Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Writer: Eddie Robson

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: September 2017

Reviewed by: Nick Mellish for Doctor Who Online

"The Doctor's adventures in time and space are over. The Time Lords have recalled him to Gallifrey – but what he faces on his home planet is worse than any trial. Following the disappearance of President Borusa, the High Council condemned him to the highest office - and he can't evade his responsibilities a nanosecond longer...

So all hail the Lord High President! All hail President Doctor!

Rassilon save him. This time, there's really no escape."

Some stories and ideas fit some specific Doctors perfectly. Imagine The Curse of Fenric with the Sixth Doctor for example, or The Rescue with the Tenth: it just doesn't quite gel. Here with Time in Office though, we have the perfect marriage of incarnation and scenario, and full credit to Alan Barnes for suggesting it. You can just about picture the Fourth Doctor doing the job of President and purposely sending it up. The Sixth would be all bluster and indignation, but he would secretly enjoy the comfy seats and pomp more than he cares to admit. The Fifth though? So polite and unable to run away from a job he knows he will hate? It's the best fit.

Eddie Robson knows this, and writes for the Fifth Doctor especially well, and Time in Office is a perfect testimony to that fact. Throw in Leela and Tegan, too, and you've got a recipe for success, and thankfully 'a success' is undoubtedly what the finished product ends up being.

The Doctor's TARDIS is intercepted on the way to Frontios and before long our hero is in front of cameras, unable to escape, and being forced into office very much against his will. Leela is on hand to try and smooth things over, and Tegan is being held prisoner before being offered a position she cannot refuse.

There is something truly wonderful about seeing the Doctor, and more specifically this Doctor, run through diplomatic hoops. The trouble is, the Doctor is not without a past, and this comes to the fore in Part Two especially, which is genuinely funny and smart. The pairing of the Fifth Doctor and Leela (and indeed Peter Davison with Louise Jameson) works really well, and the addition of Tegan (and Janet Fielding) in the mix is the icing on the cake. It's easy to forget sometimes just how good the acting from the regulars is; we're so used to hearing or seeing their performances that it's easy to become blasé about it. Likewise, it's easy to forget at times just how much better served the regulars can be by Big Finish, but this blows those memory lapses out of the water and reminds you time and again just how good they all are.

Fielding especially gets to shine throughout the play with some brilliant comedy that suits both her character and the tone of the story down to a tee, whilst Robson writes to Davison's strengths with practised ease. The only thing which never really works in the play is Tegan’s love of adventure, seeing as we know she leaves soon after this play due to not enjoying things anymore.  That’s always the major problem with Big Finish plays though: they only fit to some extent and often you need wriggle room to make to really work.

Ignore that though. Nearly every facet of this play has an air of confidence and polish about it, from the script (with fan jokes about the number of regenerations a Time Lord can have to knowing comments about how male-centric Gallifrey is (a thread which ran through Doom Coalition to good effect, too)) to the performances to the direction. Indeed, the direction and performances feel the tightest we have had for a while now, and full praise must go to Helen Goldwyn for that.

Perhaps that says a lot though? Perhaps it shows that a shake-up in production team and format works wonders and gives the main range a much-needed kick and breath of fresh air?

Compare this play to nearly all the others this year and it stands out for being pleasingly different and pleasantly fresh-feeling. The story of an element coming to a dusty but well-meaning entity and shaking things up by being different feels symbolic of this play's position in the wider Big Finish pantheon right now.

Yes, this is a play which is for fans only really and takes in a lot of continuity points here and there, and yes, this is a play which still runs with the 4x4 format, albeit it with a new glance. But it's also a play which re-invigorates that format, plays with continuity in a fun and cheeky way, and actually uses the past to good purpose.

This isn't a play which says "oh, go on, let's put the Fifth Doctor with Leela" with no thought beyond. This is a story which does that because it fits perfectly and doesn't feel shoe-horned in by committee like nearly all of the Locum Doctors scripts a while ago did.

In some ways, this makes it all the more frustrating as there isn't really any excuse why it isn't this imaginative and fun every month. There are times when it feels as if the monthly/main range just rests on its laurels a little, and a play like this only shows that up.  A bit more imagination, a bit more daring do, a shake-up of the format... perhaps the future will see this happen and the now tired trilogy formula will get the injection of energy and verve it so desperately needs.

For now though, let us celebrate this Doctor's time in office and not feel too sad that it wasn't longer still.

+  ORDER this CD via Amazon.co.uk!

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Stephen Cole

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: June 2014

Reviewed by: Nick Mellish for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 16th July 2014

France, the year 1770: by special invitation, the famous 'Doctor', friend of Voltaire, arrives at the lonely estate of the lovely Marquise de Rimdelle – once a hostess to the highest of high society, now isolated by the strange, pernicious mist that lingers round the countryside.

