Doctor Who: Peri and the Piscon Paradox

Follow that carp!

This two-part, two-disc play by Nev Fountain just might be the best release yet from Big Finish in their Companion Chronicles range of speaking books. By their very nature they privilege narration and narrative point of view as they are Doctor Who adventures told from the perspective of his friends and associates. We are allowed therefore not only a variant perspective on the Time Lord through his several incarnations but also of those around him. What makes this release stand out is the way that it has fully embraced these aspects of the format and then tried to extend them to their limits (and perhaps beyond). Continue reading →

Jago & Litefoot: The Mahogany Murderers

THE MAHOGANY MURDERERS
Juicy Jagoisms: “pleasing to the palette and possessing a pulchretudinous perfume”; “cracking complex conundrums”.
The plot: Who is the mysterious Dr Tulp and what is his connection to the appearance of life-size wooden mannequins in the shape of hardened criminals from the London underworld?

One of the smartest decisions the Big Finish production company ever made has been to further extend its Doctor Who audio releases by creating its range of Companion Chronicles talking books. While the main releases feature the actors who previously played the Time Lord on television, the Chronicles raison d’être is to focus on the doctors not normally represented (the first three actors having all passed away and Tom Baker having until recently refused to participate) with their adventures instead narrated by their friends and companions. This has the virtue of widening the scope of the releases both by including the other characters but more importantly by providing a welcome focus on the supporting players. The Mahogany Murderers has proved to be one of the most unexpected and most completely successful of these releases thus far. Continue reading →