Big Finish Main Range
This is one of the group of short stories with a companion and I really like that. I don’t love the companionless stories in general, though some Doctors do better without a companion than others. I have to say that the 6th Doctor does well without companions as long as he has someone to oppose him emotionally. The 5th Doctor, not so much. I like him with companions as he’s so mellow generally that he needs to have companions around him to force him to talk. I get the feeling he’d never talk if he didn’t have someone pushing him. The quiet observer would be his role. I’m split on the 8th Doctor without a companion as sometimes it works, sometimes it wouldn’t/doesn’t. So perhaps it depends on the writer. And I have no idea on the 9th Doctor as he’s never done any adventures alone. Some potential for fun with that one, though!
On the storyline, I definitely found it to be very unique and the action took off right away. And I like that the people in the suits actually save the Doctor’s life, then everyone else’s! For once, the Doctor tries to sacrifice himself and someone physically stops him. He usually has some coincidence or something that prevents him from sacrificing himself. This time he’s just flat out forced to live. Very cool since Peter Davison’s Doctor has a tendency to sacrifice himself for the good of others. It’s eventually his undoing but it’s this self-sacrificing streak that isn’t quite so prevalent in the other Doctors, to be sure. But the acting and the story is just excellent, pulling the heart strings in all the right places without being too overt. I cried at the end! Shed a tear or two for the sacrifice for love… sniff.
And I really enjoyed the “kill the Doctor” dinner theater. Hehehe. Good stuff! It was fun and a bit different for Peri and the Doctor as he leaves her behind for a week, which isn’t how he usually works. But it was a fun little story!
Peter Davison and Nicola Bryant
Writer: Paul Sutton
Director: Barnaby Edwards
Release: May 2007