Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Robert Valentine

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: March 2021

Reviewed by: Nick Mellish for Doctor Who Online

"The Universe is in a state of crisis, facing destruction from the results of a strange spatio-temporal event. And the Doctor is involved in three different incarnations - each caught up in a deadly adventure, scattered across time and space.

The whole of creation is threatened - and someone is hunting the Doctor. The three incarnations of the Doctor must join together to confront their implacable pursuer - but in doing so will they unleash a still greater threat?"

WARNING: The following review contains spoilers. You have been warned!

I remember the launch of Big Finish Production’s Doctor Who plays vividly, listening to Talking ‘Bout My Regeneration while playing Super Mario 64 and being pretty intrigued as I died yet again in the bloody sinking sand. I was treated to The Sirens of Time on CD by my dad and copied it to an audio cassette to listen to in the car while being driven up to Coventry for Battlefield 3, a Doctor Who convention I attended with an old school friend. I couldn’t resist sneaking a quick listen the night before though, just a couple of scenes with Peter Davison. It all felt so exciting: new Who, at last!

It was years later that I had money of my own to spend and I eagerly jumped into the Big Finish fray. Paul McGann became one of my very favourite actors to play the role; writers such as Jacqueline Rayner and Robert Shearman blew me away; Dalek Empire was incredible; and companions like Evelyn and Charley intrigued me. Of course, for every high there were lows that hit rock bottom hard, as anyone who’s endured Dreamtime can attest to. Broadly speaking though, it all felt very fresh and exciting, bursting full of energy and new ideas and monsters and concepts.

Let’s be fair, Big Finish was never going to keep that momentum up, especially not 275 releases into its monthly range, but even so, it’s curious to see how Big Finish has changed with time. Gone is the newness that once was, replaced by releases crammed with old enemies or planets or characters. Gone is the sense of special brevity, replaced by spin-off series all over the place. Gone is the wide pool of writers, increasingly narrowed down to the same people time and again. Frankly, gone is a lot of the magic that made Big Finish so brilliant.

Here we are then with The End of the Beginning, the final play in the monthly range; a play which tries to claw back some of the range’s past glories and does, in part, succeed in doing so.

Robert Valentine has written a play here consciously structured in part like Sirens was all those years ago: a sole Doctor in parts One to Three and then all of them united at the end. Valentine previously wrote The Lovecraft Invasion for the monthly range (very good until they added in some ‘damage control’ scenes, which rank up there with the worst thing Big Finish have ever done to kill a release dead) and so he undoubtedly feels like a slightly odd shout for the man to handle the final outing, though at the same time it’s rather nice that a less familiar voice is handling it. It makes it that bit more unexpected, and of course outside of the inner reaches of fandom Nicholas Briggs wasn’t a huge name when he launched the range with the first play all those years ago. No, Valentine is a fine choice to be ending things with.

We begin with the Fifth Doctor and Turlough in the desert, with what was probably my favourite episode of the bunch. Peter Davison and Mark Strickson give it their all and the guest characters are sketched out well.  Next up it’s time for the Sixth Doctor and Constance Clarke. I wonder if Flip was originally meant to be along for the ride but then they couldn’t secure her for one reason or another? Either way, she is rendered out for the count in a coma and instead our heroes are joined by Calypso Jonze from Valentine’s aforementioned The Lovecraft Invasion. I’m mixed on this. When reviewing that play, I said that I wouldn’t mind seeing Calypso back but I fear I was wrong with that assertion. Here, Calypso felt tired and done; the joke and character beats worn thin. Also, for a release winding up a range of 275 plays, chucking in a character that’s only been in one play and expecting everyone to keep up feels a bit strange and maybe a bit self-indulgent on Valentine’s part. Perhaps it was always the intention to have her in and Flip out but it sticks out for me, and not in an especially good way.

After this, we’re onto the Eighth Doctor and Charley in an adventure set in 1999 (see what they did there?) Do you remember the days when the Eighth Doctor was in the monthly range of plays and not relegated to box sets only? It’s been a while. Big Finish + Vampires mostly makes me think of the Seventh Doctor and the Forge, though I suppose Vampire Science worked well for the Eighth Doctor and this episode is certainly enjoyable enough, largely as India Fisher is, as always, brilliant. Paul McGann meanwhile sounds a bit like he’s stuck in a submarine, his microphone quality feeling decidedly sub-par compared to everybody else’s.  There’s a rather touching scene at the end though between him and Tim Faulkner’s character Highgate, which works really well. Two small performances in a big world that winds up being utterly touching. Ah McGann, there’s a reason you and Fisher were two of my favourites.

