Big Finish, Companion Chronicles
Now this is a really good story, though the extras are actually a bit tedious for once. The TARDIS team of Polly, Ben, Jamie, and the 2nd Doctor arrive on a train track in France during WWII, which they find out pretty quickly as the French Gestapo arrive within moments of them landing. They all scatter, Jamie is shot and captured, then in an attempt to rescue them, Jamie and Ben are captured so the Doctor and Polly are on their own. As the story unfolds, we get to hear the concerns of Polly, how she wants to make a difference and isn’t sure that she is with the team or in general. But it turns out that she is braver than she thinks and manages to help save lives.
I really enjoyed her internal struggle, which isn’t always apparent for companions on the TV series. It usually only becomes self-evident when the companion is in danger or under mental attack from a bad guy of some kind, trying to undermine their faith in themselves and the Doctor. But this story brings the process to the forefront, which is a really good way to use audio and Big Finish manages to bring personality to Polly this way. I won’t give away the big “secret” of the story but suffice it to say, this story is a home run!
Anneke Wills (Polly) and John Sackville (The Pilot)
Writer: Steve Lyons
Director: Lisa Bowerman
Release: March 2009