Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Jonathan Morris

RRP: £10.99 (CD) / £8.99 (Download)

Release Date: January 2013

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 19th January 2013

England in the 1920s.

Whilst K9 is off in the TARDIS leading the Black Guardian on a wild goose chase, the Doctor and Romana are enjoying a leisurely lifestyle as the Lord and Lady of a London townhouse. But trouble never stays away from them for long, and before they know it a chance discovery of alien technology leads them deep into the heart of the English countryside where a malign presence lurks.

As the Doctor dodges deadly butlers and ferocious gamekeepers, Romana is faced with a malevolent Aunt and an even deadlier peril - marriage.

* * *

The first series of Fourth Doctor Adventures were a fun and varied set of stories featuring a brilliant return to the role of The Doctor by Tom Baker with the excellent Louise Jameson reprising her role as Leela.

This new series of adventures finds The Doctor with Romana as played by Mary Tamm, taking place after the epic Key to Time stories - and what better way to kick off things than this rather fun little romp.

As soon as The Auntie Matter begins it becomes clear that the story is heavily influenced by P.G. Wodehouse. Taking inspiration from the Jeeves and Wooster stories, Jonathan Morris has littered the story with Wodehousian tropes, plot devices and even his characters names are directly lifted from the writer’s work. For a Wodehouse fan like me this is an added joy but it requires no prior knowledge to enjoy this story as it is.

Tom Baker gives a rather subdued performance in this story, but not so that you wouldn’t know it was The Fourth Doctor. Over the course of his work for Big Finish it seems Baker has found a way of keeping his more outlandish Doctor performance, which he used in the AudioGo stories, in check. There were moments in the first series where he was clearly finding his way back into the part and he seems now to be rather comfortable back in the role.

It is sad that a fun adventure such as this is marred by sadness as this was one of the last pieces of work recorded by Mary Tamm before her untimely death last year. It is even sadder to write this review as Tamm’s return to Romana is just wonderful. That this series will be the only time we hear her and Baker perform together again is a tragedy as they play off each other and slip back into that sparkling relationship they both had in Season 16. While The Doctor and Romana do not share many moments together in this story, their opening and closing scenes are just perfect. 

The Auntie Matter is bolstered by a fantastic supporting cast that includes Julia McKenzie as the eponymous Auntie and the brilliant Alan Cox as Grenville. Robert Portal is superb as the Bertie Wooster–esque Reggie and Lucy Griffiths puts in a lovely performance as the Doctor’s companion for the story Mabel.

Mary Tamm herself is commemorated by a special segment in the C.D. extras featuring interviews with Producer David Richardson and a very moving tribute by Tom Baker.

Both funny and entertaining The Auntie Matter is a great beginning to a new season of adventures with The Fourth Doctor and Romana and what better way to celebrate the sad passing of Mary Tamm than by reminding ourselves of her incredible talent in a story full of mad joy.

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[Source: Fantom Publishing]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actress, Mary Tamm.

Mary was best known to Doctor Who fans for playing The 4th Doctor's companion; Romana I. Mary appeared as Romana in a total of 6 televised stories which formed the Key to Time series of adventures:

The Ribos Operation
The Pirate Planet
The Stones of Blood
The Androids of Tara
The Power of Kroll
The Armageddon Factor

The actress, who was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, fought a long battle with cancer and died in hospital in London.

Agent Barry Langford, who confirmed the news, said she had a "zest for life".

Tamm's stage and screen career also included films The Odessa File and The Likely Lads, as well as recurring roles in EastEnders and Brookside.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Mary's family and friends.

On announcing the news to the @DrWhoOnline Twitter followers, we asked for some of your comments to include in our obituary, of which we have added a small selection below:

@yeles - @DrWhoOnline really sad news. All my thoughts to family and friends.

@UKVampire - @DrWhoOnline #RIPMaryTamm will forever live on in our hearts as Romana - Thoughts go out to friends and family during this difficult time.

@Blackadder345 - @DrWhoOnline A wonderful actress and companion, will be sadly missed. Shall never be able to watch the Key to Time again without a tear.

@TheGazulator - DrWhoOnline Great chunks of our past, detaching themselves like melting icebergs. :( RIP, Mary Tamm. Thoughts and prayers with her family.

@TheOldLondoner - @DrWhoOnline How awful that the wonderful Mary Tamm has passed away. She was the very best of actresses & my favourite Dr Who assistant

@Deensey - @DrWhoOnline Romana was the first thing I loved about Doctor Who. I was about 6 and watched with my big brother

+  You can leave messages of condolence in the DWO Forums thread, here.

[Source: BBC]

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Peter Anghelides

RRP: £8.99

Release Date: 31st May 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 16th May 2011

What if the search for the Key to Time wasn’t as easy as we once thought? What if the Fourth Doctor and Romana took a few detours along the way? This intriguing idea is a highly appealing factor about this latest Companion Chronicle. 

Set between The Stones of Blood and The Androids of Tara, The Doctor and Romana arrive in a small quiet village in Norfolk, following a strong signal that will lead them to the next segment of the Key.

In their search they stumble into the observatory of former US astronaut and recently widowed Lady Millcent Ferril. Lady Ferr il is a woman with her eyes fixed firmly on the stars, who has created rather grotesque metal sculptures in the gardens of her estate and that is not the only thing that is made of metal. The Lady has plans of a maliciously cosmic kind and she quickly realizes that the Doctor and Romana are the only ones who can help put those plans into action, whether they like it or not.

As a two hander between Romana and Lady Ferril, the play’s greatest strength is the point of views given between our heroic protagonist and antagonist. To hear events unfold through the villain of the piece is a lovely idea and Lady Ferril is deliciously evil creation played fantastically by Madeline Potter. To have her as an American character helps with the transition between Romana and Ferril’s grasps of events which can happen quite suddenly and unexpectedly throughout. The Doctor spends some good portions of the story out of sight and the bulk of the narrative falls between the leading ladies. Mary Tamm shines as Romana and her tired slightly annoyed tone at the high jinks of the Doctor are one of the play’s highlights.

As a story, it is quite a strange tale but feels genuinely like it could have slotted itself easily into the Key to Time sequence as writer Peter Anghelides captures the feel and tone of that season very well.

Lady Millcent’s ability to control metal makes for some rather gruesome moments but the main criticism that I have about this release is the rather confusing and disappointing ending. To reveal the nature of my disappointment would spoil play but let us just say that to have the majority of your play told by two people in hindsight and have one remaining after dispatching the other with no clear resolution is very confusing and a real let down. I kept waiting after the closing music to hear if there would be an epilogue but sadly not and I felt that it might mar a listener’s overall enjoyment of the story as a whole.

All in all Ferril’s Folly is a very enjoyable tale, with two excellent performances but it loses marks for its baffling and disappointing ending.