Mother Russia

We're back with Marc Platt in the 19th century, and despite a strong start, this one made almost little to no impact. Admittedly, I did listen to it as background noise while I fiddled around in a video-game about space-ships, so maybe a tale of Russian serfs and the Napoleonic Wars was never going to grip my attention. Except of course that for the first fifteen or so minutes, it really did. It sets itself up as a pure historical in the vein of The Romans; following on from the events of The Gunfighters, Doctor 1, Steven and Vicki land in rural Russia, where they are rapidly taken in by the locals, fed a lot of borscht, and given jobs in the community, something that seems to happen to them basically wherever they go. I'm a freak for a pure historical, even more so when it gives us a bit of insight into the characters of these original, black and white TARDIS teams (it's why I have such a fondness for Farewell, Great Macedon and even The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance; while that one isn't a pure historical, it's much more about who Barbara is as a person than the weird space stuff going on). Off the back of Frostfire, where Marc Platt was able to explore a little of the trauma that comes from being left behind by The Doctor, even if it's by your own choice, we don't really get the same exploration of Steven here.

Some of that (OK, I'll be charitable, almost all of it) is down to the framing device, in my opinion. We're once again having the companion explain the story to another, unseen listener, and again, the unseen listener bootstraps back into the story at the end to tie it all up into a neat bow. Frostfire made this work, even if I acknowledge it begrudgingly, because Vicki was telling a story about something that happened a long time ago. From what I gathered from the ending of Mother Russia, which was rushed, messy, and overly expository, Steven is retelling the events of about twenty minutes ago to the creature that was directly involved in the event? The final ten minutes feels almost entirely like Steven describing the things that happened and the Shape Thief agreeing.

Basically, much like The Witchfinders, this starts as a good historical story with nice bits of flavor and texture (The Russian setting is lovingly evoked, as is the passing of seasons as Team TARDIS spend the better part of half a year living in the village) that is thrown way off balance by the arrival of an obligatory alien. There's a moment where we're treated to what we think might be a bit of Seventh Doctor-esque deception, the closest we get to some good character work for Steven as once again his faith in who The Doctor is becomes shaken and challenged. But instead, it was a shapeshifting alien (about as innovative as the Frost Fair) and by the time we're closing out, the whole thing collapses into a dense sort of mess that left me cold.

It's not all bad - Steven fights a bear, and I think we can all agree that were The Revenant made in 1965, Peter Purves would have been a solid casting. He gives a good strong performance here - his Steven voice has always sort of been his Steven voice, but even he really can't put a lot of enthusiasm into the dreary exposition that makes up the final third of this story. Not a highlight.

There is a pleasant, gentle performance from Peter Purves at the heart of this story, but the script itself is pretty mid. It’s a shaggy dog story, with one event happening after another, never developing into anything satisfying. The tone is good though. Like many first doctor Big Finish productions, there is something comforting and comfortable about it.

This was a pretty clean and fun adventure for the First Doctor. I liked the content around Napoleon and the Shape-Shifter. It all feels right in line with the tone of the First Doctor era, perhaps to a fault such that it feels a little average. Still, I had fun listening. I probably wouldn't be eager to revisit any time soon, but Peter Purves is able to carry the story nicely with his narration enough that it was definitely worth listening to at least once (especially because I got this one through the library).

It’s nice to have another nepolion story I love when stuff from the main show is added upon story wise though it’s very much a mediocre Marc platt story which HURTS cause I love that man

The calm stuff where Steven settles down in Russia is very good. The shapeshifter having an existential crisis was also pretty good. The rest was very uhhhhhhh…

The shapeshifter being the doctor and dodo was so incredibly obvious that i feel like i’ve missed something. Like there was a reason it was so obvious and actually meant to be that way. Like tbh i can barely even call it a spoiler. I dont get it it was so incredibly obvious i felt nothing when it was ‘revealed’. There must have been an underlying reason for it, but i dont see it. It can’t just have been so badly written. It must have been for a reason, right?

Steven becoming friendos with Russian wood guy was really nice. I’ve already said that. But that’s because that was the only really good part. Steven goin’ fishing.

