Tag: Paul McGann

Doctor Who: The Book of Kells

Doctor Who: The Book of Kells

by Barnaby Edwards (Big Finish, 2010)

Audio drama cover: “Doctor Who: The Book of Kells” by Barnaby Edwards (Big Finish, 2010)

A solid historical adventure, commendably underplayed (albeit mostly a veiled character set-up). Paul McGann is excellent as ever, his delivery a sublime and mercurial mix of conceit, solemnity, flippancy and suppressed wrath. Goodies fans will appreciate a well-pitched appearance by Graeme Garden.

Doctor Who: The Witch from the Well

Doctor Who: The Witch from the Well

by Rick Briggs (Big Finish, 2011)

Briggs_Witch from the Well

As ever, Big Finish have gone beresk with their screeching creature effects. Notwithstanding such overindulgence, this pseudohistorical take on the seventeenth-century witch trials offers uncommon nuance and character depth. A particularly good story for Paul McGann and Julie Cox (as Mary Shelley).

 

 

Doctor Who: The Creed of the Kromon

Doctor Who: The Creed of the Kromon

by Philip Martin (Big Finish, 2004)

Martin_Creed Kromon

Philip Martin’s two serials were highpoints of Doctor Who during Colin Baker’s all-too-brief tenure. Creed of the Kromon features Paul McGann’s Doctor but carries a similar vibe, suffusing its SF setting with a depth and complexity rarely seen in weekly adventure serials.

 

 

Doctor Who: Scherzo

Doctor Who: Scherzo

by Robert Shearman (Big Finish, 2003)

Shearman_Scherzo

An experimental, at times very disturbing two-hander played with considerable finesse by Paul McGann and India Fisher. The premise is to be lauded but lacks execution (at both script and production level). Though not incongruous, the unceasing background mosquito whine was ill-advised.

 

 

Neon Reign

Jenny – The Doctor’s Daughter: Neon Reign

by Christian Brassington (Big Finish, 2018)

Brassington_Neon Reign

Trite premise, clumsy exposition, heavy-handed on the agenda. The saving grace here is the characterisation of Jenny (who’s inherited some of the Tenth Doctor’s traits) and her companion Noah (who carries himself with a naïve sangfroid that curiously echoes Paul McGann’s Eighth).

 

 

Doctor Who: An Earthly Child

Doctor Who: An Earthly Child

by Marc Platt (Big Finish, 2009)

Platt_Earthly Child

Platt does a good job envisaging Susan’s future life and a reunion with her grandfather (in his eighth incarnation)! Carole Ann Ford and Paul McGann work well together but the Doctor—not uncommonly in Eighth Doctor stories—contributes little to the resolution.

 

 

Doctor Who: Dark Eyes

Doctor Who: Dark Eyes

by Nicholas Briggs (Big Finish, 2012)

Briggs_Dark Eyes

A nicely focussed runabout (if such can exist), the epic threads of which are held together by the strong dynamic between Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor and new companion Molly O’Sullivan. On a down note, the Doctor has little say in the outcome.

 

 

Doctor Who, Doom Coalition 2: The Sonomancer

Doctor Who, Doom Coalition 2: The Sonomancer

by Matt Fitton (Big Finish, 2016)

Fitton_Sonomancer

Fitton manages some strong characterisation — Liv Chenka takes charge; Helen Sinclair bonds with River Song — but although Alex Kingston is quite the drawcard, the lack of interaction between her and Paul McGann is disappointing, as is the plot degeneration into runaround dénouement.

 

 

Derelict Space Sheep