Big Finish, Fourth Doctor Series
Books turned into enemies and the Land of Fiction is BACK. Though this story doesn’t hold a candle to the 2nd Doctor story, it has some good references but as the Doctor says, it’s all of the second rate story characters. And that really is what made me not connect to the characters or story. The Crooked Man is our villain, created by Laura Corbett’s father. He wasn’t a great father, telling his daughter some seriously scary stories as a child but perhaps that’s just my moral compass. He’s recently died so Laura comes home to face dealing with his estate and the house with Simon Corbett, the father of her son Edward.
The story gets a bit crazy at times and Leela seems more civilized than in most stories, only attacking one character, though she is defending them at times. And the fact that something isn’t quite right with Simon or Ellis – it was obvious to me that something was up there but what didn’t occur until late in the story, to be honest. So good job by Dorney to keep the “secret” under wraps in the plot. It just felt too abbreviated and shortened, like a lot of character development was cut out of the story. Perhaps then I would’ve cared more about the characters and story in general.
Tom Baker and Louise Jameson
Writer: John Dorney
Director: Nicholas Briggs
Release: March 2014