Written by The Wandering Fox
Oh well don’t you know it? Its a Doctor Who blog entry. Though this one is a much more positive example of Doctor Who and to me it's one of the best anniversary stories made of the franchise.
The Light at the End
The story was released in 2013 to celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who. I remember darting out to Forbidden Planet to buy it, it was that thrilling to listen to I had to buy it.
With Doctor Who Celebrating 50 years back then, what made this anniversary special standout and why was I keen on getting it? Well not only was it another multi-Doctor story, it was the first time Tom Baker actually took part in a multi-Doctor story. Tom was the longest serving Doctor on TV but didn’t have any chance to meet a different incarnation of the character. Having left in 1981, Tom did return for the horrific Dimensions in Time crossover with EastEnders, though here it was the first time Tom’s Doctor was meeting the others with Tom playing the Doctor.
You have the surviving Classic Doctors and their companions in this story and I was keen on hearing how would Nicholas Briggs handle a huge ensemble cast for this audio. So, was this audio special any good and worth your time and money as a Who fan to listen to? Well sit right back as I delve into the Light at the End.
Story:
The story is quite complicated to make it flow in order so its best I say it like this:
The Master has found a way to finally kill the Doctor for good, and this ends up affecting all of the Classic Doctors while they’re travelling, dragging them into Totton Hampshire 1963 on the 23rd of November, the life of Bob Dovie, and a pocket dimension where aliens called the Vess create the most incredible weapons in the universe.
The story does sound basic, the Classic Doctors have to stop the Master, though Big Finish flings it on its head and makes this an even tougher battle for the Doctors. It does end up pacing out relatively well with the first half focussing on the Fourth, Fifth and Eighth Doctors as they face the Master, then the second half focuses on the Sixth and Seventh Doctors trying to find out how exactly all this happened.
This structural storytelling is well done as it lets us have a chance to breathe with each Doctor, you have the Fourth and Eighth Doctors having the multi Doctor dynamic at the start with some awkwardness and fun banter between them, Leela and Charley trying to wrap their heads around regeneration, then the slow dark realisation of what’s happening forces the Doctors to try and think quickly but are at their wits end.
The Fifth Doctor and Nyssa have their story alone as they track down the temporal interference coming from November 23rd 1963 Totton Hampshire, this feeling of creepiness and horror throughout their segment as they meet Bob Dovie and try finding out what happened to his family, the truth of where they are almost works exactly like a horror story, the Master relishing in what he’s doing.
The Sixth and Seventh Doctors do appear in the first half but its more of a setup for what they do.
The second half focusses on them with the Sixth Doctor and Peri escaping the Big Bang and save the Seventh Doctor and Ace, here we get some much needed fun banter after the dark stuff with Four, Five and Eight, Ace just having a laugh at the Sixth Doctor’s costume while we have a soft conversation between the Seventh Doctor and Peri.
The story does falter here sadly as I think Briggs was running out of time to get this all in as we learn how the Master got his hands on the device, Ace and Peri are then erased, the Time Lords are involved and we have the First, Second and Third Doctors get involved, though it doesn’t stop Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and the others from delivering a great performance.
The Doctors devise a plan to undo what the Master has done, and the opening sequence of the first half comes in full circle with the Fifth Doctor undoing most of what’s happened.
However, if you don’t like Sonic 06, you might be annoyed with the ending, though while I’m slightly confused by it, it doesn’t seem like the story was a waste as there’s lingering effects of the story still there. We get a nostalgic ending with the Doctors all leaving as the 1963 end credits music ends up playing.
Overall, the story does end up weakening in the second half with everything just explained quickly and you could be annoyed by the end result, but the performances of the actors, the pacing and the tone just work incredibly well with this and is proof you can have a big number of Doctors in the story with the right idea in mind of how to involve them.
Characters
Theres a lot of characters in this audio, the Classic Doctors, their companions, the Master, Bob Dovie, Straxus. As I said, there’s lots of them, you have.
The Classic Doctors.
Ian.
Susan.
Sara Kingdom,
Viki.
Steven.
Polly.
Jaime.
Zoe.
Jo.
Leela.
Nyssa,
Tegan.
Turlough.
Peri.
Ace.
Charley.
The Master.
Straxus.
Bob Dovie.
I’ll quickly have this explained, Ian, Susan, Sara, Viki, Steven, Jaime, Zoe, Polly, Jo, Teagan and Turlough only make very brief appearances as Charley slips through the TARDIS’s timeline. There is a story reason for why this happens, but its incredibly brief, its to try and have as many of them appear as its a anniversary special.
The first three Doctors have a bigger role in the second half though mostly as guides to their successors trying to stop the Master. William Russell, Frazer Hinds and Tim Trelore make their debuts as these Doctors here and do a fine job, as well as how we have the late William solve the entire story, symbolically tying back to how William was the original hero of Doctor Who.
The Doctors are written incredibly well, you have the Fourth Doctor’s character being the sarcastic and ageless kind of guy he is, the Fifth Doctor being more empathetic, the Sixth Doctor has his ego but his strong sense for justice out, the Seventh Doctor more thoughtful, the Eighth Doctor being ever polite with some sarcasm thrown in, helps well with how the Fourth and Eighth Doctor’s interact with Four earning Eight’s respect for his scarf though he does note at how he looks like Wild Bill Hickock.
The companions are mostly alright though they do seem to be there to ask questions, I can’t help but think Ace was the strongest written out of them while Peri does suffer a bit, wether its cos Ace ends up making fun comments of the other Doctors and doesn’t ask the basic questions, though Charley does at least end up talking with the Fourth Doctor and Leela with some dynamics of how Leela can easily think Charley’s trying to hurt her Doctor while she’s not. Nyssa does as well manage to fit as a detective to help get the Doctor in character.
The Master, played here by Geoffrey Beevers, is well done in his portrayal by writing and acting. He’s at his most desperate with this as his last body, only he keeps being smug and a somewhat teasing old man who honestly thinks he’s got everything he wants, he stands well against the Doctors who aren’t Tom and his plan of killing the Doctor is just crazy though it works well for the Master.
Bob Dovie is there as a plot device really though we do get the gist of him being an ordinary man who’s life has been flung upside down, though I don’t know if its John Dorney’s acting or how Bob is written I cant help but feel annoyed by Bob, though of course he does get his life back together by the end of the story.
Straxus is just there to fill the role of a corrupt Time Lord and gets a vicious teardown by the Doctor.
Continuity
With this as a must listen story, you might wonder exactly where does this go in the timeline? Well, you can easily listen to it without worry, though if you want, here’s what I can tell.
Fourth Doctor is after Robots of Death.
Fifth Doctor is after Timeflight.
Sixth Doctor is after Two Doctors.
Seventh Doctor before Survival.
Eighth Doctor before Neverland.
Overall
The Light at the End is a fun, if flawed, story celebrating all those years of Doctor Who with a story which does weaken slightly in the second half though is held up by the actors as well as the intensity of the first half. If you want a Doctor Who story which is almost basic but flings it with some strange stuff while keeping you happy, then I think you oughta listen to this.
I’m the Wandering Fox and I will catch ya later.
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