Big Finish - Mask of Tragedy and Signs and Wonders

It's double release month for the Big Finish main Doctor Who range so two Seventh Doctor stories here. Mask of Tragedy by James Goss, and Signs and Wonders by Matt Fitton, both directed by Ken Bentley.

Two stories that wrap up Hector/Hex story line and set things up for a new Tardis team. The first is set in ancient Greece and features Aristophanes and his plays, and the second brings Hector back to his home town of Liverpool which seems to be on the verge of some apocalyptic event. Along the way the Doctor, Ace, Hex and Sally get separated, reunited and do plenty of dialoguing with a variety of aliens and big bad guys.

It will come as no surprise to learn that I am a bit bored with this particular Tardis grouping, and that sense of ennui is worst in the first story because it features Philip Olivier doing a "voice" again. Honestly, it's a bad idea and thankfully the Signs and Wonders story sticks with his familiar scouse accent.

There's some good performances in here and a few interesting ideas but on the whole they just went on and on and I lost the plot quite a lot.

I can't wait for the forthcoming Big Finish adaptation of Frankenstein and their next Sherlock Holmes box set but I may need to take a break from the main Doctor Who series for a while until something interesting comes up. Two stars for Mask of Tragedy and 2.5 for Signs and Wonders because it doesn't feature a "voice".

Big Finish - Revenge of the Swarm

The latest from the monthly main range: Revenge of the Swarm by Jonathan Morris, directed by Ken Bentley.

Back to the Seventh, Ace and Hex combination with the ongoing plot about restoring Hex's original memories, but first there's a plague ridden space station and a return of the Swarm from the Fourth Doctor television story The Invisible Enemy. The Doctor seems to have the bad guys defeated and the whole thing wrapped up after two episodes, so much so that the third and fourth parts seemed like unnecessary padding. Still the Doctor gets to roll some Rs with relish and Ace rides a light bike from Tron and makes a nice Jet Set Willy reference.

It's all done with the usual Big Finish professionalism apart from one sore point. Philip Olivier has to do a Swarm possessed Hex voice and while he sounds entirely natural when doing his normal voice he struggles with his alien inflected tone. It really stood out for the wrong reasons and spoiled the last two parts for me. Shame really as this was almost a good Seventh Doctor story.

So only two of out a possible five light cycles for the first part of what appears to be a Seventh versus bugs trilogy. Ho hum and roll on the next Big Finish Sherlock Holmes release please.

Big Finish - Afterlife

Bang up to date with the latest release in the Big Finish regular monthly range: Afterlife by Matt Fitton, directed by Ken Bentley.

This is a direct follow on from the events in Gods and Monsters with Ace grieving for the loss of her friend Hex, and the Seventh Doctor coming to terms with the consequences of his actions. Ace persuades the Doctor to deliver a letter from Hex to his grandmother and to tell her about Hex's death. Meanwhile Ace gets mixed up in a local gang war and comes across a criminal with a surprising resemblance to her old friend.

So much of the action involves the Doctor sitting down with Mrs Schofield (played with Liverpudlian relish by Jean Boht) and discussing the life and death of her grandson. It is quite touching stuff with the Doctor forced into a position he has no real experience of. The B plot about a turf war between feuding criminals was rather less interesting, as was the predictable alien involvement. Personally I could have done with more of the Doctor and less of the usual running around. However Sylvester McCoy is still flying off to New Zealand so Big Finish have to cut their cloth accordingly, and a second plot line for the separated companion is traditional after all.

Now I am going to enter spoiler territory so look away if you plan to listen to this audio but have not done so as yet. This story is all about the Doctor and Ace dealing with the death of Hex, and the consequences. All powerful stuff, but it all seems totally negated by bringing him back to life at the end of the play. Alright his memory has been wiped and he's essentially a different character played by the same actor, but for me this just wasted all of the build up that led to Hex's sacrifice in Gods and Monsters. I know that Philip Olivier has been a popular actor with the Big Finish crew and I'm sure they wanted to bring him back somehow I just wish they had found a different way to do so.

Still the conversations between McCoy and Boht are very well done so it's another 3 star story for me. Where they go from here with Hex remains to be seen, maybe I'm wrong and they will produce something interesting.

Big Finish - The Angel of Scutari

Big Finish release 122 from June 2009 - The Angel of Scutari. Written by Paul Sutton and directed by Ken Bentley.