Throughout these episodes, we’ve had mysterious artefacts slowly being collected, a teacher from the Doctor’s past, Gostak, popping in, and a sinister character, Vakrass, last of the Death Lords of Keffa, making appearances. Things are all tied up in the final episode and, oh lordy lou, if the twist with Vakrass isn’t one of the best things Big Finish have given us in bloody ages then I don’t know what is. Genuinely, I laughed and felt utterly surprised and there, just for a moment, I was flung back to the very early days.

Gostak of course turns out to not be the wise teacher the Doctors remember but his evil plan (something to do with time), its unravelling (something to do with trickery) and its eventual disposal (something to do with… something) are pretty forgettable.  It’s been 72 hours and I’m genuinely drawing a blank, despite remembering other plot points really clearly.  I’m not sure it needs to be otherwise though, as the highlight here is meant to be the Doctors all joining forces. Valentine handles this well enough, though the companions feel like spare parts. Sylvester McCoy jumps into the fray here briefly, too, and I mean briefly. The play would have been far better served to neither mention his name in the cast list or feature his image on the CD cover, as it simultaneously raises your expectations for him to be in it in a substantial role (he isn’t) and ruins what would have been a rather nice surprise cameo.

We end things with some nod-nod-wink dialogue that has bypassed subtlety completely, being less about the Doctor going off on more adventures and more about Big Finish’s ranges continuing. Colin Baker gets the final word, which is amusingly apt, and that’s that.

How does it fare as a play? It’s okay. Not the best, far from the worst. It gets by though, and everyone seems game. How does it fare as an end to the range? Less well. It’s in a weird halfway house between being a celebration and nothing out of the ordinary. That’s entirely Big Finish’s own fault though. They’ve played around increasingly with multi-Doctor outings to the point where it’s just not special anymore. There is nothing about the various Doctors uniting here that feels celebratory or special. It just feels like more of the same from Big Finish... and that’s a crying shame. It shouldn’t be the case; it should feel special. But it doesn’t, at all.

Maybe that’s in The End of the Beginning’s favour? Maybe by robbing it of an air of being special, it means there’s less pressure to feel the weight of importance and more time to just take it for what it is. Maybe. The jury remains out.

What The End of the Beginning is, is an enjoyable enough way to kill a couple of hours with a couple of nice moments, one brilliantly unexpected character beat, and some questionable elements which totally fail to land. I’ll take it.

While a good title, The End of the Beginning does not really sum up Big Finish: that beginning died a long time ago; things are very different now. In many ways the monthly range is unrecognisable to what it once was, and so it’s set to shift again. What will the future hold? We’ll know before too long.  It won’t be me reviewing it; I’m hanging my hat up here and letting someone else get on with the business of listening to all things Big Finish from now on. I wish them luck though, and hope beyond hope that, a teensy bit of that past magic rears its head once again. Now that would be something worth celebrating.

+ The End Of The Beginning is OUT NOW, priced £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download).

+ ORDER this title on Amazon!

** This was Nick's final review for us at Doctor Who Online and we'd like to take this opportunity to thank him for all his many years of content for us. Nick joined DWO on 23rd September 2013 for his first review for 'Fanfare For The Commen Men', and has provided reviews every month without fail.

He will be sorely missed by us all at DWO, and we would like to wish him well in his future projects. Please do take a minute to check out Nick's blog here!

- Seb 

 Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Nicholas Briggs, Alan Barnes & Matt Fitton

RRP: £20.00 (CD) / £20.00 (Download)

Release Date: February 2014

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 17th February 2014

When the Doctor defeated the Dalek Time Controller and its Time Lord ally, the timelines shifted and events changed... but the danger is far from over. And new threats to the continued safety of the universe are emerging.

Molly O'Sullivan carried on with her life as a nursing assistant in World War One. She probably thought she would never see the Doctor in his 'Tardy-box' again...