But there's more in that fog than mere vapour, confesses the Marquise's strange niece to the Doctor's ward, Nyssa. She senses some uncanny machine circling the fringes of the estate, in the space between the shadows. Watching. Always watching. She's given it a name: 'The Steamroller Man'.

Meanwhile, the man in the cellar talks to the Doctor; a dead man, trapped behind the cellar walls. The Steamroller Man is coming, he says; coming to smash the place down. It seems the Doctor has been drawn into a very dangerous liaison…

* * *
Before I even start this review, I want to note that it is going to contain spoilers, not just for this play but the other two in this recent Fifth Doctor/Nyssa trilogy also.  You have been warned!

The third in this most recent run of adventures for the Doctor and Nyssa sees them joined once again by Hannah Bartholomew, the latest TARDIS stray who we met at the start of this trilogy and surprised us all in the midway point (or did so to this listener at any rate).  Masquerade starts off with us all on the back foot. You rather feel like you’ve skipped past the first three-or-so tracks when you begin the tale: plenty of things are afoot, and it’s up to us to play catch up. It is quite a neat and refreshing move and gets the story off to a good start. One thing I really admired the play for was not doing the usual thing of keeping a twist to one side until the cliffhanger to the opening episode. Within a few minutes, you are aware that things are not all they appear to be: The Doctor is not acting like The Doctor, Nyssa is not acting like Nyssa, and no-one else seems quite right either. Stephen Cole doesn’t shy away from being bold and blatant in his set-up so early on, and, again, this is something to be applauded. It bucks the trend and gives us something pleasingly original instead of the same old story trotted out yet again. It’s the sort of thing Big Finish can do so well at times, so it was nice to have it here.

Sadly though, Masquerade never lives up to that opening burst of ingenuity and flair. The story that follows is fine (things remain not what they ought to be, people keep being not who they appear to be, the regulars carry on getting to have some good “There’s something wrong with my mind!” moments) but, ultimately, nowhere near as strong or interesting as the opening would have you believe, which is a pity. Even the main antagonist lacks the required stench of fear or bite to really make all the elements gel.

Crucially, for a tale which so neatly bucks the trend to begin with, things later on feel increasingly... familiar. Cole’s writing is fine enough, but there is too much that feels like we’ve seen it all before.  I had that a little bit with Tomb Ship last month, being able to directly compare like-for-like that story to another Fifth Doctor one, and whilst that isn’t the case here, you can still see the numbers beneath the drying paint, sadly.

Even the very ending can be seen coming, and what happens next (as in, in future releases)... well, sadly I can imagine. I can imagine that there is a clear ending here but that, as with Hex and Flip and Charley and, arguably, even Nyssa, Big Finish won’t stop. Because the ending here clearly signals the end of Hannah. But will it be? I doubt it somehow.

The very ending feels rather rushed, as if it’s missing a TARDIS scene to tie things up, which perhaps gives the impression more of a pause before Hannah returns in some guise than a full stop, which it should be for the story to make any sense at all. It feels like Hannah was never intended to reappear beyond Moonflesh and now Big Finish are uncertain what to do with her: do they kill her off? (Yes, sort of.) Do they keep the doors open? (Maybe: explains the way the tale just... ends without any sense of closure.) Or does it reflect Hannah being a very late addition, so they can dispose of her character without any grand gesture, as if she were just an additional cast member in this story only? (Possibly.)

I don’t know what happens next.  Maybe Hannah will return. Oddly, I think they need to tie up the ending here in some way, but I would rather see her staying put. An acknowledgement of her fate perhaps hanging over The Doctor and Nyssa in their next adventure before carrying on afresh? I think this would work better than the alternative, which is having her come back and making a nonsense of this story’s plot. I guess we will see.

What I do know is that this speculation is perhaps more enjoyable to engage in than listening to Masquerade was. Heck, the fact the original CD pressing and download were missing about five seconds’ worth of dialogue created more drama than you get for the most part in this play.

A series of diminishing returns, I hope the next Fifth Doctor and Nyssa trilogy glows brighter.

Doctor Who Executive Producer and Head Writer, Steven Moffat has teased that The 12th Doctor may be headed back to a planet he visited in the 5th Doctor adventure, Planet Of Fire.

Speaking in a press release issued today, which also confirms the casting of Hermione Norris in Series 8, Moffat said:

“For the first time since 1984, the Doctor Who production team is heading to Lanzarote. The Doctor is returning to the scene of an old adventure - but there have been sinister changes since his last visit." 