This completes the Ace and Hex miniseries and sets up a cliff-hanger which would not pay off until over a year later in Project: Destiny. The Tardis crew arrive in the Crimea in October 1854 and get caught in the middle of the terrible clash between the British and Russian empires.  As ever the trio get separated, while the Doctor is off manipulating events and trying to fix a few problems in the time-stream Hex gets to meet the woman who inspired him to take up nursing, and Ace encounters a young Russian writer.

I am on record as not liking the historical Doctor Who adventures either on television or in the audio dramas but this was actually very enjoyable. Paul Sutton makes the wise decision to have this story concentrate on Hex who is left to get on with providing medical and nursing care for the wounded in the British army barracks at Scutari. In a neat twist the changes in basic care that he introduces inspire the Lady with the Lamp herself. I confess that when I first heard Philip Olivier as Hex I was bothered by his Liverpudlian accent, but just like Maggie Stables as Evelyn Smythe Olivier's performance has won me over. It has been interesting to have a companion who is less than impressed with the Seventh Doctor's manipulations. He has also become increasingly disillusioned by the numbers of deaths he has witnessed since first entering the Tardis. The Angel of Scutari leaves Hex alone in the Crimea long enough for him to make a difference, and to do something positive to balance the scales.

On the other hand this story was a bit of a backward step for the character of Ace. Big Finish should decide whether they are going with the baseball bat Ace from the television show, or the battle hardened warrior Ace from the New Adventures books. In Enemy of the Daleks we clearly had the older, warrior Ace who can quickly take charge in a combat situation. But in the early parts of this tale we are back to the petulant, whiny Ace, although she does morph into a different, more mature character when she travels with that famous Russian writer.

All in all an enjoyable story and the best of this mini-series for me. The extras were pretty good as well and I was surprised to hear Hugh Bonneville in there who I hadn't spotted during the drama itself. 4 out of 5 misplaced musket balls for The Angel of Scutari. Now for some 2000AD!

Big Finish - Enemy of the Daleks

Big Finish main range release 121 from May 2009 - Enemy of the Daleks by David Bishop and directed by Ken Bentley.

I got it wrong at the end of my Burning Prince review. Enemy of the Daleks is the middle part of an Ace, Seven and Hex mini-series that began with The Magic Mousetrap and will conclude with The Angel of Scutari. The trio arrive on the planet of Bliss expecting just that, but finding a classic base under siege and a scientist with a terrible plan to defeat the Daleks. Something bad is about to happen and the Doctor thinks it is his job to make sure it does.

You can't beat the Doctor Who combination of Daleks and a remote base in peril. Especially not when you have Nicholas Briggs' Dalek voices and another creepy monster voiced by Jeremy James who can do remarkable things with his larynx. This is an enjoyable production with all the right elements and it is nice to hear more of Hex developing his doubts about the Doctor's motivations, sowing seeds that would not pay off for another 3 years. Philip Olivier is growing on me. Meanwhile Kate Ashfield gives an interesting performance as Lieutenant Stokes, swapping Zombies, in Shaun of the Dead, for Daleks here but still in as much trouble. We recently watched her in a rather good adaptation of John Wyndham's Random Quest for the British Invaders podcast.

I also enjoyed listening to the CD extras on this release but I'm glad that Big Finish subsequently decided to shift them from the end of the first disc to the second disc. Much easier to listen to the interviews without fear of spoilers when you have heard the whole production rather than half-way through it.

In summary, great Dalek and monster voices, interesting Zulu references and some good Hex and Ace moments. 3.5 out of 5 Dalek eye-stalks. The Angel of Scutari is next.

Big Finish - Gods and Monsters

Big Finish release 164 - Gods and Monsters by Mike Maddox and Alan Barnes, directed by Ken Bentley.

Carrying straight on from the end of Black and White the four companions travel back in time to rescue the Doctor from a deadly trap sprung by one of his oldest enemies. The Seventh Doctor has a reputation as a master manipulator, someone who always has a plan and manoeuvres people into position like a chess grandmaster. But maybe this time he has gone to far, or has even been outplayed?

