this play that she is unrecognisable from some of her previous roles across BF’s audio output.

The audio adaptation of All-Consuming Fire is a fun, entertaining diversion from the rest of Big Finish’s recent Doctor Who output. Although the original novel was quite dark in parts and the plot isn’t the most original in Doctor Who fiction, the humour underpinning the Doctor and Bernice’s performances, coupled with Watson’s wonder at the incredible things he witnesses over the course of his narration, means the audio adaptation is not full of the angst or earnestness that underlies some of BF’s more recent Doctor Who releases (particularly The War Doctor and Doom Coalition boxsets).

Of course, if you’re a devout Sherlock and Doctor Who fan, the pairing of McCoy’s Seventh Doctor with Briggs’s Victorian Holmes may never assuage your thirst for an on-screen meeting between Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor and Cumberbatch’s Sherlock. If so, then you need to approach All-Consuming Fire with a more open mind – that is, leave your trenchcoat or sonic screwdriver at the door, don a deerstalker cap or grab a question mark umbrella and let the story unfold. You may be pleasantly surprised at how well the premise works and how much you enjoy it!

Written By Terrance Dicks (based on a TV story by Terry Nation)

Performed By: Jon Culshaw

Dalek Voices By: Nicholas Briggs

Duration - 2 hours 30 minutes approx.

Released: 3rd March 2016

 

The Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith are marooned on the harsh planet of Exxilon when the TARDIS loses all its core power. This is thanks to an ancient living city that acts as a remorseless energy parasite, and also has reduced a once fully-fledged society to one that heads backwards into sheer barbarism.

Before long, Sarah is captured by the main faction of native Exxilons and faces a deadly and brutal sacrifice. Meanwhile, the Doctor allies himself with a team of humans who are trying to recover invaluable parrinium from this desolate world, so as to cure a deadly space plague that threatens all human life across the cosmos.

Interrupting any attempts to save Sarah are the Doctor's oldest enemy from the planet Skaro. They too are officially charged with recovering resource, so as to save their own forces. But despite attempting to wipe out their mortal enemy, and the humans he has just befriended, the energy drain has managed to render the Daleks quite literally harmless. But not for long.

The Doctor eventually allies himself with the kind-hearted Bellal, who is one of the few Exxilons to retain awareness of how his species has been laid low by the City. Together they must conquer the different logic, willpower and physical challenges that the uniquely sentient 'wonder of the Universe' tries to throw at them. If they succeed, then they can destroy the corrupted entity once and for all. Meanwhile Sarah and the surviving humans must try and play a cat-and-mouse game of placating the now in-charge Daleks, but also securing enough parrinium covertly to have any hope of preventing the extinction of all humanity.

Once again, I can emphasise what a pleasure it was to experience a confident audio book reading of a long-established TARGET novelisation. But whereas the previous The Massacre was a radical reworking of the actual TV show, so as to be in favour of what the original writer intended, this 1974 Jon Pertwee story has been far more closely adhered to. This is no surprise, as Terrance Dicks had much of a final say in the outcome of stories that he script-edited during this period of the show's history. Dicks is well-known for being gregarious and witty, but the man is also savvy enough to realise when the production of a story he oversaw at the script stage had its problems in the final edit.
 

Despite being released comparatively early on, when Doctor Who was becoming a home video attraction in the 1980s, Death to The Daleks attracted a considerable share of criticism from various parties. It sat in the middle of what was generally regarded as Pertwee's weakest season. Despite efforts from (then-equivalent-to showrunners) Barry Letts and Dicks it has a host of rehashed Terry Nation clichés, some of which can be found in the previous year's Planet of the Daleks.

Director Michael Briant was one of the show's more unpredictable director, being capable of greatness with The Robots of Death, or banality with Revenge of the Cyberman (which also had a Carey Blyton score of rather uneven quality). This actual story perhaps exuded a run-of-the-mill tick-box-exercise from Briant's camera work and actor direction, and so reinforced how watered-down the Daleks came across in the Seventies, despite the program being made in colour. At least that was so, until a certain gem from both Nation's and Robert Holmes' creative skill sets that completely reinvigorated the story of these psychotic warmongers.

