Deathworld

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Operation: Hellfire

I'll start by saying this is easily the superior version of The Three Doctors. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed that one too, but this story manages to fulfill the promise of "three" Doctors. Obviously I understand why it couldn't have been done like this on TV, but that has always left me wanting a "true" meeting of these incarnations. I'm a big supporter of all these impressionists, I need to review some of their stories at some point to really give my thoughts about them but I'll keep it short; they're all excellent.

By far my favourite recast (for a Doctor atleast) is Tim Treloar as the Third Doctor. I might be a bit biased considering his were the stories that got me into audio and Three is one of my favourite Doctors in general but I think he has a magnificent way of capturing the essence of Jon Pertwee without perfectly imitating him. It's noticeably the Third Doctor but it's his own spin on it and that's what makes it work so well. I really like Stephen Noonan and Michael Troughton's takes on their respective Doctors aswell, but perhaps I'm not as used to them. In general I think all the impressionists really capture the banter between each other that made The Three Doctors so fun. Obviously you can't talk impressions without mentioning Jon Culshaw who plays the Brigadier and it is one of the very few impressions that are honestly flawless, up there with Jacob Dudman's Eleventh Doctor and Elliot Chapman's Ben Jackson.

Anyway, enough talk about impressions, let's talk plot. I think Omega is great, one of my favourite parts about the televised serial but come on! The literal embodiement of Death will always be a cooler character. I also love the way the Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Seven Deadly Sins factor into this story, having to be outwitted or defeated by the Doctors. It makes for a much more engaging story than walking around a quarry for a while before defeating Omega with a recorder. Another thing I really like is that the Doctors are all paired up with a companion each; 3 with Jo, 2 with Jamie and 1 with... the Brig? I'll admit, it would have been cool to have someone like Steven (though I don't know the details of the original story this was adapted from) but I think 1 and the Brig is a surprisingly inspired pairing. They have some really fun comedic moments and just work quite well together overall.

The Time Lord involvement here is much more interesting and the way this story is framed as a chess match being played between two powerful beings is unfathomably cool. This is just such an entertaining story from start to finish, I struggle to find anything to complain about it. I think this is a great introduction to anyone interested in the recast Doctor adventures ranges as all of the cast are on top form here. Above all though, it's a testament to Big Finish's ability to recast that they've managed to create such a fantastic epic led almost entirely by recast actors.

Next Story: The Three Doctors

I had a good time with this slow-moving story. If I’m honest, I think we got the better story with The Three Doctors, with its bigger cast and a greater sense of jeopardy. Although, as jeopardy goes, the first three Doctor’s waiting in Death’s Waiting Room maintains the stakes are pretty high. Deathworld is a chattier piece, and surprisingly well-suited for audio. Having said that, I have no idea how much work John Dorney put in.

“That Death chap brought us here for a reason!”

The Doctors are all beautifully played, and their scenes together are a real high point. “Fancy Pants got himself a thesaurus for Christmas,” is a particular favourite. The First Doctor suffers a few trademark minor line stumbles, and the Third is deliciously outraged at every attack on his ego. There are even a few variations on the double entendres enjoyed by Frazer Hines and Patrick Troughton. Some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments here.

With a story that has only a few moments of real tension, I do think the direction could be stronger. Some moments could have done with a bit more ‘oomph’. As it is, they are too reliant on the actors to carry the sense of jeopardy, and this comes across as a little pantomime-like. Perhaps that was the intention, but Tim Steemson’s score is very much pushed backwards in the mix and doesn’t have much chance to make an impact or build up the drama.

A thin story filled with good intentions is how I would sum this up.

🤩ECCLESTON! = ALMOST PERFECT!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

The second Lost Stories release of the year is an adaptation of the storyline that was originally intended for Doctor Who’s tenth anniversary in 1973 but was replaced by The Three Doctors. It brings together the First, Second, and Third Doctors (as played by their respective Big Finish actors) and their companions Jamie, Jo, and the Brigadier.

I rather like the basic premise of the Doctors being pawns in a chess game played between Death and the Lord President. And it’s done to finally allow Death to trap the Doctors, who’ve constantly evaded him, in his realm.