I still think of myself as a relative newcomer to Big Finish and, indeed, to great chunks of classic Doctor Who which I am watching for the first time. So I am only just finding out about about some of the key creators behind the scenes. Alan Barnes is someone I only encountered recently in a rather marvellous set of short documentaries called Stripped for Action about the history of Doctor Who comics which you can watch on youtube. He has edited both Doctor Who Magazine and the Judge Dredd Megazine in the past and is now a script editor and writer for Big Finish. If the Seventh Doctor is the fictional manipulator then Alan Barnes is the real thing, the mastermind behind the scenes who has been building up this story for some time. Clues have been left about different coloured Tardises, certain items of power, names and even the history and fate of some of the Doctor's companions.

Barnes and Maddox bring this altogether beautifully in Gods and Monsters. This is a battle on an epic scale and one that the Doctor may only be a pawn in rather than the King. I can't say much more about the plot without spoilers but the production itself is excellent. All the performances are great, and I particularly enjoyed Philip Olivier as Hex who has become a rather reluctant companion who doesn't really trust the Doctor. The music and the sound design are very good and I was delighted to hear the classic noise of the Tardis door mechanism towards the end of the story.

The finale is particularly moving although I found the short coda added after the end music rather detracted from the emotional impact of the ending for me. All in all an impressive production and a fantastic bit of slow build story telling by Alan Barnes. 4 out of 5 magical hammers.

Next will be some Fifth Doctor trouble in The Burning Prince.

Big Finish - The Magic Mousetrap

Big Finish 120 - The Magic Mousetrap. Written by Matthew Sweet and directed by Ken Bentley.

This is the start of an earlier Ace and Hex mini series and it begins rather mysteriously. The Doctor finds himself on a cable car travelling to an exclusive sanatorium in the Alps. Except that the Doctor seems to be having problems with his memory and events seem to be repeating themselves. Plus there are two mysterious  patients in the attic who seem to know more than they are letting on.

How to start a Doctor Who adventure can be challenging. The standard formula of the Tardis materialising just in time for the Doctor and companion to investigate some strange goings on can become a bit repetitive. So here the writer and critic Matthew Sweet throws us right in to the middle of the mystery and we are as much in the dark as the Doctor. It is an effective technique but it is a bit confusing. There are also some strange accents to contend with. Sweet was influenced by Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain so there is some weird experimental stuff going on here.

Acting and production are up to the usual high standards and the actors who had to do accents actually do a fine job and I didn't find them too distracting. I was confused by the story structure but that may be just me not paying full attention with my recent glut of Big Finish audios.

3 out of 5 straw boaters. Next up is my last encounter with the Eighth Doctor for the time being.

Big Finish - The Harvest

Big Finish release 54 from June 2004 - The Harvest by Dan Abnett, directed by Gary Russell.

Leaving the perils of Evelyn Smythe and the Sixth Doctor to one side for the moment this is a Seventh Doctor story which introduces a new companion. It is 2021 and Thomas Hector Schofield, or Hex for short, is reporting for work as a nurse at St Gart's hospital in London. It is also his birthday but the celebrations do not go according to plan and when he saves a mysterious young woman from an attack he finds himself caught up with the Doctor and Ace and their investigation into a secretive medical research project.

This is quite an entertaining story indeed. I certainly enjoyed the Doctor and Ace as a team of paranormal investigators, with Ace as the on the ground agent and the Doctor as the computer hacker and co-ordinator. The villain is not given away by the above cover image or the cast list so I won't reveal the identity either. Suffice it to say that the reveal when it comes manages to make perfect sense and still be surprising. I am not sure about the character of Hex yet but I know he is going to be important in some upcoming stories including the very latest mini-series from Big Finish.

It almost goes without saying how good the cast and the production are. I was particularly impressed by Richard Derrington as Doctor Farrer, his voice sounds like a young Bernard Cribbens. So much so that I began to wonder whether Big Finish could somehow manage to bring his character of Tom Campbell, from the Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 film, into their version of the Whoniverse.

The writer Dan Abnett is quite well known for his comic books and he does a terrific job with this story. I do  not know if he is done other Big Finish stories but I will be looking out for them. Likewise the director, Gary Russell, is well known for his long association with Doctor Who in all its different forms. There are some medical errors in this drama which you would expect me to pick up on. If Big Finish should happen to need a free medical consultant for their writers I would be happy to help out!

The Harvest is a terrific Big Finish episode that gets a high flying 4 out of 5 on the Tardis console. Next up will be a return of the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn, and a story featuring the body snatchers Burke and Hare - Medicinal Purposes.