Finally, when one really stops to think about the plot, there is much to ponder over why it is just the Daleks' lethal weaponry that is immobilised, and not also the overall shell that they rely upon.
 

When writing his novelisation in 1978, Dicks made a good effort to embellish on what did work well in the original teleplay, and to minimise the weaknesses. Some well-done exposition on why and how Exxilon became a lifeless rock makes the overall proceedings convey more depth. The Daleks are played straight, and have none of the cosy musical cues or self-destructive silliness in prose form. Some good back-story and characterisation for both Dan Galloway, and the unfortunate crewman killed in the opening of the story fits in so silkily that one would almost have thought this was part of the original work done by Nation at the early stage of the writing process.

Due to this being an audio release that relies principally on one skilful performer, there is none of the acting consistency that marred Death on-screen. Some of the better performances came from the Dalek voice artists, and indeed from Arnold Yarrow as Bellal; one of many successful one-off 'companions' over the course of Doctor Who's considerable lifespan. There also was a very heartfelt performance from gifted character actor John Abineri, but his character met a gratuitously thankless end, barely a third of the way into the second episode. Thus, apart from the series regulars, the only half-decent humanoid performance over the course of the entire story came from Duncan Lamont as the shifty, self-serving Galloway. The less said about the remaining human performers, and the savage Exxilons that dominate early proceedings, the better.

This see-saw in acting quality is quashed thanks to the hiring of Jon Culshaw. He manages to make the listener care for virtually every participant in the story, and also conveys just how much enjoyment he is getting from lending his vocal expertise. Previously he had been involved in Death Comes to Time, as well as several Big Finish stories. Having virtually full responsibility for a three CD product, this well-respected comedian and impressionist acquits himself handsomely well. The production really springs to life, and so makes the most of the original Terrance Dicks text.

Nicholas Briggs provides (what are by now to many familiar) voices for the various Daleks, and they perhaps are marginally better than the originals, depending on the listener's inclination. The soundtrack semi-evokes recent Twelfth Doctor TV stories, and so this production feels somewhat more contemporary than one would expect, given the source material being from the mid 1970s. There are some very good sound effects, such as the deadly Exxilon arrows that thud into the bodies of those unfortunate enough to be standing in the wrong place.

This story is ultimately a much more assured and effective entity in this newly worked version, and the listener's auditory experience is one where the clock ticks away almost unnoticed. Ideal either for a couple of days' listening, or one full-length session, barely any effort is needed in experiencing a rare Third Doctor story that is set entirely away from the planet Earth. Whatever generation of fandom one belongs to, and thus may have negative presumptions on this story's worthiness, this is nonetheless one release to track down and enjoy whole-heartedly.

Writer:Nick Abadzis

Artist: Eleonora Carlini

Colorist: Claudia SG Ianniciello With Azzurra Florean

Letterer: Richard Starkings and Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt

Release Date: Oct 21, 2015

An auditory virus is affecting the musical Shan’Tee, turning them into nightmarish Nocturnes. The Doctor has been forced to leave Gabby to fend for herself as he attempts to trace the path of the contagion and put a stop to it. His companion has her hands full as hordes of Bovodrines, normally gentle “air cows”, are being stampeded toward the building where she’s taking shelter. The virus has also gotten inside and is beginning to turn some of her friends.

Last issue was the beginning of what they are calling the second season in these Tenth Doctor adventures. It’s a fresh storyline but with all the same familiar faces from the first year. Writer Nick Abadzis starts the arc off with just a two part story, this issue being the conclusion. I find it a little strange that they kept it tightened down to just a two parter. While the storyline is actually incredibly thin, a little more development might have made it into a more traditional three issue arc. Or alternately, if they had removed some of the padding this could easily have made it into one jam packed comic and been a dynamite standalone story.

I have to confess to being underwhelmed by the conclusion. The previous issue was pretty enjoyable. The Shan’tee were neat creatures and their infection and transformation into the malicious Nocturnes was well played. The mystery behind it was intriguing. All of that seemed to unravel for me. Maybe it was just they seemed to be going for a false sense of urgency. We started the story with the end, Gabby standing in a building under attack from the Nocturnes while everything around her is being destroyed by the Bovodrines. Will the Doctor save her? Yes. Of course he does. After all, how many times has the Doctor failed a companion and had them die? It has happened of course, but not too many times. Starting at the end was a neat creative choice, but I don’t think anyone was really worried about Gabby. The tension they were trying to create just wasn’t there for me. On top of that, the way the Doctor managed to reverse and remove the virus barely made sense. It was very anticlimactic and had none of the flair that usually comes with one of his rescues.  The last page was a nice surprise though. With this adventure done, the pair return to the TARDIS and are confronted by Anubis again. He appears to remind the Doctor that they have unfinished business from the precious story arc. It was a nice touch.