From the Dalek occupied planet Nixyce VII through Earth's history and to the very edge of the universe, the Doctor's footprints across eternity are being tracked by foes old and new. But when did it all begin and when will it end? Living his life through the complexities of time travel, the Doctor can never be quite sure if he's experiencing his life in the most helpful order. The only certainty appears to be the advance of the powers of evil and the oncoming threat of a fight to the death against forces that would destroy everything the Doctor holds dear.

* * *

This really is a great period for The Eighth Doctor. After the huge success of the first award winning Dark Eyes, Paul McGann returned to the role of The Doctor in the extremely well-received Night of the Doctor. His brief but perfect performance got many fans unfamiliar with his portrayal very curious. 

Who was this mysterious Doctor who had previously had only one television adventure? And just who were those companions he listed off before turning into John Hurt?

Interest in The Eighth Doctor was at an all time high and Big Finish must have been leaping for joy, for not only being made cannon but I’m sure an increased interest in their excellent output by new listeners.

So it makes me doubly happy to say that the joyous wave for Paul McGann gets even higher with the release of Dark Eyes 2, a brilliant collection of stories that continues to push The Eighth Doctor into new and exciting territory.

Following a non-linear narrative told over 4 parts, Dark Eyes 2 excels in great storytelling and excellent characterisation. Knowledge of the previous Dark Eyes is essential as in some aspects of the main narrative it explicitly harks back to that story. 

But Dark Eyes 2 thankfully does not bog itself down too much in continuity as these linked stories are cracking tales in their own right.

Nicholas Briggs, who held sole writing duties on the first Dark Eyes only takes the first part whilst handing over writing duties of the rest to Alan Barnes and Matt Fitton. 

I shall not to go too much in depth into the storyline as there is so much to enjoy here and far too many surprises. What I can talk about is the fascinating story thread of the character of The Doctor.

The writers have really taken on board the direction of The Eighth Doctor as being the reluctant warrior. Whilst his previous incarnation had been the grand manipulator who had made difficult choices for the greater good, The Eighth Doctor makes them out of reluctance. He has seen so much death, the aftermath of which was explored in the first Dark Eyes, and he just wants to help make a difference to the universe without having to sacrifice anymore of those he cares about. It is a fascinating direction for a character that started out as a more romantic type. In light of what happens to the character in Night of the Doctor, the course taken here in Dark Eyes 2 is perfectly in line with The Eighth’s Doctor’s eventual fate. 

The performances from the main cast are excellent. Paul McGann is fantastic once again in the role and he really develops his performance throughout the stories.

Ruth Bradley makes a very welcome return as Molly O’ Sullivan joined by the excellent Nicola Walker as Liv Chenka, a character first seen in Nicholas Briggs' sublime Robophobia. Both characters are brilliant foils for the Doctor in different ways, and both have their own different experiences of The Doctor in the Dark Eyes 2 which creates some excellent dramatic tension and a unique perspective throughout. Nicholas Briggs steps behind the microphone not only as The Daleks but the delightfully devious Dalek Time Controller making a return appearance after the dramatic conclusion to the first Dark Eyes.

In a series of stories with returning characters, one of the sheer highlights is Alex Macqueen returning as the Master, a role he made completely his own in the excellent UNIT: Dominion.

It is difficult to find any fault with Dark Eyes 2, as a lot of steps have been taken to ensure this has all the quality of its predecessor but pushing it in new and tantalizing directions. 

With a superb cliff-hanger to conclude it, this reviewer cannot wait for Dark Eyes 3.

After the hugely popular reaction to the recent minisode, DWO caught up with The 8th Doctor, Paul McGann, for an exclusive video interview.

Speaking to DWO Editor, Seb J. Brook, Paul talks about The Night Of The Doctor, keeping secrets, future appearances, his costume and more!

Below is a transcript of the interview, and you can watch the video itself at the bottom:

Obviously it’s great to see you back on our screens again, how hard was it keeping it a secret?

That was tough, keeping it a secret! What’s actually slightly disappointing is when you realise you can’t keep a secret now. And you know it should have gone out next week, but they had to put it out this week because someone was about to put it out.

When did you film it?

We shot it in May.

That’s a long time to keep a secret!

Yeh, it wasn’t easy. I mean a couple of mates knew - family knew, and I’m pretty good at keeping a secret, but of course so many people work on something, you know, technicians and everybody else, and publicity people, you know, I’m not pointing the finger, except I’m saying, somewhere along the line, someone couldn’t resist pressing send.

