So far Briggs is painting the 9th Doctor as the intellectual working class hero Doctor. Someone who is going to support the oppressed and challenge the privileged. It is not a script that would work quite as well with any other Doctor but its SO perfect for Eccleston.

I adore how they have ditched the "sense of occasion" that would usually come with these releases and just pushed on straight with the action. Having not had new Eccleston for 16 years it was thrilling to hear him inhabiting the role from the word go, owning the space and just making it feel like a natural part of the ongoing narrative. First episodes often get caught up with a lot of fanfare, instead Briggs just gets straight in with the plot. And its a great plot, setting up the Ravagers arc.

Any fan of Doctor Who should love the idea of time eddies, its a neat concept which will give way for a bunch of interesting scenarios for The Doctor. Nova and Audrey are very intriguing. Having a companion with a unique back story - former indentured servant from a game station (I know - very series 1) who was forced to turn her back from her family - is another interesting set up which I think will pay dividends.

I've always heard for so long about how bad the first volume of the 9DA's are... and I understand this sentiment, but I still quite liked this first story! I thought it was neat!

B.

15.09.2021

I missed Nine. The story structure is questionable, particularly the confusing in medias res and the retelling core of it. The twist is sort of not set up, but sort of is. Nine is charming as ever, I sort of like Nova, though she is bleak sorta. The premise is grabbing, similar to a story I came up with a while ago, though more detailed and thought-out. 2.5/5??

I was very excited for the return of Christopher Eccleston, but there really isn't anything about this story in particular that feels anything like a very grand return. A boring story, confusing, muddled and inconsistent pacing, and even the acting from Eccleston himself doesn't seem to go very far beyond "serviceable". I'll continue listening to the 9DAs because Nine is one of my favourite Doctors and I'm also still very interested in immersing myself further into the audio stories, but this is far from a great start.

Eccleston slips back into his part almost effortlessly, which really carries this story. Sphere of freedom is the best of the three parts without question, however the story even here is a little underwhelming.

So, after so many years away from the role, Christopher Eccleston returns to Doctor Who in a story that, quite frankly, left me dismayed.

It is possible that after a decade and a half with no Ninth Doctor, I had built into myself a sense of unrealistic expectations. But I see I am not alone in people feeling a little underwhelmed with Ravagers. It's a relief to know that Ninth Doctor Adventures will improve going forward, but for now, it's really rough to start with an audio that -

1. Is in three parts
2. Drops you right into the action with a new companion and a pretty creative setting
3. Is fairly experimental in its story structure (although nothing too new in the larger world of Doctor Who)

I really get confused by this because these audios really feel like something that should be better designed to get people into Big Finish. Eccleston is a draw, something that can bring in the larger Doctor Who community, and instead of something a bit more traditional we get a story that jumps around a lot, ends on a cliffhanger, and perhaps overindulges in its alternate reality premise a bit too much for my preferences.

I liked Audrey enough even if I saw the twist with her coming a mile away, while Nova I am pretty neutral towards at the moment. I don't think Sphere of Freedom gives enough for Eccleston to do to really stand out for his big return.

"Disappointing" is the word that most comes to mind for Sphere of Freedom. It leaves me really worried about the next two parts of Ravagers.