After the highs that the likes of Jubilee, Project: Lazarus, and Arrangements For War, Medicinal Purposes falls flat on its face with an offensively bad story. Featuring David Tennant portraying a severely mentally handicapped man with a stereotypical accent and a complete character assassination of the Doctor, it's one of the few stories I just could not actually get through - it's that bad and is among the worst of BF's early catalog.

We return to the company of the 6th Doctor and Evelyn as they arrive in what they believe to be 19th century Edinburgh.  On learning the time and place, the Doctor is eager to meet the infamous graverobbers, Burke and Hare but soon discovers that all is not right and that, although Hare is up to dastardly deeds, no one seems to know who Burke is.It soon transpires that a time traveller, under the guise of Doctor Robert Knox, is manipulating time within a bubble as a show for alien tourists.

Medicinal Purposes is a brilliant 6th Doctor story and one of my favourites.  It is dripping with atmosphere and after a couple of releases for which I struggled to get a sense of time and place, Medicinal Purposes has it in spades.  When thinking of why this is, I realised that what this story has that the others have been missing: regional accents.  Medicinal Purposes is full to the brim with Scottish accents.  It immediately places you in the story.  The fact that a lot of the actors go for fairly rough sounding tones (the old woman murdered in the first (and third!) episodes; Burke; and even to some extent Mary and Jamie) places the story firmly in the rougher part of town and this is contrasted by Leslie Philips gentrified and suave performance as Knox, who spends most of the story in the more well-to-do part of Edinburgh.  The soundscape also helps the sense of place: the pub scenes are bustling and loud; Knox’s home/TARDIS is filled with ticking clocks – an early clue to his true identity.

The characters are well written and well acted.  Special mention has to be made of David Tennant’s performance as Daft Jamie.  He is superb.  A mentally and physically disabled character like Jamie could be horrendously overplayed or caricatured, but Tennant manages to make Jamie seem odd but endearing.  Evelyn’s reaction to him is, to be honest, a little nasty and it’s another occasion when I don’t think the writer has her characterisation right (I didn’t like her characterisation much in 100 BC).  I can’t see someone who shows such compassion in stories such as Doctor Who and the Pirates, being quite so horrible about someone with obvious mental or physical disabilities.  In fact, Evelyn’s characterisation is something I have a bit of an issue with in this story.  The writer seems to ignore the fact she is a history lecturer.  I know this isn’t her period, but she is written as being almost wilfully ignorant of anything related to Burke and Hare, rather than, at least, having a basic general knowledge – something I would find far more believable in a character of Evelyn’s implied education.

Jamie is also given some lovely lines, particularly about how other people in Edinburgh ‘drift in and out’ as only he can perceive that something isn’t quite right with reality.

The other performance of note is, of course, Leslie Philips as Knox.  I am undecided about Knox.  On the one hand, Philips is clearly having a whale of a time as this immoral time travelling doctor/businessman/carnival showman but on the other I think his performance sometimes tips to the hammier side of hammy and it takes the edge off what is, otherwise, a fairly grim and gritty story.

The beginning of Episode 3 plays a clever trick on the listener, being an exact replica of the opening to Episode 1 but exchanging Burke for Knox.  It is so similar that I thought I’d messed up transferring the audio files to my mp3 player!

Historically, this story introduces us to William Burke and latterly, William Hare.  Within the context of the story I am a little confused as to whether we are meeting the real thing or whether these are alternative versions trapped within Knox’s sideshow.  Indeed, the nature of how Knox is delivering the ‘Burke and Hare Experience’ to alien tourists is left a little vague.  Robert Knox is also a historical figure, along with Mary Patterson and Daft Jamie, but this Knox is an imposter so, as far as this audio is concerned, we are left without a clear picture of what the real man was like.  Mary and Jamie were both victims of Burke and Hare’s murder spree to gain bodies for the real Knox.  There were many other victims but these do not feature in the story and we do not actually witness either of the murders: Mary is dead by the climax of the story but offscreen and more tragically, Daft Jamie is returned to his rightful place and time (after a quick trip to the future) to fulfill his historical destiny.  We also witness the execution of Burke, betrayed by Hare (who was offered the chance to give ‘King’s evidence’, meaning he escaped prosecution).  (And here, I have a confession, that I’ve just had to swap around Burke and Hare’s names as I had got muddled as to which was which in both the context of the story and the real history).  We also have a anachronism as a clue for the Doctor to realise Knox is a time traveller when he mention Jekyll and Hyde, a novel not to be written for a good many years after.
The presence of Burke and Hare allows the story to ruminate on the morality of body-snatching.  The Doctor goes into quite a long speech about how medical science would never have advanced as it did without the machinations of people like Burke, Hare and Knox and how whilst he cannot condone the murders, he can see how the ends, ultimately, will justify the means.  It is an interesting point of view for the story to take and it is a topic perfectly suited to the more alien and colder 6th Doctor.

