Big Finish, Fourth Doctor Series
This story starts with the Doctor and Leela in the console room of the TARDIS and they start hearing voices in the corridors. Or are they in their head? Mysterious start that’s promising but we soon discover the voices are in their head and everything is due to the teaching moment at the beginning of the story, where the Doctor is telling Leela about the Point of Stillness. I’m a bit confused about the point of this story more than anything. Chaos happens – Lady Marianna shows up with an entourage of cackling toadies, who are trying to take the TARDIS back to the Point of Stillness. Though isn’t that where they originated? And if Marianna came from there, how did she get back into her TARDIS? It’s quite confusing, to be honest.
I don’t mind stories that mix things up and cause confusion to the listener in order to make the story work. But this one just annoyed me, mostly because of personalities of the “imaginary” characters. They got on my very last nerve and I wish Leela had taken a knife to them all. The basic premise of the story is what happens when the TARDIS uses her imagination and I like the ideas here. Just found the execution annoying and tiresome, ultimately. And confusing! Don’t forget confusing.
Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, Stephanie Cole (Marianna), Mandi Symonds (One), Andy Snowball (Two), Nigel Fairs (Three)
Writers: Nigel Fairs and Louise Jameson
Director: Nicholas Briggs
Release: July 2014