Despite my criticisms of the length and the ending, I did actually enjoy the main portion of this story. It was entertaining. It just fell a little flat at the end.
 

Bonus Strip- A Rose By Any Other Name by Rachael Smith

I almost forgot about the strip this month as they tuck it way at the back of the digital bundle, behind pages of alternate covers and the synopsis for the next issue.  I was rewarded for searching it out though. I tend to criticize these strips as being very hit or miss, some I like but many do nothing for me. Well this one is another hit. The Doctor and Rose (the human, not Rose-The-Cat) are finally reunited.

Writer - George Mann
Artist - Emma Vieceli
Colorist - Hi-Fi

Letterer- Richard Starkings + Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt
Editor - Andrew James
Assistant Editors - Jessica Burton & Gabriela Houston
Designer - Rob Farmer
Cover Art - Rachael Stott + Hi-Fi

Released February 17th 2016, Titan Comics

An arrestingly powerful being that seems to have sprung to life from the folk tales of yesteryear threatens a community of aristocrats and servants in the early 20th century. It has the power to completely subjugate even the most steadfast human that treads the earth. It reveals itself through a grisly combination of vines, leaves and bark, as it displays its sheer power of physical strength and mental control.

Ultimately a sacrifice of at least one person with much integrity and good will may prove unavoidable. And this is despite the considerable life experience and ingenuity of the evergreen, curly-haired Doctor. (And not forgetting the spontaneous problem-solving of Josie, who defiantly styles her hair in colours that raise an eyebrow or two in this altogether more reserved period in British history).

The budding new partnership of Josie and the ball-of-energy Eighth Doctor continues to ring true in this story, and I almost worry that this may one of a small handful of chances for the pairing that may not ever be taken up by another creative team. Within a seemingly short space of time, there seems to be an easy rapport, and solid understanding of what Earth girl and Gallifreyan semi-eternal each need and expect from one another. This story could have been presented in a deadly serious fashion and still worked handsomely, but the moments of levity that occur every so often are judged just right and consolidate the good character work of prior issues.

Writer George Mann certainly knows how to keep the reader hooked for the concluding fifth issue, and does so by an apparent 'flash-forward' where the Doctor and his green-blue-haired companion are at an auction of some significance. For the most part though this adventure is set in one place and one time zone, but is still rich in atmosphere, world building and confident in its use of an alien race. The Nixi has some superficial similarities to the dreaded Krynoid (of the Tom Baker TV era), but is rather more 'grey' in terms of its actual morality. It is portrayed as being not suited to our world as we know it, and of potentially devastating influence on any flora and fauna it comes across. Ultimately, though it is a threat that may be better off rendered  docile and dormant, rather than facing rather more brutal and desperate methods of defeat.  

Although artwork was on occasion inconsistent early on in this mini-series, last issue's The Silvering saw a definite raising of the bar. This trend continues with Briarwood. There are many wonderful images that deserve to etch themselves into the memory banks of the reader.

Page layouts are also pleasingly varied and the right choice of grand scale for action or visual exposition is mirrored by appropriate instances of smaller panels that solidify this story's emotional core. We are made to care for virtually every character we meet; whether a minor player or a major contributor to the plot. Clearly by now, Mann and Emma Vieceli have truly meshed in achieving both their individual and joint creative intents.

My one reservation that impedes this being a sure-fire classic is that the latter stages of the story feel a bit rushed. Having a crammed final page, with a squashed 'to be continued' just seems to be the result of not quite enough planning, and is unfortunate given how measure the telling of the story was for most of the preceding pages.