The only problems I have with the story are, as mentioned, the slightly off characterisation of Evelyn and also the slightly vague nature of exactly how Knox is manipulating the time bubble and allowing alien tourists to view the events in Edinburgh.  The atmosphere, performances and dialogue, however, are superb and contribute towards an excellent story.  It is unsurprising that Big Finish returned the story’s writer Robert Ross to pen a further 6th Doctor and Evelyn story…it’s just a shame it ended up being Pier Pressure (but that’s a review for a different day).

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

Previous Story: Arrangements for War

This is awful, like downright awful. And not even in a funny way. The writer of this story fundamentally misunderstands the Doctor, Evelyn and frankly all of Doctor Who as a franchise. It starts off with an interesting moral question about the use of research obtained through unethical means. The Doctor takes the stance that this is perfectly ethical, which is not an inherently wrong one. I'm a bit iffy on how often the phrase "for the greater good" gets repeated by the Doctor though, as that's usually being said by the villains.

The real issue is that, for some reason, it portrays the Doctor as wanting to meet and congratulate Burke and Hare for their contributions to modern science. Now I understand maybe at a stretch Robert Knox, the man who dissected and experimented on the bodies and actually made those contributions but Burke and Hare? The body-snatchers? The ones who didn't do anything particularly remarkable? Who just killed for money? Ridiculous.

That's one of many issues, though. You may recognise a certain actor here, David Tennant. He appears surprisingly frequently in various bits of EU content around the time. He seemed to be really desperate to get on Doctor Who in some capacity. Here he's playing Daft Jamie, a young boy with low intelligence. There's a lot to say about this character, certainly Tennant's performance is interesting. Mostly it just feels offensive and it's not pleasant to hear basically all the characters around him (even the Doctor at some points) treat him like s**t.

He's also involved in the very questionable ending in which the Doctor drops him off right in front of Burke and Hare so he can be killed because "fixed points" and "some things just have to happen". I don't normally mind this trope but it's used here in such a way that it makes the Doctor and Evelyn seem like awful people. Not to mention the fact that it completely undermines what the entire 6 and Evelyn arc was building to. This comes literally right after the story in which Evelyn falls out with the Doctor because she can't stand how he disregards death to the point that the Doctor himself tries to go out of his way to break all the rules of "the web of time" and whatever just to save two people. And now here he is letting an innocent young boy walk away to his brutal death with Evelyn sat complacent right next to him.

An abhorrent excuse of a story, I can't even be bothered to talk about the plot (not that it was memorable enough to even be able to write about it)

Next Story: The Nowhere Place

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

“MEDICINAL PURPOSES: A DARK DOSE OF HISTORY”

Medicinal Purposes takes us deep into the grim and murky streets of 1827 Edinburgh, where bodysnatchers William Burke and William Hare are on a murderous spree, selling fresh corpses to the enigmatic Dr Robert Knox. Against this chilling backdrop, the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn find themselves entangled in a historical tragedy that cannot be rewritten—one that soon takes a sinister turn when the Doctor realises that Knox may not be as bound by time as he first appears.

With its brooding atmosphere, historical intrigue, and an unsettling moral dilemma at its core, Medicinal Purposes delivers an eerie, if somewhat uneven, exploration of medical ethics, exploitation, and the weight of history.

AN UNEASY START IN A CITY OF SHADOWS

The story gradually sets the scene, unfolding through the drinking and debauchery of Burke and Hare, their harassment of Daft Jamie, and the shadowy dealings that fuel Edinburgh’s illicit cadaver trade. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Evelyn materialise beneath the city in its underground catacombs, slowly piecing together where—and when—they are.

Writer Robert Ross chooses to drip-feed the historical context through a series of hints and teases from the Doctor, but this ends up dragging the pacing. The Doctor’s cryptic approach to revealing the setting is more frustrating than mysterious, especially for Evelyn, who is left playing catch-up for longer than necessary. The first episode builds a foreboding atmosphere, but it culminates in a fairly weak cliffhanger, with the Doctor simply meeting Burke, Hare, and Jamie in a pub.

The first half of the story unfolds in a fairly straightforward manner—Burke and Hare work to conceal their true activities, while Dr Knox gradually makes his presence felt. It’s a grim and dirty period in history, and while the setting is well-realised, the script doesn’t always maximise its potential. The tension builds only in fits and starts, with characters often rehashing the same conversations rather than propelling the plot forward.

KNOX, TIME, AND A TWISTED EXPERIMENT

The story’s greatest strength lies in its handling of Dr Robert Knox, played with a mix of charm and menace by Leslie Phillips. Initially appearing as a historical figure conducting dubious medical research, Knox quickly emerges as something far more sinister. When it’s revealed that he owns a Type 70 TARDIS—purchased, rather than stolen—it suddenly shifts the story’s scope. This isn’t just about bodysnatchers and unethical anatomy lessons; it’s about a man from the future exploiting time itself for personal and scientific gain.

