My absolute favourite Doctor Who story of all time, just ahead of A Death in the Family, just. The Chimes of Midnight is a key chapter in the Web of Time story arc where the Eighth Doctor rescuing Charley from a doomed airship is now causing the Web of Time to unravel as she was meant to die in the crash. For this adventure they find themselves in an Edwardian house on Christmas Eve where they discover that something is not quite right with time.

As is the case with almost all of Rob Shearman’s works, it’s best to go into this knowing as little as possible and letting it take you by surprise. You’ll never forget your first experience listening to this, the sound design and music is top notch and just creeps under your skin. The Chimes of Midnight is an unrelentingly morbid and haunting Christmas story with an excellent mix of humour as it takes well known tropes from Agatha Christie novels and rearranges them into practically a mockery of the typical murder mystery scenario without ever feeling like a full on parody and still keeping you engaged with an enticing mystery as to what is truly happening in the house with a twist about the killer that I never saw coming and won’t dare ruin.

In a lot of ways, The Chimes of Midnight is my answer to anyone who responds to my complaints of the constant panto-esque and overly cheerful Christmas specials Modern Who would always churn out saying “but it’s Christmas, how can it not be head bangingly happy?!?”. Well, I give you this Christmas story which manages to be a fun murder mystery, a chilling ghost tale, features a beautifully crafted and memorable set of idiosyncratic characters, makes clever use on a strange scenario of time travel and has suicide as the theme!

This was my first experience listening to Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor in Big Finish and back then I’d only known him for the Doctor Who Movie and The Night of the Doctor, and while I felt he did a good job with the bad material he was given in the movie and was great in the mini episode, this was where I started to see the Doctor who would go on to become my favourite incarnation. McGann doesn’t get nearly enough credit for his work as the Eighth Doctor and here he’s on top form, as is his chemistry with India Fisher as Charley.

As far as being a key story in the Web of Time story arc, the good news for this one, and what helps give it the edge over A Death in the Family, is that you can listen to this like I did without the wider context. In fact, I’d say this has the reverse effect of making listeners keen to look back on the previous adventures and even follow the storyline to know where it goes. But yes, The Chimes of Midnight can be enjoyed on its own and personally I think is a perfect introductory story for newer listeners.

The real beauty of The Chimes of Midnight being my favourite story of all time is that it doesn’t feature the end of the world, or another universe ending scenario, it doesn’t cram in familiar monsters to try and be impressive, it doesn’t throw in everything and the kitchen sink to try and feel important. What it is, is a simple story set in one location with the stakes being the lives of a few characters, it’s not a story that’s important on a universal scale, but for the Doctor and Charley on a personal level, the stakes don’t get much higher as we discover how Charley’s survival and changing history affects those closest to her. The climax near the end much like Shearman’s other favourite of mine The Holy Terror never fails to bring a tear to my eye, it’s just beautiful to listen to.

There’s not much more I can really say, or should really say, it’s the Big Finish audio I’ve revisited the most. All I can do is wholeheartedly recommend this to everyone, I mean it’s my favourite Doctor Who story of all time, how much more praise can a story get to make you even slightly interested?