Big Finish Main Range
This is another difficult story to listen to, like A Death in the Family. Except it’s dealing with Hex’s death instead of the Doctor’s. We find out why Hex is “back” almost at the end of the story and there is a little confusion for me, in terms of who Lily Finnegan is and why Hex doesn’t go back when his year is up. And I really do love the Doctor’s little monologue at the end of the episode. It’s quite amazing and I almost wish Ace had heard it. This is the Doctor – he stands on the side of the universe and all of the good things in it. He opposes the dark and sometimes, people fall in that fight. And everyone he’s ever met and cared about is dead, will be dead, and has died. Pretty stunning stuff. I was crying for the Doctor in the early scenes while Ace berates him. She just doesn’t really understand the forces he’s arrayed against. On man. One Time Lord. The monsters this Doctor is fighting make the Daleks and Cybermen seem like kindergarteners in the world of villains.
So this story, I’m not sure how much I will be able to re-listen to it. There is some amazing stuff but it’s a very emotional ride. And perhaps it will go better when the next two stories play out, assuming Hex can stay. He’s very dependent on Ace at this point and may need to go out on his own to really make things truly complete. But that is for the next tale and I, for one, can’t wait!
Sylvester McCoy (7th Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Phillip Olivier (Hex), Amy Pemberton (Sally Morgan), Jean Boht (Hilda Schofield), Mandi Symonds (Lily Finnegan), Jonathan Forbes (Barry Finnegan), Andrew Dickens (DI Derek Mortimer)
Writer: Matt Fitton
Director: Ken Bentley
Release: December 2013