Knox’s parallels with Doctor Who’s classic villains are intriguing—his scientific ambition and disregard for human life evoke Dr Frankenstein, while his time-traveling meddling has echoes of Magnus Greel from The Talons of Weng-Chiang. He is, in essence, a historical figure warped by the possibilities of time travel, using his knowledge of future medicine to manipulate the past for his own ends.

One particularly clever moment comes when Knox subtly tests Evelyn’s knowledge by mentioning Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde—a book that wouldn’t be written for another 60 years. When she acknowledges the reference, Knox immediately realises she and the Doctor are time travellers, adding another layer of intrigue to his character.

Despite his compelling premise, Knox isn’t used to his full potential. His confrontations with the Doctor are intriguing but not as tense as they could be, and after the initial shock of his TARDIS reveal, the story struggles to escalate the threat he poses.

DAFT JAMIE – A TRAGIC STANDOUT

The most emotionally resonant figure in the story is Daft Jamie, voiced by David Tennant in his final Big Finish role before stepping into the Tenth Doctor’s shoes on television. Jamie is portrayed as a mentally and physically challenged young man, whose kindness and guilelessness make him an easy target for those around him. Tennant’s performance is committed and affecting, though modern audiences might find the characterisation somewhat outdated in its depiction of neurodiversity.

Jamie’s importance to the plot lies in his unique perspective—he notices details that others overlook, making him an invaluable source of information for the Doctor. The Doctor, in turn, treats Jamie with genuine care and respect, even briefly adopting him as a companion of sorts. Their dynamic is a highlight, with the Doctor recognising Jamie’s worth and intelligence in a way that those around him do not.

However, the final moments of Jamie’s story are devastating. Despite his crucial role in helping the Doctor, history demands that Jamie must die—murdered by Burke and Hare to ensure that his name goes down in history. The Doctor and Evelyn are forced to return him to his fate, knowing they cannot save him without rewriting a fixed point in time. It’s a chilling reminder of the limits of the Doctor’s interference, and the story’s most powerful moment.

THE DOCTOR AND EVELYN – A FRACTURED DYNAMIC

After their recent tensions, the Doctor and Evelyn are back on more stable footing here, though their dynamic feels slightly off. Evelyn, usually one of the Doctor’s sharpest companions, is written as overly inquisitive, asking constant questions and appearing a step behind for much of the story. She’s also noticeably dismissive towards Jamie, which feels out of character for someone usually so compassionate.

Meanwhile, the Doctor himself swings back towards his more brash and confrontational tendencies, after his recent mellowing. While this fits the setting—a grim period of history where injustice is rife—it does make their interactions a little more stilted than usual.

Evelyn ultimately doesn’t have a great deal to do, which is a shame given how well she usually complements the Sixth Doctor’s personality. Their partnership remains compelling, but the story doesn’t give them many moments to truly shine.

A DARK ATMOSPHERE WITH UNEVEN PACING

The production successfully creates a sense of foreboding, with ominous music and a bleak tone that underscores the horror of the real-life events being depicted. The atmosphere is strong, immersing the listener in Edinburgh’s grim underbelly.

However, the pacing is inconsistent. Much of the first half feels repetitive, with characters discussing the same information without much progression. Part 3 finally injects some much-needed urgency, particularly with the Doctor’s confrontation with Knox, but this momentum isn’t fully sustained. The climax, while thematically strong, doesn’t feel as dramatic as it could have been. Knox’s final confrontation with the Doctor fizzles out rather than delivering a truly memorable showdown.

The final gut-punch, however, comes with Jamie’s fate. Just as the Doctor and Evelyn seem to have resolved the main conflict, they are forced to return Jamie to his inevitable death—a stark reminder that history cannot always be rewritten.

📝VERDICT: 6.7/10

Medicinal Purposes has an intriguing premise and a strong atmosphere but struggles with pacing and underused elements. The historical setting is well-realised, and Knox’s reveal as a time-travelling scientist adds an interesting twist, but the story never fully capitalises on its potential.

David Tennant’s performance as Daft Jamie is both compelling and uncomfortable, adding a layer of tragic depth to the narrative. His fate provides the story’s most powerful moment, underscoring the Doctor’s limitations in the face of fixed history.

Despite its shortcomings, Medicinal Purposes remains an engaging listen, particularly for those interested in Doctor Who’s historical horror stories. It just never quite reaches the heights it aspires to.