A couple of days ago we were seeing still pictures from the episode going out before it had gone out, so Steven Moffat presumably thought “I’ve gotta do something”, so we released it.

But it all worked out ok in the end, didn’t it?

All’s well that ends well! But also, I was getting tweets back in July, and there were people saying things that they could only have known - so you can’t keep a secret!

Well one of the big questions we’re getting at the moment is that it’s been even more popular that even the fans thought it would be. It had everything they wanted for the past 6 years of Doctor Who stories in about 6 minutes…

…Well yeh and also, I suppose, it reconciled a narrative gap.

It did, yeh, definitely, but this is the thing, people are wanting more now…

…people are always want more! There are people here today saying “when are you gonna do a series”

Well that’s the thing, they want to know if you were offered to do a mini series would you do a mini series? 

Well, it’s like with the mini episode - if they send you the script and it’s good, you’ll do it. So, you know, these things are only as good as the material. So the real question is if the material was good enough and if you were available, you’d do it - cos it’s a Who!

Now you just had a birthday didn’t you?

On that day!

On that day! I mean, what a great present?!

So I regard it as Steven Moffat’s birthday present to me!

That’s great! So I imagine we’re going to have an action figure of you now in your new attire!

That costume in the mini episode, I think looks cool. Proper Time Lord!

It was an evolution of the one you had on-screen in the 1996 TV Movie.

Yeh…distressed, as they used to say in retail! Yeh, yeh, distressed! Yeh, it looked good, I thought.

Fans are saying the way you picked up The Doctor was seamless, you’ve evolved since doing the Big Finish stuff and it’s almost as if we’ve had three series of you on screen anyway because your Doctor has evolved through the audios.

Well I think that’s fair. Since doing the Big Finish’s, of course, I’ve been in it, I’ve still been part of things, so in a way it was easy - I’m glad you think it was seamless. Still, having said that, going on screen is a whole different thing.

Was it a bit surreal?

Yeh! Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss was there, a few people were there, you know, and everyone’s a fan as well, of course, and everyone was really excited to see it. (And probably sneakily trying on all the gear while I wasn’t looking).

Did you honestly think you would ever come back again?

Well not after…well, how long has it been? 17 years. After 10 years I though if they’re not going to ring me up now, they’re not going to ring me up.

You look pretty much the same though…

…keep talking! (smiles).

Well your hair now is actually half the length of the original wig you had in the series…

…I don’t wanna talk about it! (smirks) Bad memories! (looks at recent photo of the 8th Doctor) Well, I suppose, yeh, I could just about get away with it.

Well thank you very much and I hope you had a great birthday, and here’s hoping this isn’t the last time we’ve seen you on screen as well, honestly, it was a real treat for everyone!

Well, with Doctor Who you just never know…you never ever know, do you…

Watch DWO's video interview with Paul McGann, below:

[youtube:HxSHTmGKiUY]
Fans have started a petition to get the BBC to sign up McGann for a live action series. Show your support and sign the petition! 

+  Follow @PaulJMcGann on Twitter.
+  Follow @DrWhoOnline on Twitter.

(With thanks to the Showmasters team)

[Source: DWO]

He may not be in the 50th Anniversary Special (as far as official confirmation in this month's Doctor Who Magazine goes) but thanks to a YouTube user, you can now watch some unseen footage of Paul McGann as The Doctor in his audition video for the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie.

The video includes scenes that didn't make it into the final script, with some rather surprising revelations concerning Borusa and The Master, in a rare glimpse into what could have been.

Watch Paul McGann's audition video below:
[youtube:hq5A3HRTfuc] 
[Source: YouTube]

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Nicholas Briggs

RRP: £20.00 (CD) / £20.00 (Download)

Release Date: November 2012

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 3rd December 2012

The Doctor is a broken man. His best friend Lucie Miller and his great grandson Alex are both dead, murdered by The Daleks. He attempts to travel to the end of the Universe, desperately looking for one thing: Hope.

Hope does indeed find him, as The Doctor is given a mission by the Time Lords. They have uncovered a terrifying plot to destroy the universe and at the centre of it all is one person.

In the bloody days of the Great War, Voluntary Aid Detachment Nursing Assistant Molly O’Sullivan tends to the wounded and prays for her ailing mistress. Into Molly’s life arrives a very mysterious man and she soon finds herself pursued by strange and terrifying metal monsters and long suppressed secrets from her past. 