EXTRAS:

Once again there are a number of variant covers. In addition to the one featured with this review, there is a secondary cover by Will Brooks, and a tertiary one by Carolyn Edwards . The main image is nicely indicative of the main threat, and should help retain previous purchasers of these Eighth Doctor adventures. It is so striking that it deserves to catch the eye of those who roam their favourite comic stores and may not have yet given the Doctor Who universe a try in this ever-popular medium.

Titan have somewhat shied away from the light-hearted and satirical bonus strips of late. But by and large we have been granted some fascinating behind the scenes material. For this fourth edition of the mini-series, there is a nicely done 'q/a style' interview with Paul J. Salamoff, who is privileged in that he owns a refurbished version of the actual console from the 1996 TV movie. Salamoff has shown much career versatility in the space of two-and-a-half decades, by being a movie and book writer, a producer, a film executive, and a make up artist - all in addition to being well-recognised as a comic book creator and visionary.

Read + Performed By David Collings   
Written By Steve Lyons  
BBC Digital Audio/  Audio CD

·  Published 7th January 2016
·DURATION:  480 Minutes Approximately

Salem Village, Massachusetts, the late 17th century. The Doctor's two companions Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright persuade the white haired old man to keep the TARDIS on Earth, as opposed to the ship making a trip to the Vortex so as to save them waiting. This is due to the lack of trust in the 'Fast Return Switch' which almost consigned the quartet of heroes to an undignified and fiery demise.

Hence, in order to pass the time, Ian, Barbara and Susan decide to experience history once more, as they did in Mexico, France and China. Initial assumptions are made by the time travellers that they are present in 1691, and so a comfortable year away from the Witch Hunts which demonstrated rampant paranoia in the fledgling colonial societies of the 'New World'.

Despite her affection for her former school teachers, Susan quickly looks for new friends and finds them in the form of Abigail Williams and several others. However, she makes the mistake of joining in a 'séance', and this supposed game takes a turn for the worst when Abigail foresees terrible events and has a fit. This panic spreads to the other four girls; one of which is Susan. And from then on, one dangerous event follows another as both the TARDIS crew and various Salem citizens become associated with Satan and the arch crime of witchcraft. Even those previously considered good and 'godly', like John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth, face their good names and safety in dire jeopardy.,

The Doctor however is able to remain relatively safe and try to build a strategy to save his friends and granddaughter. He also is able to establish that the initial assumption was wrong. Because some people were behind with switching their calendars, it is in fact 1692 after all. The Doctor has already warned Barbara before of the dangers of interfering with history, and now it seems it is own kin who must  learn in the most difficult of fashions.
 

I must acknowledge just how much of a gem this book is, and how easy it was to read from cover to cover, when I first acquired it back in Spring of 1998. Offering a reasonably simple plot, but choosing to tell it in a non-linear fashion, Steve Lyons was also able to get a fine balance between edgy atmosphere and philosophical discussion. That this story was republished in 'The History Collection' some considerable time later to help remind modern Doctor Who fans of the show's rich archive of novels was thus no surprise.

And now we have a fully-fledged audio book to enjoy as well. David Collings was never less than watchable in classic Doctor Who when co-starring with Tom Baker and Peter Davison respectively. He also had a distinctive and evocative voice, and could elevate his dialogue effortlessly, regardless of the quality of the story. As such then, I was very happy to learn he would be the narrator (and performer) of this unabridged version of the Lyons tale. The best voices for the regular heroes are predictably enough Ian and the First Doctor, with the latter suiting Collings' natural intonations very well. This is not to take away from very authentic work for Barbara, and especially Susan - who as previously described is vital to the plot and themes of the story.

I approve of this 'missing' adventure building on the stronger material Susan was granted in her TV appearances - which did admittedly happen intermittently and thus prompt Carole Ann Ford to leave somewhat earlier than her other co-stars Russell and Hill . Also noteworthy is the attempt to give more context for Susan being a sufficiently wise and adult figure by the time of the climax of the second Dalek TV story.

One of Susan's best TV yarns was (the sadly missing) Marco Polo, in which she bonded with a girl of the 13th century. Despite the two having a gulf of experience dividing them, they were able to forge a meaningful short-term friendship, perhaps aided by their appearing to be of a similar age to anyone who knew nothing of Gallifrey and the wider cosmos. But, on that occasion Susan did not end paying a price for trying to act like 'another human being'. By contrast here, Lyons explores Susan's need to be someone other than an outsider, and being so determined that she very nearly throws the entire fate of herself and her 'travelling family' into jeopardy. Another Season 1 call-back involves the Susan's latent telepathy - a power of hers which was introduced in The Sensorites - and how it can have potential pit-falls when combined with a society dominated by religion and a set way of thinking.

