Another in my sequence of First Doctor audios which I got back in January, this one dating from September 2018. This is really rather good. It’s a look at a society which has done a deal with the Daleks – or rather whose rulers have done a deal, at the expense of the ordinary citizens. The narrative of the Doctor and friends (here Vicki and Stephen) leading a rebellion against oppression is an old one (indeed at one point Vicki notes that she’s done this before), but the contrasting performances of Robert Daws as the evil collaborator Majorian, and Sara Powell (ex-War of the Sontarans), Shvorne Marks and Matthew Jacobs Morgan as the exploited populace is just tremendous; plus of course Nick Briggs as the Daleks, and Peter Purves and Maureen O’Brien doing both their own characters and Hartnell’s Doctor when necessary. I generally enjoy Big Finish audios (and I whine like anything when I don’t) but this is a particular high point.
The author is David K. Barnes, who also wrote the brilliant First Doctor / Second Doctor mashup Daughter of the Gods and one of the creepier Ninth Doctor audios. That’s three hits out of three for me, and I’ll look out for his work in future. Directed by the excellent Lisa Bowerman who rarely misses the mark.
The next in this sequence is An Ideal World, with the same classic actors, but I’m going to divert to a short story before I get there.