On Norris' casting Moffat added:

“It's a testament to the quality of Peter Harness's intense and emotional script, that we've been able to attract an actress of the brilliance of Hermione Norris."

Speaking about her casting, Hermione Norris said:

"It's exciting to be part of such an iconic show, and one that my kids can watch!!!"

Norris has recently been starring in The Crimson Field on BBC One, and is no stranger to solving mysteries having played Ros Myers in the BAFTA award-winning drama Spooks. Prior to that she starred in comedy-drama Cold Feet.

The episode is written by Peter Harness (Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell, Wallander), produced by Peter Bennett and directed by Paul Wilmshurst (Strike Back, Combat Kids). The episode also stars Ellis George, Tony Osoba and Phil Nice.

+  Series 8 will air in Late August / Early September 2014.

Get in touch:
Do you think The 12th Doctor will be going back to Sarn? Discuss via the Forum link or in the Comments box below!  

[Source: BBC Press Office]

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Jonathan Morris

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: June 2013

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 13th July 2013

Twenty-five years ago, with Richter's Syndrome running rampant throughout the galaxy, the brilliant biochemist Nyssa, formerly of Traken, bade a painful farewell to her young family... and set off into the space, in search of a cure for this deadly disease.

She never returned.

Now, her grown-up son continues her work on the penal colony of Valderon, still desperate to make the breakthrough that eluded his presumed-dead mother.

So when the TARDIS lands on Valderon, bringing the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa to its fortress prison, the scene is set for a painful reunion... but not only for Nyssa. The Doctor's past is about to catch up with him too...

* * *

This season of Fifth Doctor stories has focused primarily on the companions and for its closing chapter we have a very emotional and dramatic story about Nyssa. 

The great problem when trying to write a review of Prisoners of Fate is that there are so many revelations and surprises that to go into too much detail would be to spoil your enjoyment terribly. The great plot threads surrounding Nyssa that began in way back in Cobwebs finally come to their dramatic conclusion. 

This story feels very much like an extended version of a finale in the recent television episodes.

There is high emotion, paradoxes and great universal danger. Amidst all this Prisoners of Fate is a very personal story for Nyssa and her lost family, more specifically her son Adric. Their relationship and destiny are at the real heart of this story and it never feels over shadowed by the paradoxical nature of it all.

Jonathan Morris is a highly gifted writer, who not only knows his Doctor but can add such wonderful new things to the already existing mythology which enrich it further for long time fans. He offers tantalizing glimpses of the Doctor’s past and future, all of which is essential to one of the great plot twists in the story.

The entire cast is on incredibly fine form and Sarah Sutton’s performance is just wonderful. The story has a wide range of emotions for Nyssa which Sutton carries off beautifully. It is certainly the highlight of an already impressive audio adventure.

Prisoners of Fate certainly sets up the future for this TARDIS team on audio and it will be very interesting to see what happens next.

Do your best to avoid any spoilers and enjoy a brilliant conclusion to a highly enjoyable trilogy.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Paul Magrs

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: May 2013

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 30th May 2013

The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa to the University of Frodsham, close to where the warrior queen Æthelfrid fought a desperate and bloody rearguard action against the savage Danes. Over a thousand years later, in 1983, battle is still being raged, with student activists taking on savage funding cuts… and disrupting a conference about Æthelfrid convened by history professor John Bleak.

Meanwhile, over in the Physics Department, Dr Philippa Stone is working night and day on a top-secret project – but can her theoretical time machine really be the solution to the university's problems?

Present and past are about to collide – and the results, as the TARDIS crew is about to discover, will be far from academic!

* * *

This season of Fifth Doctor adventures has put the companion at centre stage of the story. Last month’s Eldrad Must Die concentrated on Turlough and in The Lady of Mercia we have a very Tegan-centric story.

I must admit that I am not Tegan’s biggest fan. On television I found the character to be rather annoying, but recently in the audio adventures I have warmed to her a lot more. This, I think, is down to the writing which has done the character more justice. Paul Magrs has written a tale which plays both to the character’s strengths and weaknesses. 

The Lady of Mercia is essentially a historical story framed within a science fiction context. The time machine built in the University laboratory is merely a device to propel some of our characters into the main story in the dark ages whilst sending another back to the future. Despite the implausibility (he says reviewing a Doctor Who story) that a university scientist could invent a time machine in 1983, it acts as a neat little device to move the story along. 

Magrs has taken what we know of the Dark Age Queen Æthelfrid and created an intriguing story that adds a few twists to the facts. He plays upon a familiar trope with the classic series’ historical stories where a member of the TARDIS crew ends up impersonating a figure from history. In this case it is central to Tegan’s progression through the story. How she reacts to being cajoled by Æthelfrid into impersonating her daughter to help her keep face with the people of Mercia is great fun.

