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"Kippers: An Eerie, Puzzle-Like Start to Conspiracy of Raven"

Nicholas Briggs opens the third Second Doctor Adventures set with Kippers, delivering a story that begins with a wonderfully mysterious and eerie tone. The disappearance of Jamie sets the Doctor on a tense and atmospheric search, evoking the experimental spirit of late-1960s Doctor Who. The initial moments are steeped in a sense of unease, effectively drawing the listener into a puzzle-like mystery.

As the plot unfolds, the focus shifts to the Doctor reluctantly teaming up with Raven and Paul to investigate a strange, enigmatic space station in search of the missing Jamie. The story’s structure mirrors a jigsaw puzzle, with each new piece offering partial clarity while simultaneously introducing further complications. This constant layering of twists keeps the narrative intriguing but also muddled, making it a more challenging listen compared to traditional Second Doctor adventures.

Michael Troughton once again shines in his portrayal of the Second Doctor, adeptly capturing his father’s essence without resorting to mere imitation. His performance manages to balance the Doctor’s whimsical charm with the weight of the unsettling events surrounding him. Emma Noakes brings a compelling presence to Raven, whose enigmatic nature and tense dynamic with the Doctor add depth to the story. Mickey Knighton’s Paul, while less developed, serves as a solid addition to the ensemble.

Frazer Hines, as Jamie, is notably underused, making only brief appearances, though his contributions are impactful when they occur. The story compensates for Jamie’s limited role by creating a palpable sense of unease through the unseen threat looming over the characters. This unseen menace effectively heightens the suspense, and the cliffhanger at the end of Part 1 tightens the tension superbly, leaving listeners eager for resolution.

📝Verdict: 7/10

While Kippers succeeds in crafting an unsettling atmosphere and intricate narrative, its complexity and abstract approach may leave some longing for a more straightforward Second Doctor adventure. The story thrives on its experimental nature, but it risks alienating those seeking a more traditional tale.

I think this story is fine I loved the raven and doctor stuff just didn’t really feel invested

Its feels such a long time since the last adventure, and these days as soon as a series ends I seem to almost instantly forget and move on to the next. Then when they come back I'm struggling to remember how things ended.

To refresh: The Doctor and Jamie have been working for the Timelords and have tried to go their own way but its not quite worked out...

Here they find themselves on a Timelord space station, also there is Raven, their handler, and a Timelord weapon called Paul. Where are all the people? How did they get there? Its all a bit mysterious. Adding to the obsticles is the fact that The Doctor and Jamie are separated. So its one of those episodes where something has happened nobody knows whats going on.

This isn't a self contained 2 part story, just the first two episode of the Conspiracy of Raven story, so its a bit like reviewing the first two parts of Inferno.

The Kippers are some alien race, not much is revealed about them, perhaps we'll find out more about them later.

Raven is a nicely portrayed character, not quite fitting the era, but she interesting. No Zoe yet despite the cover, but Micheal Troughton and the limited cast are all good.

It is just the start, and we don't really know enough, so on to the next.

Though I’d still give this story a generally positive rating, my overall impression is one of disappointment. The second doctor is my favorite doctor from the classic series, and I just think it’s very frustrating seeing 2 finally get his own Big Finish range, only for it to be extremely underwhelming and the last thing I really want to hear from Big Finish. On an individual story basis, there’s not one episode from this range that I dislike, in fact Kippers is probably my least favorite so far and it was still fine I thought. But with each passing boxset it’s more and more apparent that they’re taking this into a much more serialized direction that explores more serious threats as well as Gallifreyan society. The episode lengths are closer to the modern series, but despite that we’re still reusing Jamie, and soon to be Zoe, both companions I would’ve rather left alone. Especially since seeing an old version of Jamie and/or Zoe with their memories back is such a cliche (The World Shapers, Last of the Cybermen, Legend of the Cybermen, Tales of the TARDIS). And yet the new characters we do get are characters like Paul and Raven, who are so camp and ridiculous I don’t know how the hell Nick Briggs wants me to ever care about them. Especially with the long gap between releases.

Raven specifically I just do not like at all. She seems to be a sort of Veklin type but without any of the nuances found in that character. She works for the CIA and sends the Doctor on missions, and where we previously thought she was just a scheming evil Time Lord, Kippers reveals she’s just as in the dark about the CIA’s intentions with the Doctor. This is not a revelation I care about because the only thing we really learn is that Raven isnt the big bad, but she’s still a stereotypical baddie and she’s clearly going to be a staple of this range long term, which is extremely disappointing. I heard Nick talking about how much he and Mark love this character, and I just have to ask… why? Does no one at Big Finish care enough to tell Nick he completely misunderstands the appeal of his self proclaimed favorite Doctor? Or that his bland original characters don’t work? The best story of the range BY FAR has been Wrath of the Ice Warriors, because it’s a two hour story where 2 faces the ice warriors, and for the most part it’s very self contained. Two box sets later and I’m very concerned we won’t get another story like that in this range for a long time.

Kippers specifically is decent. While Raven’s more or less fulfilling the companion role in this episode, I’m glad she killed off the shroud, and I think Michael Troughton is getting better and better as 2. The “what could’ve killed these time lords” trope is another cliche I really just can’t stand, and the last thing I want is a second Doctor story set on Gallifrey. Despite this, I’m intrigued at the monsters in this episode, and it makes me happy that this arc is starting to move a little.

Season 6B is not that interesting to me a concept, and THIS isn’t close at all to what I imagine when watching The War Games. It’s very weird that this is the direction we’re going. This story doesn’t resemble the second Doctor era at all, and because of that I’m disappointed.

really intriguing opener and finally more of raven! maybe this is gonna be all one big story perhaps? the cliffhanger did give me chills even though i’m not all for the return of zoe/jamie. i do hope we get some answers about raven soon