As for her savvy grandfather, this is an especially fine showing. The Doctor is frequently able to gauge just how much he can use his rhetorical gravitas, but also when to be more subtle too. William Hartnell would have made fine use of the many dialogue highlights that feature here. There is also a decision made by the Doctor near the story's end that reminds us of his alien set of values, but also prevents the story from feeling unrealistic or having an easy solution.

If one were to try and imagine this story actually being made in black and white in the 1960s, it would not be too great a leap of imagination. Obviously a lot would need to be truncated, and the interlude featuring a visit by TARDIS to the production of The Crucible in the mid-20th century would also be outside time and budget resources. But the core of the story, with all the drama that it commands, explores 'then and now' ethics just as well as John Lucarotti's two scripts had done in the maiden season of the Doctor Who saga. 

The production of this audio release is respectable, but given the substantial length perhaps a little more frequent use of music, and also variety in that music, would not be out of place. Yet taken as a listening experience, and most likely over the course of a week, the story is relatively easy to follow. True, the plot does jump around a bit chronologically, but the CD/ audio track format makes bookmarking and re-listening a mere formality. If you have not yet read the novel - and I do recommend finding it either as an eBook or in print form - then you can do far worse than acquire this terrific audio book.

 Series Three - Episode 11 - "Utopia".

STARRING: David Tennant, Freema Agyeman, John Barrowman
WITH: Derek Jacobi, and John Simm

ALSO STARRING: Chipo Chung, René Zagger, Neil Reidman,
Paul Marc Davis, John Bell, Deborah MacLaren,
Abigail Canton, and Robert Forknall

Written by Russell T Davies,

Directed by Graeme Harper

Music - Murray Gold

Produced by Phil Collinson

Executive Producers: Russell T. Davies + Julie Gardner

Originally Transmitted 16th June 2007, BBC 1

The first in a series of retrospective reviews covering stories missing from the Doctor Who News archive.

The David Tennant incarnation of everyone's favourite twin-hearted iconoclast was enjoying a second full series on TV in 2007. Back then with Martha Jones as the able and beautiful new companion, played by up-and-coming star Freema Agyeman the show was continuing to provide excellent entertainment and role models for men and women in equal measure.

And overall, the production and writing crew began to combine the emotional weight of Series 1 with the heady hi-jinks of Series 2. At its peak, the Third Series of modern Doctor Who was the show at its very best, but it did still have some notably weaker efforts in places. To my mind, it was only the following year when showrunner Russell T Davies totally perfected the formula and came up with a great TARDIS crew, great one-offs, and a really fulfilling linking arc.

The Tenth Doctor/ Martha collection of travels and timelines, did however keep those viewers, who may still have missed the amazing chemistry that Tennant and Billie Piper shared on screen, engaged in the present. This episode of course, was one of the stand-outs, and did a terrific job of rewarding the loyalty of those too young to have experienced classic Who, but also came up with the return of a pivotal returning character that long-term watchers and committed fans alike were surely expecting to make another return to the fray. (And hopefully in a more traditional manner than the muddled Terminator homage of the TV Movie).

The Master makes his triumphant return in a fast-paced episode, by making the closing few minutes a powerhouse of revelation and dramatic chutzpah. And what a steal in getting none other than Derek Jacobi to guest star. Here he is just credited with the part of Professor Yana, obviously designed to preserve secrecy. It is an admirable '2 for the price of 1' effort, and succeeds in making the viewer remember this story as having a truly kind man succumb to a cruel twist of fate. Just as we could not dismiss the benign John Smith and think of him as a 'placeholder person', so we can never forget the combination of wisdom and boyish excitement that Yana has in this tale.

