The Outlaws

hat a start to the 1st and dodo era dodo is honestly becoming one of my fav Hartnell companions which would be sacrilege a few years ago but dodo is amazing here and we need to appreciate her more

This one was quite a fun listen, something which I was happy to find, as the previous two 1DA’s (Demon Song and Incherton Incident respectively, yes I listened to this series in reverse) I’d listened to I found to be rather lacking.

The plot of the thing is rather weak in all honesty, however that doesn’t seem to be the point. The story seems aware it isn’t that deep, so instead decides to have fun with itself. And it’s very fun. All the characters bounce of each other in a farcical way that’s reminiscent of the Romans, and the brutal nature of the subject matter leads to some brilliant dark comedy. Additionally, the presence of Rufus Hound as the Monk is as wonderful as always, and Myles plays to his comedic strengths wonderfully.

The story is not without flaws, of course. The main conflict of the plot is pretty much resolved within the first five minutes of part 4, leaving little to do for the remaining half hour resulting in the story meandering a tad. Additionally, the lead performers, particularly Steven Noonan, have not quite settled into their roles fully. Noonan particularly has moments where he sounds very little like the First Doctor, however the personality and mannerisms he presents are in line with the character. Due to the more recent releases from this range, I can confidently say this is merely an issue of early instalment problems, as both Noonan and Cornelius feel far more natural and comfortable in the following release.

All in all, it’s a solid little story, though not amazing. I’d recommend it, but don’t go in expecting some grand masterpiece, as it is not that, nor is it trying to be. For the fun little story it is, I’d argue that it’s quite good.

The last First Doctor Adventures are, ironically, a new beginning. With a new duo, new voices and new stories, how does this set hold up?

The Doctor and Dodo land in 13th-century Lincoln, where they soon meet with robbers, sheriffs and a familiar, robe-wearing foe…. How will they deal with these peculiar circumstances?

Let’s start off with the first thing you will hear: a new voice for the Doctor. This is the first time Stephen Noonan takes on the role of the First Doctor, which was a bit controversial when this set first came out.

William Hartnell, of course, never lived to do Doctor Who audio plays of any kind. So his presence in audio has always been done by someone else. For companions, this is very much based on how they remember him. William Russell always plays him as a bit of a gaspy old man, a combination of dignity and flimsiness. Peter Purves, on the other hand, plays him more energetically and clownish. It is very interesting, because it almost allows you to hear the growth the character went through in the stories. Russell saw the stricter, meaner Doctor from season 1, While Purves plays a gigglier incarnation that mostly matches season 2 and a bit of 3. It very clearly matches what the character would’ve been like in their eyes, which makes their impersonations believable.

Other than that, we have of course David Bradley, who has a bit of a unique position. He first came into proper contact with Doctor Who by playing William Hartnell in drama documentary “An Adventure in Space and Time”. In it, he played a very dramatized William Hartnell, which fit the style of the documentary splendidly. But when he moved on to do the First Doctor on audio, that dramatic tone came with him. Bradley’s performance is notably more melodramatic and emotional than Hartnell himself ever was. Causing some moments that felt unfaithful to the character, even though the overall performance was still really good.

But Bradley is quite an old man himself, so I get why it might be a good time to get another actor to play the role. Which brings us to Steven Noonan. From the get go, it is clear that Noonan knows exactly what he’s doing. All little nuances in his performance show he is trying less of an interpretation, and more of a imitation. And I must say, I think he’s brilliant at it. By far the most accurate to the TV performance we’ve had so far.

He captures all of Hartnell’s little habits, whether that be stumbling over words, the iconic high-pitched “hmpfs” or the smaller sighs and breath patterns you would barely even miss if they were left out. It’s astoundingly good, and as the behind-the-scenes material clearly shows, he did his homework. Going as far back as the 1920’s to listen to Hartnell’s original mentor, who inspired how Hartnell tackled the role. This is clearly a guy who has nailed the nuances.

But in the bigger picture, he hasn't nailed it just yet. You can tell he hasn’t completely found his footing with the role. Especially when dealing with situation the original Hartnell wasn’t used to, like extremes in happy emotions. He sometimes slips out of the role, but always manages to get back into it. It’s clearly just him getting used to the role. Give it some time, and I guarantee it will be perfect.

But enough about that, let’s talk about the actual story. This story is a pure historical, which usually go in one of two directions. They either go dramatic, or they go comedic. So it is kind of off-putting to see this one go for neither. It leaves the story a bit formless.

Don’t get me wrong, the story clearly has picked a tone, but while trying to present itself as comedic, it just never really was. There’s barely any jokes or truly funny characters. Which makes this feel like a failed comedy movie.

Yes, I think that’s the tone we’ve reached here. You know those comedy movies that present themselves as really funny, but no joke actually makes you laugh? That’s what this one is like. The most comedic thing this story has going on is referencing Robin Hood, which isn’t exactly the funniest concept I’ve ever head.

And I know I’ve already talked a lot about performance, but man, the monk really isn’t helping this story either. This is my first experience with the Rufus Hound Monk and I did not get a good first impression in the slightest. He comes across like a muppet. Like he is halfway through eating cookie monster. It’s cartoonish and annoying. Add on a lot of conversations with the Dodo, who’s performed well but has dialogue that absolutely fits her oblivious and childish character, and this story quickly becomes a bit of too grating at times.

And on the monk side, I don’t really understand where this dynamic came from. I get the idea that this is a later incarnation meeting a previous Doctor, but there’s no real indication of shock on either side. The Doctor should be surprised that the Monk has regenerated, yet he doesn’t give it the time of day. On the other side, the Monk should be surprised to meet such an early incarnation, but he doesn’t say anything either. It feels very inconsequential, even though it totally shouldn’t be.

On top of that, I’d argue this is the first time I’ve seen the Doctor-Monk dynamic as morally corrupt. I know this is a common complaint, but I’ve met the monk twice, and it wasn’t an issue then. One was his introduction story, where he was changing the course of history to extreme amounts. Bringing a gramophone to the Middle Ages and changing an important battle. The second time was during Daleks’ Master Plan, where he was mostly, to use a professional term, f**king about. Basically just trying to survive, while still messing with the Doctor, their dynamic being like an older and younger sibling.

This time, however, we are immediately presented with the image of the Monk as an irresponsible meddler, which causes a really hateful reaction from the doctor. Like he doesn’t even want to breathe the same air as him. It feels too intense. The Monk mostly keeps his old attitude, which feels more fitting, even in this new incarnation. But like I said, the performance still left a lot to be desired. Muppet voice.

At the same time, this story almost tackles the interesting dynamic between the two. It mentions how the Doctor is no better, because he invented the Trojan horse. Which is totally true! Yet within one sentence the Doctor shoves it aside and we’re not talking about it anymore.

And that’s a straight up failure in writing. If you’re going to bring that kind of stuff up, you can’t then immediately stuff it away with the idea that we should believe the Doctor, because he’s the main character. That on its own is not enough to justify the animosity between the two, which hurts a story where the two of them take center stage.

Other than that broken dynamic, there really isn’t much to talk about either. It’s a story without a real central hook or anything that draws attention to it. It’s mostly the Doctor, the Monk and Dodo running around a Robin Hood-esque world for 2 and a half hours. It sometimes feels padded as well, like when the Doctor talks to the sheriff about being her guest, then a prisoner, then her guest again and then being captured again. Being aware of it doesn’t make it better.