Doctor Who: The Legacy of Time (Big Finish audios from 2019)
I have been slack about Big Finish recently - over the last few months, I picked up listening to the tremendous backlog of their output that I had not previously got to, but have blogged very little here. (In particular, I recommend Susans War with Carole Ann Ford, and the David Tennant/Tom Baker crossover Out Of Time 1.) Anyway, important to record that I got and thoroughly enjoyed the six Legacy of Time audios, released to celebrate Big Finish's 20th anniversary in 2019. Here's the promotional video:
What the video doesn't say is that all six stories are about time paradoxes, which is a trope used surprisingly rarely in Doctor Who given that it's a show about a time traveller. (The first TV story that really used it was The Space Museum in 1965, I think.) I would also say that all six stories are good, taking the theme in a slightly different direction each time. Part of the attraction is always the stunt casting, of course, but even so the actors rise to the occasion as is not always the case. So if you're not sure about Big Finish but want a smorgasbord of different Doctors, this is probably a good sample to take. €30 for the download is really not all that much for six solid hours of entertainment.
In detail, the stories are:
1. Lies in Ruins by James Goss, one of my favourite Who writers, bringing together two great archæologists, River Song and Bernice Summerfield, with the Eighth Doctor and a mysteriously dim new companion. A good double entendre in the title.
2. The Split Infinitive by John Dorney, a bit more moored in Big Finish continuity than others, with Ace and the Seventh Doctor separately interacting with the Counter-Measures team (from Remembrance of the Daleks) in the 1960s and 1970s respectively.
3. The Sacrifice of Jo Grant by Guy Adams, bringing together Katy Manning and Jemma Redgrave as Jo Jones/Grant and Kate Stewart, and Tim Treloar doing his impressive Third Doctor impression.
4. Relative Time by Matt Fitton, possibly the best of the lot, with Georgia Tennant and Peter Davison as Jenny and the Fifth Doctor, along with the Big Finish criminal Time Lord known here as The Nine. Rather glorious.
5. The Avenues of Possibility by Jonathan Morris, another one rooted in Big Finish continuity with the Sixth Doctor and Charley Pollard (India Fisher) having another adventure with D.I. Patricia Menzies (Anna Hope), this time however involving timeslips to 18th-century London and Henry Fielding, author of Tom Jones.
6. Collision Course by Guy Adams again, which is partly an excuse for Louise Jameson and Lalla Ward as Leela and Romana to spark off each others' reminiscences of their Doctor (who is also my Doctor); ending with a sort of rave-up with David Bradley as the First Doctor, Frazer Hines as the Second, Tim Treloar as the Third, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann and nonchalantly David Tennant.
I thought this was great. Well worth a listen.
Click to viewWhat the video doesn't say is that all six stories are about time paradoxes, which is a trope used surprisingly rarely in Doctor Who given that it's a show about a time traveller. (The first TV story that really used it was The Space Museum in 1965, I think.) I would also say that all six stories are good, taking the theme in a slightly different direction each time. Part of the attraction is always the stunt casting, of course, but even so the actors rise to the occasion as is not always the case. So if you're not sure about Big Finish but want a smorgasbord of different Doctors, this is probably a good sample to take. €30 for the download is really not all that much for six solid hours of entertainment.
In detail, the stories are:
1. Lies in Ruins by James Goss, one of my favourite Who writers, bringing together two great archæologists, River Song and Bernice Summerfield, with the Eighth Doctor and a mysteriously dim new companion. A good double entendre in the title.
2. The Split Infinitive by John Dorney, a bit more moored in Big Finish continuity than others, with Ace and the Seventh Doctor separately interacting with the Counter-Measures team (from Remembrance of the Daleks) in the 1960s and 1970s respectively.
3. The Sacrifice of Jo Grant by Guy Adams, bringing together Katy Manning and Jemma Redgrave as Jo Jones/Grant and Kate Stewart, and Tim Treloar doing his impressive Third Doctor impression.
4. Relative Time by Matt Fitton, possibly the best of the lot, with Georgia Tennant and Peter Davison as Jenny and the Fifth Doctor, along with the Big Finish criminal Time Lord known here as The Nine. Rather glorious.
5. The Avenues of Possibility by Jonathan Morris, another one rooted in Big Finish continuity with the Sixth Doctor and Charley Pollard (India Fisher) having another adventure with D.I. Patricia Menzies (Anna Hope), this time however involving timeslips to 18th-century London and Henry Fielding, author of Tom Jones.
6. Collision Course by Guy Adams again, which is partly an excuse for Louise Jameson and Lalla Ward as Leela and Romana to spark off each others' reminiscences of their Doctor (who is also my Doctor); ending with a sort of rave-up with David Bradley as the First Doctor, Frazer Hines as the Second, Tim Treloar as the Third, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann and nonchalantly David Tennant.
I thought this was great. Well worth a listen.