It is rather touching to see Tegan get so into her role that she starts looking upon Æthelfrid as a mother figure and dangerously adopts the Queen’s battles as her own. Janet Fielding’s performance is fantastic throughout and we see how Tegan’s impatient nature gets her into very serious trouble especially in the climactic scene in York Minster. The scene is one of impending disaster and the main cast do an excellent job of making us feel that it could all go horribly wrong at any second.

The supporting cast is tremendous, the highlight being Rachel Atkins who’s no-nonsense portrayal as Æthelfrid is both witty and incredibly powerful. The other members of the cast do have some fun sub plots to play with, such as student protests and illicit student / lecturer affairs - one of which Turlough is amusedly caught in the middle of. They are lovely moments of comedy in amongst the grand and tense historical drama being played out.

The Lady of Mercia is a very entertaining adventure and a great chapter in this latest trilogy for The Fifth Doctor.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: John Dorney

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: 30th September 2012

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 10th October 2012

The Houses of Gadarel and Sorsha have been at war for decades.

Each House has a claim to the Imperial Throne of the Drashani Empire. The civilisation that spans galaxies is now soaked in the blood of millions and finally seems to be at an end. The process for peace was near to completion with the union in marriage of Prince Kylo and Princess Aliona. But the marriage was halted when the Princesses’ wedding galley crash landed on the planet Sharnax.

All contact and hope it seemed was lost.

A rescue ship is dispatched to discover the fate of the Princess with representatives from both Houses; the Prince included trying desperately to not let the chance of peace slip away. There are those on both sides however who do not wish for peace, and sabotage is not too far away. 

Arriving on board the rescue ship by accident, The Doctor soon becomes entangled in the games of power and peace with deadly creatures not too far behind. Can The Doctor avert more bloodshed or will the Prince Kylo’s burning desire to be reunited with his love destroy the fates of all?

For the final trilogy in the main range this year, Big Finish have gone and created an epic story. Across three releases, each with a different Doctor, they want to tell the history of one sector of space and its history over time. It is an ambitious undertaking for the last three releases of 2012 but if they live up to the strength of The Burning Prince it just might be the crowning jewel of what has been a very strong year for the Doctor Who main range.

The Burning Prince is a thrilling under siege and whodunit story wrapped up in the fabric of a grand space opera. There is a remarkable amount of world building here woven into the core and background of the play, and it is a testament to John Dorney’s abilities as a writer that he makes all of the threads work and not crumble under its own weight.

The story charges along at break neck speed and even in the quieter moments there is always something exciting going on. It is a very linear plot but this is to the play’s strength making it one of the most enjoyable Big Finish stories this year.

One of the interesting aspects of this trilogy is to remove The Doctor’s companions from him and in The Burning Prince the decision works to the story’s advantage.

As great as it is to hear The Fifth Doctor with his regular companions, on his own here with no one to vouch for him, we get to see what makes The Fifth Doctor work well as a character. He is completely under suspicion but still possesses that remarkable ability to get people on side very quickly. Without the familiar companions the sense of peril is ramped up and you just have no idea who is going to make it out alive. This is a refreshing change from the norm and one I’d like to see repeated.

The ensemble cast is fantastic and it is incredible how many of the characters make an impact despite some of them being killed off a few scenes afterwards. 

Peter Davison is on top form as The Doctor, balancing both moral outrage and a dry sense of humour. He is incredibly funny in a few scenes and I’d love to see more of this in future Fifth Doctor stories as his characterization gets a little more room to develop here through the perspective of strangers.

There are excellent performances by Clive Mantle as Tuvold and George Rainsford as the tortured Prince Kylo. The highlight of the play is Kirsty Besterman as Princess Aliona. To do an in-depth exploration of her character would be revealing too much of the story but rest assured her performance is exceptional, layered and memorable.

The twist in the story is a little obvious if you are listening carefully but the result of it is chilling and rather bleak which is very similar to the latter Fifth Doctor television stories.

It remains to be seen just what elements of this play will either thematically or explicitly run through the rest of the trilogy but if The Burning Prince is anything to go by, it will be very much worth finding out.

Forbidden Planet have teamed up with Character Options for another Exclusive Action Figure set.

The Resurrection of the Daleks Set features The 5th Doctor with Davros and two Daleks from Resurrection of the Daleks.

The TARDIS, with the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough on board, becomes caught in a time corridor. Once freed it materialises in London in 1984 near the exit of the corridor. Upon investigating warehouses nearby, the travellers stumble upon a trap set for them by the Daleks!

The Resurrection of the Daleks Set is released January 2011, priced £34.99.

 Buy Now from Forbidden Planet!

[Source: Forbidden Planet]