The Calendar Man

The Calendar Man is one of the best concepts to come out of Big Finish.

Calendar Man isn't terrible but wasn't perfect, either. On the one hand, it is an excellent example of how effective horror can be created through music, atmosphere, and special effects. There's a lot of creepiness to this story that works quite well, and the monster himself has a good, memorable voice to him. The whole situation and even my view of the story reminds me a lot of Hide - lots of cool ideas and tone to it, but otherwise not something that left a huge impression on me. I struggled to connect with our setting and didn't really get a strong sense of where we were, like I might other Big Finish audios.

I like Jacob Dudman's Eleven impression and it is truly amazing, but his work as Amy Pond is a bit grating, especially since Calendar Man has another actor already. Getting someone who can do a good voice for Karen Gillian would have been preferable. All told, it definitely has me excited to see more Eleventh Doctor Chronicles and very much felt of the Moffat era, rushed and somewhat random ending included. It isn't perfect but Dudman feels effective and with better work around the companions, I think this could really lead to something powerful.

Doctor Who – The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles

#1.01. The Calendar Man ~ 9/10

◆ An Introduction

Jacob Dudman has recently stepped away from BigFinish, but his impersonation of the Eleventh Doctor has been met with near universal praise. What has come to be known as “Series 7V” cemented him as one of my favourite performers – alongside his equally brilliant co-star, Safiyya Ingar – and I cannot wait to see where his career goes next.

But as we move forward, through the final two ‘Eleventh Doctor Chronicles’ releases, we’re going back to experience where it all began!

◆ Publisher’s Summary

Answering a cry for help, the Doctor and Amy arrive on a misty colony world – but nobody thinks anything is wrong. Nobody, except for one young woman, hiding in shadows and scribbling in her notebook.

Soon, Amy is on the trail of missing colonists, while the Doctor strides into the fog in search of a fairy-tale.

But time is running out, and the Calendar Man is flicking through the pages of their lives…

◆ The Eleventh Doctor

Jacob Dudman clearly hit the ground running with his first performance as the Eleventh Doctor.

The Doctor is described as being a gangly grandfather in a young man’s body. He’s got all the newspapers from all the years; future, past, parallel, alternative… and they sometimes shift when you’re reading them (which is very exciting). His companion has just survived a giant cephalopod attack, and she doesn’t want to rest: it’s an attitude that impresses him greatly. He believes that everyone has a place, but that it doesn’t always show, because some people are taking up two places. The Doctor claims that wherever you go in the universe, you can always get cheese and pickle sandwiches… just don’t ask where the cheese comes from, and certainly not the pickle! He is consumed with fear from the moment he realises the murderer’s identity.

◆ Amy Pond

Jacob Dudman is obviously not a ginger lass from Inverness, but he still manages to pull double-duty in this episode by capturing the essence of Karen Gillan.

Amy is a young woman very far from where she was born, but has never felt more at home than in the TARDIS.

◆ Story Recap

On a human colony world in the distant future, the population is being rapidly diminished by an unknown force. What makes matters worse is that Olivia Pamiac appears to be the only one to have noticed the deaths… or even know that the victims existed to begin with. The entire colony thinks that she’s a fantasist, and all she can do is try to keep the memories of the victims alive. The Doctor and Amy decide to assist Olivia in investigating the deaths… and discover that the perpetrator is a figure from Gallifreyan folklore!

◆ Twisted Folklore

AK Benedict previously penned an adventure where alien hunting parties disguised themselves as trolls and elves, because she tapped into a culture where over half the population believe such creatures could actually exist. Icelandic folklore is incredibly detailed, so I sincerely hope that ‘The Hunting Ground’ wont be the only time the Doctor visits.

This episode also has a strong focus on folklore, but of Gallifreyan origin this time round. The titular Calendar Man was a cautionary fairytale; a creature who decided if people lived well and wisely. If he found they hadn’t, they would be written out of history and into his book. The Doctor believed the story only existed to scare tiny Time Lords into living their incarnations to the fullest, but the creature is evidently real. The only way he can be defeated is if he wrongly convicts an innocent.

The Calendar Man is a really unique idea for a villain, but not the only time a Gallifreyan fairy story has turned out to be real: the Eleventh Doctor would come face-to-face with the Shakri later in his personal timeline.

◆ Sound Design

Richard Fox and Lauren Yason have received oodles of praise from me in the past, and will continue to do so. They have crafted a beautifully atmospheric soundscape for ‘The Calendar Man’.

The episode opens with a TARDIS scene; the ambient sounds from Eleven’s first console room send waves of comforting nostalgia over me. A distress signal filled with static crackles through the scanner, accompanied by a rapid ticking noise that sounds like a clock on fast-forward. Feet trample across soft and marshy ground. The familiar hum of the sonic screwdriver. The ruffling of pages in a book. The loud, dull whirring of a drill. The colony marketplace is filled with the hustle and bustle of people going about their business. Buzzing floodlights. The ticking of the Calendar Man becomes more intense as the Doctor gets closer to it.

◆ Music

Ioan Morris has proven himself to be an excellent composer – one need only listen to his work on the ‘Hearts of Darkness’ box set to realise that – so my expectations were high. Much like the sound design, his score does an excellent job at building the episode’s atmosphere. When the last confession of Alan Sigraff is read out, it’s accompanied by this gorgeously melancholic piano piece.

◆ Conclusion

“Something is forcing them to confess, and within a day they’re dead.”

Thirty people have died every day for the past month, all after confessing their sins to a creature from Gallifreyan folklore. Olivia Pamiac is the only one who appears to have noticed… but everyone thinks that she’s a fantasist. Once again, it falls upon the Doctor and Amy to help save the day.

Jacob Dudman kicked off his BigFinish tenure with a marvellous performance as the Eleventh Doctor. He also had some wonderful on-air chemistry with this episode’s guest star, Eleanor Crooks, who most people will know as Naomi Cross (companion to the Fourth and Seventh Doctors).

AK Benedict has something of a spotless track record, and she’s not about to blemish it now. ‘The Calendar Man’ carves out a new detail in the never-ending mythology of the Doctor’s homeworld, and I really hope we get another encounter with the titular creature.