The 'Y.A.N.A. acronym' was of course one of the story-arc elements so elegantly laid out in prior episodes in Series 3. The other, and more deliberate hook was the 'Saxon' thread, which even stretched back to the preceding Christmas special - The Runaway Bride. The acronym stands for "You Are Not Alone", and could be read as a positive. For most of Utopia, Jacobi plays the most charming and likeable of people, in some ways even more engaging than the Doctor. Perhaps the message from the Face of Boe in Gridlock was meant as an encouragement. It also looks that way in the company Yana keeps. His own female assistant is very well performed by Chipo Chung, and in make-up terms a finely designed semi-humanoid, who employs a speech pattern of "Chan..tho" to bookend her statements. The two syllables form together to denote her name.

But it still is very clear that Utopia is overall a very bleak tale. Like Frontios, and a few other stories from the Who mythos (such as the recent Hell Bent), it is set at the end of time and sees a group of humans trying to proceed despite the odds being against them. A small camp of civilised people are having to guard against regressive beings, and they put all their hope in a great journey to another world. But of course they do not know if that world will have anything for them. And later episodes quickly confirmed the worst feelings of any TV viewer with an ounce of pessimistic suspicion in them.

Enough character development is spent establishing how close Yana and Chantho are together, that when the Master is unleashed by the spate of 'triggers' that lie within his subconscious, and despite the best intentions of the TARDIS crew, it really feels like a blow towards the captivated viewer. The ability to quickly make viewers care about 'supporting characters of the week' was one of Davies' finest assets in all of his TV writing, and not just this one prime time show. The way that Jacobi announces who he is, the sheer venom he hurls at the bewildered lab-coated and loyal ally of his previous persona, before fatally wounding her, is a moment of top notch thespian malice. "I am the ... Master" is a simple line of dialogue, made into something truly resonant.

David Tennant also has his moments of darkness at times in this story, most noticeably when the Doctor shrugs off the attempt of Captain Jack to re-forge their travelling partnership. In the process the former Time Agent makes his friend fully aware of the impact of being abandoned. He wanted some answers for what we were able to see were Rose's Time Vortex powers causing him to have the dubious superpower of being able to die and revive in the most traumatic of fashions. The Doctor's necessary regeneration into his Tenth self was a process that makes such a conversation with a former ally not the easiest of topics.

Ultimately it is a good thing we get Jack back after having all but no proper sign of him in the main show since The Parting of the Ways; the 'Torchwood' name being a verbal reminder over the course of Series 2. Barrowman makes the most of his opportunities in RTD's deft script, and is able to exude the energy of a man who has forged his own life, but still values the Doctor's friendship and mentorship highly. Even if many viewers did not see Torchwood the sister show in the interim, it matters little over the course of this episode and the next two, as enough exposition is made, without it being too obvious an advertisement for another BBC production.

The music from Murray Gold is typically strong in any given TV story, but this tale  introduces one of my absolute favourite musical motifs. It clearly was seen as strong by those around Gold in post-production as it was to be repeated again in the concluding episodes of this third year to even great effect. Most notably featuring when the Doctor and Yana make progress as a team, it combines both the heroic and the melancholic to exquisite effect. There is also some frenetic up-tempo musical accompaniment to the  action, where the heroes are on the run from the regressive outsiders, and this helps breath life into what flirts with being vaguely absurd.

Although the concept of the savages is a sound one, part of me finds their witless  expressions and gnashing teeth somewhat out of synch with the intellectual and  emotional complexity of the overall narrative. But if one was to just view them as a token  monster and plot device then really this is just a tiny drawback.

Back to some praise again: the cliffhanger leading into The Sound of Drums is truly brilliant. We see a final blaze of glory for Jacobi as he defiantly cries "The Master ..Re-born", and then the most dangerously unpredictable and indeed disturbing regeneration yet is on the TV screen. Of course, in recent times Michelle Gomez has made the part her own and benefited from enough good scripts, great co-stars, (and crucially) screen-time to be that bit more nuanced than the John Simm incarnation. But make no mistake, the renowned Life On Mars actor is still fiendishly good and makes any given scene must-see TV. The ultra-confident, happy-chappy Doctor has now met his equal and opposite. However, it will take a journey or two into the past and across the cosmos, before they finally get their face-off in person.

Utopia is a fine piece of prime time TV in its own right, and it underlines the enterprise and craft of the production team in no uncertain terms. The mega-length finale had got off to a great start, and much more character development and high drama was just around the corner.