Big Finish Audio Plays: Other Lives - Gary Hopkins
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After the intensity of Rob Shearman's "Scherzo" yesterday, I needed something a little more light-hearted, so I listened to Gary Hopkins' "Other Lives", which is set some time after Eight and Charley get back from the Divergent Universe.
Other Lives is set in Victorian London at the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, and by now the Doctor and Charley have been joined by C'rizz (pronounced Cerys), a Eutermesan, one of a race of reptilian, exoskeletal humanoids with vestigial bone structures on their heads. They have the ability to change their skin colour, allowing them to blend in, like chameleons, with their surroundings. Nevertheless, someone who looks like C'rizz isn't going to fit in easily in 19th Century London!
The story centres on the idea that the Doctor and his companions each have a "double" in 1851. For Charley and C'rizz (once he's disguised as a human), their doubles are two French aristocrats who unwittingly abscond with the TARDIS, but the Doctor's double is a missing married man: Doctor Edward Marlow. For the majority of this story the three time-travellers assume these other lives, the Doctor posing as the husband of Georgina Marlow so that she won't lose her home to the unlikeable Mr. Rufus Dimplesqueeze, whilst Charley poses as the French aristocrat in order to help the elderly Duke Of Wellington (brilliantly voiced by Ron Moody) prevent a potential revolution. C'rizz eventually ends up joining Charley, posing as her husband, but his journey is a longer and more difficult one than that of his companion as he is initially captured by the repulsive Jacob Crackles, who runs a Freak Show (supposedly for educational purposes), and soon C'rizz finds himself being exhibited alongside Maxi, a midget. Crackles is a typically Dickensian villain - but although he might be a stereotype, he works very well in this story.
Before Charley gets involved in pretending to be a French aristocrat, she gets mistaken for a prostitute - and is very loudly outraged by this incident, but I confess I had the giggles over the incident! Fortunately she encounters the Duke of Wellington, whom she cheerfully addresses as Arthur, to the utter disgust of his aide Mr Fazackerly (voiced by Michael Hobbs), who considers she's being far too familiar and disrespectful (his frequent admonishments to Charley to address the Duke as "Your Grace" did get a bit wearing after a while, though).
The Doctor, meanwhile, is trying to cope with pretending to be the husband of Georgina Marlow (played by India Fisher's sister, Francesca Hunt - which disconcerted me for some time as I was convinced India was playing the two roles, and I had to check the cast list to confirm or deny this!) - and he handles the situation in a very sensitive manner (which was something of a relief after his harshness in "Scherzo"). Georgina's husband, Edward, vanished almost a year ago and she is in danger of losing her home unless the Doctor can convince Edward's Uncle, who owns the house, that he is indeed Doctor Edward Marlow. This allows us to see the Doctor in the unfamiliar situation of domestic life, something that seems to appeal more and more to the Time Lord as the story progresses.
Eventually the truanting French aristrocrats return, and the Doctor, Charley and C'rizz are able to be on their way (and fortunately the Doctor's succeeded in convincing Edward's uncle that he is in fact Edward), having had an interesting spell of living other lives.
After the intensity of Rob Shearman's "Scherzo" yesterday, I needed something a little more light-hearted, so I listened to Gary Hopkins' "Other Lives", which is set some time after Eight and Charley get back from the Divergent Universe.
Other Lives is set in Victorian London at the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, and by now the Doctor and Charley have been joined by C'rizz (pronounced Cerys), a Eutermesan, one of a race of reptilian, exoskeletal humanoids with vestigial bone structures on their heads. They have the ability to change their skin colour, allowing them to blend in, like chameleons, with their surroundings. Nevertheless, someone who looks like C'rizz isn't going to fit in easily in 19th Century London!
The story centres on the idea that the Doctor and his companions each have a "double" in 1851. For Charley and C'rizz (once he's disguised as a human), their doubles are two French aristocrats who unwittingly abscond with the TARDIS, but the Doctor's double is a missing married man: Doctor Edward Marlow. For the majority of this story the three time-travellers assume these other lives, the Doctor posing as the husband of Georgina Marlow so that she won't lose her home to the unlikeable Mr. Rufus Dimplesqueeze, whilst Charley poses as the French aristocrat in order to help the elderly Duke Of Wellington (brilliantly voiced by Ron Moody) prevent a potential revolution. C'rizz eventually ends up joining Charley, posing as her husband, but his journey is a longer and more difficult one than that of his companion as he is initially captured by the repulsive Jacob Crackles, who runs a Freak Show (supposedly for educational purposes), and soon C'rizz finds himself being exhibited alongside Maxi, a midget. Crackles is a typically Dickensian villain - but although he might be a stereotype, he works very well in this story.
Before Charley gets involved in pretending to be a French aristocrat, she gets mistaken for a prostitute - and is very loudly outraged by this incident, but I confess I had the giggles over the incident! Fortunately she encounters the Duke of Wellington, whom she cheerfully addresses as Arthur, to the utter disgust of his aide Mr Fazackerly (voiced by Michael Hobbs), who considers she's being far too familiar and disrespectful (his frequent admonishments to Charley to address the Duke as "Your Grace" did get a bit wearing after a while, though).
The Doctor, meanwhile, is trying to cope with pretending to be the husband of Georgina Marlow (played by India Fisher's sister, Francesca Hunt - which disconcerted me for some time as I was convinced India was playing the two roles, and I had to check the cast list to confirm or deny this!) - and he handles the situation in a very sensitive manner (which was something of a relief after his harshness in "Scherzo"). Georgina's husband, Edward, vanished almost a year ago and she is in danger of losing her home unless the Doctor can convince Edward's Uncle, who owns the house, that he is indeed Doctor Edward Marlow. This allows us to see the Doctor in the unfamiliar situation of domestic life, something that seems to appeal more and more to the Time Lord as the story progresses.
Eventually the truanting French aristrocrats return, and the Doctor, Charley and C'rizz are able to be on their way (and fortunately the Doctor's succeeded in convincing Edward's uncle that he is in fact Edward), having had an interesting spell of living other lives.