The Monthly Adventures #060 - “Medicinal Purposes" by Robert Ross

The 2000s were, let's say, a different time. A time when more things were acceptable, when attitudes were far less caring for one’s fellow man. Thankfully, things have changed since then but by golly has the time’s media not aged well. Medicinal Purposes is in poor taste for a number of reasons;  on top of everything, it's not very good, but it also just so happens to fundamentally misunderstand our main characters in a remarkably baffling way. Face to face with a pair of infamous body snatchers, what does our hero do? Congratulate them, apparently. 

Arriving in misty 1820s Edinburgh, the Doctor and Evelyn become wrapped up in the story of Burke and Hare, two graverobbers working for the enigmatic Dr. Knox - a man with knowledge beyond this world.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Where do I even start with this story? It’s one of those beasts where it just feels like a list of bad moves on the writer’s part -  and this is supposed to be one of Robert Ross’ better stories! I guess I’ll begin with the main positive takeaway I had, which was Leslie Phillips as this audio’s antagonist - Dr. Knox. Knox is not a great character, he is a moustache twirling villain who rants about his evil plans to himself and sits down to talk his machinations over with our hero. He is a manual on how to write a disappointing antagonist. But god dammit does Phillips pull this pantomime character out of the depths of hell and make him a good time to listen to. Phillips manages to carry Knox with a decidedly humorous undertone, fully leaning into the ridiculous bravado of a Bondesque bad guy and making his scenes by far and away the best of the audio. It’s not good, but compared to the rest of this s**t show, it’s a blessing. Which is a shame because I genuinely like some of the stuff Ross was going for here. The idea of a galactic con man locking a historical tragedy in a time loop so he can show it off to the highest bidder is genuinely really fun and could’ve been great if somebody with half a brain wrote it. Unfortunately, it's barely capitalised on and how the “Burke and Hare Experience” works is never really outlined. It also could’ve been interesting to lean into the Doctor’s morality, what with the moral dilemma of “would you kill for science?” up in the air and this being a character who has gone from callous to kind hearted over the course of his tenure. If only the direction this throughline goes wasn’t the Doctor fully supporting and congratulating murder.

Getting into the many troughs of poor decision making present in this script, let's recap: the Doctor and Evelyn find themselves in the killing spree of graverobbers William Burke and William Hare, who murdered people on behalf of one Dr. Robert Knox for his dissections and studies of anatomy. Now, the Doctor realises this and, rather than condemn such a callous disregard for human life or perhaps way up the philosophical implications of killing to better the world, goes to shake hands with serial murderer William Hare for killing innocent people because something-something the pursuit of science. It’s a bizarre left turn for the Doctor to have and certainly not helped by the fact that Evelyn - a whip smart history lecturer - acts like an obviously doting old lady for the duration of this audio. Clearly, Ross did not understand either of these characters and so just did his own thing, making two bland and cold caricatures instead.

And then you move onto the dialogue, which practically ruins any hope of good characters in the first place. Both falling into the pit trap of trying to explain everything the listener can’t see and the pit trap of trying to be funny when you’re really not, it’s a slog to get through sometimes, especially when Ross combines the two problems and creates dull exposition bloated by poor attempts at wit. It’s not as bad as something like Winter for the Adept, but it's stilted and often overextends story beats.

However, perhaps the worst offense this audio makes is in the form of Daft Jamie, a historical victim of Burke and Hare played by none other than David Tennant, who just so happens to be a very early 2000s representation of somebody with a learning disability. Tennant certainly tries here - his performance is… energetic, to say the least - but it doesn’t save the fact that every single character treats Jamie as either an infant or an intrusion, including our leads. It's a very awkward and poorly aged mistake that makes Medicinal Purposes even harder to stomach, especially when the Doctor willingly leads him to his death at the end because of some weak web of time crap.

But, you know what? This story’s greatest sin isn’t that it’s offensive or that the characters are poor or that the dialogue is alien, it’s that it’s boring. This is a bottom of the barrel run around, a barely plotted mystery that switches between two locations with no drive, atmosphere or tension, every character barely reacting to what's going on around them and every plot reveal communicated in endlessly confusing ways that leave an overly simple story a chore to follow. Medicinal Purposes is a story that tries. It tries very hard, but is stuck with one of the worst scripts I’ve seen in a Doctor Who project, and for that I can only feel sorry for it.

It’s clear at this point that I do not like Medicinal Purposes. It has to hold every single problem I’ve ever had about a story and is only somewhat avenged because the whole cast is trying to make it work and there was a good amount of potential. What scares me though is that Robert Ross, for some reason, was invited back. And the story he wrote was Pier Pressure, which is rated far lower than this mess. I’m sure reviewing that one will be super fun.

2/10

Pros:

+ Knox was a fun villain

+ Has some great ideas

Cons:

- The Doctor and Evelyn acted massively out of character

- The dialogue was beyond atrocious

- Could barely explain its plot beats

- Oddly enough sides with the murderous bodysnatchers

- Daft Jamie was an incredibly offensive stereotype

- Dull and meandering story.