The opening episode gets to the point immediately and greatly pulls you into this imagined early 70s Doctor Who story, from the intriguing Ingmar Bergman-esque opening chess-playing scene with Death (which runs as a thread through the story) to the very accurate introductory moments with each of the Doctors and their companions. Part 1 very effectively introduces all the players and moves the story along briskly.

Part 2 brings the Doctors together in the limbo space that is Deathworld. We get the typical banter between the incarnations before they have to find a way to work together to escape. I also like how each incarnation is returned to their companions and given a chance to seriously criticise their other previous or future incarnations. The tail end of the episode then turns into a The War Games ripoff with Three and Jo, which feels like a lovely callback.

The three Doctors are used very well, and the narrative effortlessly shifts between the three of them solving their separate problems and establishing contact to confer amongst themselves. Part 3 then brings every Doctor and companion together as they begin unravelling the mystery once and for all, and this also offers an opportunity for the characters to interact in interesting ways. We also get a deeper understanding of Death and his plans to punish the Time Lords.

I love how the stakes are raised at the end of Part 3 and the beginning of Part 4, when One is killed, meaning that Two and Three will vanish as well and say their goodbyes.

Michael Troughton and Tim Treloar are as great as ever as the Second and Third Doctors, respectively. Frazer Hines and Katy Manning do a great job of sounding like their younger selves, and they certainly emit good energy. The actor voicing Death is also a perfect choice for the role and seems to have great fun with it.

I like how the characters face Death in different forms: the horsemen of the apocalypse, the seven deadly sins, Kali, and Gorgon. I also like the emotional weight in the last stretch, once the Doctors learn to appreciate each other and are forced to face their mortality.

The Brigadier plays a much bigger role here than in The Three Doctors, and so does One. Jon Culshaw is great as the Brig, as usual, and Stephen Noonan still sounds a bit wrong to my ears, even though he clearly understands the general intonations and mannerisms of Hartnell’s incarnation. Interestingly, One and the Brig are paired up here for a good chunk of the story, as they make for a pretty interesting pairing.

Deathworld feels quite big from the onset, and it is surprisingly fast-paced for a Classic Who story. Many intriguing and explosive action moments probably wouldn't have worked as well on TV. There are also quite a lot of dangers, from zombies to skeletons and trigger-happy soldiers, so the listener is kept on edge.

quite meh tbh... first noonan story and he was great however! i just didn't find it overly engaging, and wished we had a bigger threat. this is literal death but i didn't feel scared or as if it was a really horrifying villain so yeah.

”WELCOME TO DEATHWORLD.”

The highly anticipated lost story is finally here, and it’s as brilliant as you could’ve wanted it to be.

John Dorney took a premise/concept that Baker and Martin put together those 50 something years ago and made it work so well in the context of audio, exploring things that would have not worked due to budgetary constraints back then. The sheer scope of the story is extremely ambitious and doesn’t fall flat one bit, it just keeps hitting you with moments where your brain just draws these beautifully haunting environments, just based on the brilliant dialogue, which handles each doctor and companion perfectly, along with the brilliant audio design.

Speaking of audio design, this is one of the best sounding releases of this year. Tim Steemson absolutely kills it, along with the original soundtrack, with Death’s leit motiff being a prominent menacing driving force in the score. The work he did on the supernatural characters’ voices is nothing short of stellar, making each character unique, while being played by just 3 actors.

This is very much a Third Doctor story, but while the focus is mostly on him and Jo, this gives the Second and especially the First Doctors more room to shine as compared to the TV story The Three Doctors. Said Doctors are portrayed extraordinarily by Tim Treloar, Michael Troughton and Stephen Noonan. They bring on a type of energy that is so reminiscent of the original actors that you just start listening to The Third Doctor instead of Tim as soon as you dive into the story. But a story is only as good as its villain and oh lord Joe Shire is a powerhouse as Death, the sheer presence felt just through his voice was giving me chills left and right. The supporting cast of the three classic companions Jo, Jamie and the Brig are as fun as ever, with some interesting banter, especially between the Brig and the First Doctor.

If you in any capacity like the first 3 Doctors, I can assure you, you will love this, the amount of heard poured into this can be felt even through the bonus BTS featurette.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️