The Doctor and Molly are on the run and with The Daleks not far behind, will the Doctor discover the secret of Molly’s unnatural dark eyes... 

In the aftermath of the heartbreaking To the Death, The Eighth Doctor needed time to gather himself together. When we last saw him, he was filled with rage and broken. Big Finish wisely waited for the dust to settle on that adventure before telling us what happens next and as a result we got the wonderful trilogy of Eighth Doctor and Mary Shelly stories. It was the breath of fresh air we all needed as the shock of losing Lucie Miller was still rather raw. 

The time for The Eighth Doctor to return has arrived, and if the crashing of the Big Finish website on the day of its release was anything to go by, it has been greatly anticipated.

So has it been worth the wait? 

Yes. Yes it has.

Dark Eyes is marvellous from beginning to end. A fantastic story comprising a multitude of brilliant performances - this is a very exciting new era for Paul McGann’s Doctor.

Judging from the way he tackles the material, you can tell McGann relished every moment of the experience behind and off the microphone. This can surely be seen in The Eighth Doctor’s new attire on the box-set’s artwork. 

Although no mention of this sartorial change is explicitly mentioned in the play, this dramatic new look fits in with the tone of Dark Eyes. The Eighth Doctor is a shadow of himself; no longer the hopeful Byronic romantic. His usual Victorian clothing gets stained with mud after a mustard gas attack in the trenches of the Great War. Whether a deliberate decision or not, it certainly feels like a metaphorical bookend to that part of the character’s life. The Eighth Doctor is now angry, broody, suspicious and dark tempered. But underneath all that he is a man who is looking for hope.

In fact hope is the theme that runs throughout the core of Dark Eyes. In the face of his most bitter of losses The Doctor needs it more than ever. His hope comes in the form of new companion Molly O’Sullivan, played superbly by Ruth Bradley. 

Molly is a wonderful character and her no nonsense attitude towards The Doctor is a joy to listen to. The strong Irish accent and little inflections and phrases such as referring to the TARDIS as “Tardy-box” endear you to her almost immediately. Molly though is not simply there for comic relief, as writer, Nicholas Briggs, has given her a wonderful sense of compassion and loyalty, hidden under a tough shell. McGann and Bradley are a great pariring and I sincerely hope that she is not a one story character as the potential for Molly to be a continuing companion is utterly tantalising.

Dark Eyes lets its story build slowly throughout. Despite each episode being self titled, they are not self contained stories operating along one theme, rather they four parts of one epic story. Things get off to a terrific start in The Great War, which introduces us to the players and a mystery amongst the bleak setting of trench warfare. Part Two, Fugitives is a great run around story as Molly and The Doctor are chased constantly by The Daleks as the main mystery of Molly’s past begins to come to the surface. This is explored more in depth in Part Three, The Tangled Web, an incredibly creepy play in which the pieces of the puzzle come together culminating in the dramatic finale X and The Daleks.

So what of The Daleks?

After the events of To the Death it is fitting that the monsters from Skaro are the overwhelming threat dogging The Doctor’s heels in Dark Eyes. Interestingly, Briggs keeps the Daleks at a distance for great portions of the story though they are never far behind The Doctor and Molly. The Daleks here are a force that just keeps coming and they are truly terrifying. If there is one thing that will make you shudder whilst listening to this story it is a moment that comes in Part Three. I will say only one word: Giggling.

One of Briggs' best contributions to the Dalek universe, the Dalek Time Controller, who we last saw in To the Death, is in charge, working alongside Toby Jones’ wonderfully enigmatic Kotris. Both are lurking in the shadows for most of the story, but when they do finally take centre stage in part four it is fantastic to listen to.

Speaking of Toby Jones, Dark Eyes is blessed with an exceptional voice cast.

The two main leads and guest star aside, Peter Egan makes an excellent impression as the newly regenerated Time Lord Starxus, a more devious incarnation than the one previously portrayed by Nickolas Grace. Fantastic support comes from Tim Treloar, Laura Molyneaux, Natalie Burt and a lovely performance by Ian Cullen as Nadeyan. 

There is so much more I could discuss, but to say too much would rob you of the sheer joy of it all. Loyal Big Finish listeners may have had to wait a bit longer to get a hold of this release, but it was certainly worth it.