Big Finish, Companion Chronicles
This story starts with Jo Grant in the future, long after the Doctor has left. She’s there for a conference with her husband, to speak to the UN. And she’s sick so she’s updating her blog with this story. Long blog! The one thing I find troubling with these stories is how much The Brigadier is portrayed as a curmudgeonly paper pusher. He was the commander type during the TV show and definitely all for following the rules but I had the impression that he was willing to break them to get the job done. At least the Doctor had taught him that much. But throughout the Companion Chronicles series, he is very uptight about the rules. Perhaps that’s just a sign of the times?
On with the story and Jo Grant, who discovers a strange doll and a woman, Mrs Killebrew, who seems to have someone else speaking through her. The Doctor, Sgt. Benson, the Brigadier, and Hannah (the doll) are the main characters in this story. And some dogs. This is the type of story that stays with you. I’m not sure exactly what happened at the end to make it all work out but it doesn’t really matter. There’s forward time, backward time, and lots of running around in both. And I just sat, considering the story pensively after I was done. And the interview at the end was really fantastic as well as Katy Manning talks about coming back to the role of Jo Grant for the first time. This story really captures the style of the time with the Third Doctor and Jo. Plus though it could have been very confusing, it pulls together the many possibilities for crossing paths within the time stream very nicely. So this story gets a five jelloid rating for that final fact!
Katy Manning (Jo Grant) and Jane Goddard (Mrs Killebrew)
Writer: Marc Platt
Director: Lisa Bowerman
Release: September 2008