There is a little bit of intrigue, but most of the story centers around the ‘mystery’ of the shapeshifter. If your mystery ain’t a mystery, then I’d say it isn’t a very good mystery. Lots of it was also just really boring and annoying. The whatever was going on with accepting the present was confusing and i didnt care about it. This is my first Steven story and im convinced hes a complete idiot now. He went running after the doctor (spoilers it wasnt the doctor) and that was a whole thing i tried not to fall asleep to. Napoleon recognizing the shapeshifter was kinda funny i guess.

The way the narration was framed was forced and confusing to me. Hope the other companion chronicles just have the reader reading without any silly reasons for them to do it. It just distracts from the story and is annoying. Or at least it was here. Maybe other audios will manage to pull it off better.

The behind the scenes are alright. I think it’s funny that Stevens actor only sees the first doctor as the real doctor, meanwhile the general fandom consensus being that the doctor started getting his character from Troughton. The music suite is better than the story btw.

A story that takes Steven in a really interesting direction, while being held back by its age, obvious twist and lower production value.

The Party lands in a Russian village, 1812. After meeting the locals, they decide to just hang around for a while. However, two invasions are coming. One is a small man from France, the other is a bit more… otherworldly.

As soon as this start, you can tell this is one of the older Companion Chronicles. In fact, it is the first Steven Taylor centered Companion Chronicle. And for a first outing, it kind of asks a lot from him.

Peter Purves has to do Steven’s voice, of course. But he also has to do the Doctor, which he has clearly not pinned down yet. On top of that he also has to play his own Russian friend and several other French voices. He aside from one other role. He is everyone.

And on top of all that, this is also a story with a shapeshifer, that tries to imitate almost everyone Steven comes across. So now he also has to do subtle differences in presentation for each of the character. Like an angrier, irritable Doctor.

And that kind of pushes it all past the breaking point. Peter Purves can act brilliantly, but this is his first go and he basically has to do everything. Amidst all the voices, some nuances and emotions get lost. Sometimes an accent slips. And while I understand why this happens, it does still take away from the experience.

What really would’ve helped, was one more voice actor. Any actor would do. Let Purves do the Doctor and companions, and let someone else tackle the Russian friend or the side roles. I’m sure that would’ve really supported the actual narrative.

Which is pretty good, by the way. The party settles down and enjoys life for a bit. Steven in particular just gets to rest for a while. No job, no mission, just… Steven. Which is really nice! He goes fishing, gets some new hobbies, he makes a friend. He lets slip some of his doubts about travelling with the Doctor. It fits the tone of the first half of season 3, while still being calm and relaxing.

But like I said, it all gets a bit more complicated when the shapeshifter gets introduced. And it feels a bit contrived at times. The story opens with our interrogator saying “I’m Steven Taylor”, follow by actual Steven correcting him: “No, I’m Steven Taylor. After that, several moments happen where characters act irrational and distinctly out of character. If you’ve seen any sci-fi in your life, you now know exactly what’s going on. There is an impostor among us.

But the story doesn’t want you to actually know that yet. It keeps that a secret until the final 10/15 minutes. So get used to Steven asking “What’s going on?” over and over again, while you’ve already known for ages. It gets a bit tiresome.

Overall, the story isn’t quite as good once the shapeshifer is introduced. This is mostly because of the aforementioned nuances asked from Peter Purves, which he just can’t deliver on yet. He hasn’t even gotten a full grip on the Doctor yet, but now you ask him to play a fake Doctor.

And the early performance hurts other moments as well. Like the interactions between Steven and his Russian friend. Nuances in the friendship are lost because of a performance that can’t capture them yet. How can someone express deeper emotions for someone if they can’t even handle their accent sometimes?

And I do feel a bit snobbish about it. It’s early work. I’ve heard that things get better. I’m used to things being better. Purves is a brilliant performer. But when judging this on its own, you can’t ignore that the presentation harms the storytelling. Details get lost in the scuffle.

But hey, what’s there is still pretty decent. There are no huge gaps in the writing. And while struggling, the performance is certainly trying. On the writing side, it could do with some tidying up in places. When exactly does the writer want the audience to know about the shapeshifter? On the performance end, just add another person. Lighten the load between actors a little. That way, this story gets more room to breathe and explore characters.

“Mother Russia” would be a prime candidate for a modern rerecording. It’s age and the inexperience of its leading man hinder it in places. Polish it up with some modern experiences, tighten up the script a little and you might have something great! But currently, it isn’t. It’s just decent. A sign of good things to come.