The Monthly Adventures #038 - “The Church and the Crown" by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright

Cavan Scott and Mark Wright are a writing duo I find myself conflicted by. Sometimes, they’ll deliver some of my absolute favourite stories, like Project: Twilight, and sometimes they’ll deliver b-movie fluff like Project: Destiny. It really feels like a gamble going into any of their stories and very often they can vary wildly in tone. And I don’t think there’s a better example of this than the difference between the pair’s previous audio and this one. A truly grimy, grim and bloody tale about vampires in the back alleys of London is now followed up by a lightly comedic pure historical that ends up being one of the most fun Doctor Who-related experiences I’ve had in a while.

The TARDIS brings the crew to Paris in the reign of Louis XIII for Erimem’s first trip, where the trio find themselves once again wrapped up in a game of cloak and dagger, this one exacerbated by Peri’s striking resemblance to Queen Anne.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Considering Scott and Wright’s other outputs, the last thing I was expecting was a slight little comedy like this. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that comedy is The Church and the Crown’s biggest strength. It’s a very dry and realistic approach to humour that really works in the context of the pure historical and manages to brighten what is otherwise a somewhat uneventful script. Whilst there is nothing outwardly slapstick, the dialogue is enough to get a chuckle out of anyone and some lines are absolute gold, such as:

“BUCKINGHAM: You would dare to take on one of the finest swordsmen in England?

DOCTOR: Hasn't anybody told you? We're in France!”

, which was perhaps the best bit of dialogue I’ve heard in a Big Finish story as of now. But, for dialogue to be effective, the people delivering it too have to be somewhat interesting so how does our cast fair? Actually, really well. This is a set of genuinely fun characters with some incredible performances, from the two drunken and vain musketeers to the whiny, jealous Louis XIII. Nicola Bryant duel wields roles as both Peri and the endlessly brilliant Queen Anne (who is easily my favourite character from this stellar line up) and Erimem continues to grow on me. I wasn’t expecting her to blow me away when I listened to The Eye of the Scorpion but she’s so effortlessly cool and easily likeable here that I immediately took to her. With her now on my good side, I’m convinced there isn’t a single bad original companion in The Monthly Adventures. Overall, we have on our hands a really smart and witty script that is a delight to sit through, so where exactly does it go wrong?

I want to clarify that when I praise the script, I mean the characters, structure and flow of the whole thing, I am not referring to the story. And, as sad as it may be, I think the plot here is relatively lacking in substance. It’s one of those quaint little stories that isn’t too stand out but also isn’t outright bad in any way that just sort of leaves you lukewarm. The narrative is nothing if not derivative, boiling down to a series of captures and releases without much substance in between. Buckingham’s plot doesn’t thrill me, I’m not invested in the cloak and dagger of it all and I’m certainly not into all the second guessing and espionage our main characters have to take a part in. Plus, the central gimmick of the story is a companion doppelganger affair, a trope that’s been done to death by this point and fails to impress here; I like Peri and Queen Anne respectively but I find that the subplot of the former’s imprisonment goes nowhere and the whole thing feels pointless. In addition, where the story does try to say something original, or give a little more originality to itself, it fails. There’s a moment or two where the Doctor and Peri stop to consider whether or not they’re changing history. They eventually decide they’re not and have always been a part of events; this whole moment feels like a waste of time and clarification of a point that didn’t need to be made, as if Scott and Wright were trying to say something about the Doctor’s constant meddling with time but failed.

However, an underwhelming plot does not ruin an immensely fun story. Saved by the cast and comedy, The Church and the Crown is a bizarre departure in tone and subject for two often grimdark writers that I think succeeds brilliantly. Not one for originality but absolutely a fun time with a stellar cast, well worth a listen.

8/10

Pros:

+ Genuinely really funny, Scott and Wright have a surprising penchant for humour

+ Erimimem is very quickly growing on me as a favourite

+ Smart, intelligent and fun script

+ Great cast of likeable and despicable characters

Cons:

- The story feels overwhelmingly derivative

- The look-a-like plot feels like a retread of previous stories

- The attempt to address the Doctor’s meddlings with history is poorly done