1. The Bleeding Heart by Cavan Scott
Galen is a place where people come to heal. The renowned ‘planet of peace’ seems the ideal venue for talks between two warring races. But when death disrupts the diplomacy, Cosmic Nine news reporter Adriana Jarsdel uncovers a different story. Luckily, someone is there to help. A battle-weary veteran from another war. The Doctor has come to Galen – but is he looking for peace, or something else entirely?
2. The Window on the Moor by Una McCormack
Emily and her sisters once told each other fables of warring kingdoms: wicked princes, noble dukes, and their battling armies. Now she wanders the moors of her childhood alone, remembering those tales. The TARDIS arrives amid a strange civil war, with prisons made of glass and cities stalked by terrifying beasts. As windows open between worlds, stories and storyteller meet, and Rose comes face to face with Emily Brontë.
3. The Other Side by Scott Handcock
Rose has invited a new friend on board the TARDIS, against the Doctor’s better judgement. But when the Time Lord tries to take his unwelcome guest home, a temporal tsunami cuts the journey short. The travellers find the source of the disturbance inside an abandoned cinema. Will Adam Mitchell help or hinder when the Doctor and Rose discover what is lurking on the other side of the screen?
4. Retail Therapy by James Goss
Jackie Tyler is a success. Every home should have a Glubby Glub, and Jackie is star saleswoman on the Powell Estate. At last, she’s found her calling and it’s only a matter of time before she can give Rose the life she deserves. But the Doctor isn’t impressed. Jackie Tyler isn’t just filling peoples’ houses with useless clutter. He believes she’s launching an alien invasion…
THE NINTH DOCTOR CHRONICLES: THE BLEEDING HEART
The biggest problem with Big Finish’s new series license has been actor availability: while they’ve secured many peripheral characters, one box set with David Tennant and Catherine Tate, and the late John Hurt, they’ve been unable to get most of the major actors in studio. They’ve tried to work around this, most notably with “The Churchill Years” set, and finally with “The Ninth Doctor Chronicles” they’re dispensing with any pretense and just doing narrated audiobooks. Free of the need to cast Christopher Eccleston or Billie Piper, they’re storming ahead with four new stories from the revival, the first of which, Cavan Scott’s “The Bleeding Heart,” takes place prior to series premiere “Rose.” And, pleasantly enough, it’s good!
As mentioned above, these stories are audiobooks, with Nicholas Briggs doing the reading and all the characters opposite one guest voice. The guest voice here is Claire Wyatt, playing reporter Adriana Jarsdel. Let’s get this out of the way, because Briggs’ role in this set has been controversial: he’s a very good narrator. Even when he’s not doing voices, his tones and inflections capture the feelings of the characters he describes. He’s also able to put on several different and recognizable voices – you never lose track of what character is speaking at any given time. The only fault is in his Christopher Eccleston impression: it’s way too comedic and one-note. When the Doctor is being silly or sarcastic, Briggs nails it. When the Doctor is being serious, Briggs sounds like he’s mocking the script. It’s not a big deal – since it’s an audiobook, not an impression contest, you just need to know it’s the Doctor speaking – but it’s a noticeable step down from his performance in “Night of the Whisper.”
As for “The Bleeding Heart” itself, it’s a solid, entertaining story. The central conceit – people becoming so overcome with empathetic feelings that they murder the target of their empathy – is a unique idea that is very Doctor Who. It also enables the story to focus on its characters, with Adriana taking pills to suppress her latent empathic abilities and the Doctor fighting to control his emotions over the recent Time War. Cavan Scott presents a very raw, damaged Doctor, one who has papered over his wounds with silliness. There’s a moment where he asks Adriana to use her abilities, she says she’s in pain, and he says “I don’t care!” that really made me sit up and take notice – it’s the sort of dangerous characterization that marked the Doctor in that first series and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The actual mentions of the Time War seem a bit unnecessary, though I’m not concerned about continuity problems when it comes to things like that. And I’m not a huge fan of the ending, which goes for the very tired scenario where the only way to save the day is for the Doctor to sacrifice himself and another character steps in at the last moment to give up their life in his stead. Yes, it sets up the importance of meeting Rose later on, but I think this device has been very overused.
Overall, though, there’s a lot to enjoy in “The Bleeding Heart.” It feels like it could have been lifted straight out of series 1, it has some impactful emotional beats, and it really understands its central character. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to get a good story from an author I respect a great deal, but nonetheless this was much better than I expected. Hopefully the rest of the set will follow suit.
7/10
THE NINTH DOCTOR CHRONICLES: THE WINDOW ON THE MOOR
The second story, Una McCormack’s “The Window on the Moor,” is in the vein of the “celebrity historicals” beloved by the modern series. Yet it puts a peculiar twist on the format, as the celebrity in question, Emily Brontë (Laura Riseborough), doesn’t meet the TARDIS crew until halfway through the story. On a distant planet, a heroic duke and his evil uncle, a prince, battle for control of a glass city even as the prince has imprisoned the duchess in the city’s glass prison. Matters are complicated by technology that can open “windows” to other places and times – the duke uses this to protect his people while the prince wants to use it to conquer other worlds. Naturally, one of these windows opens onto early 19th-century Earth – and we discover that the duchess and Emily Brontë are doubles! (This allows Riseborough to play both parts.) I’m fairly certain that these experiences are intended to be the inspiration for Brontë’s early poems, but I can’t say for sure. I’m also curious about how she is represented, as she’s friendly, open, and brave, whereas in real life she was famously shy and reserved.
It falls to the Doctor to help defeat the evil prince and stop the use of the time windows. McCormack writes the ninth Doctor brilliantly – I can absolutely picture Christopher Eccleston grinning widely up at a slavering, murderous monster and calling it “fantastic” – capturing his heroism, his desperation, and his sense of humor. Rose doesn’t leap out of the speakers in the same way – she’s certainly recognizable but she’s cast in a traditional companion role for most of the story. The ending works, and I love Rose’s reaction to the Doctor’s actions, but we’re still in familiar territory: the Doctor must make a difficult decision, and a guest character sacrifices their life to save the day and preserve our heroes. There’s not a great deal going on in this story, in other words, despite its literary trappings – most of the plot involves running from place to place in an attempt to get the duke and the prince together. Which isn’t to say I disliked “The Window on the Moor,” but I’m ready for something a little more adventurous.
6/10
THE NINTH DOCTOR CHRONICLES: THE OTHER SIDE
Scott Handcock provides the third story, “The Other Side,” which features the long-awaited (?) return of Bruno Langley as ill-fated companion Adam Mitchell. The story doesn’t confirm ludicrous, ancient fan theories like Adam becoming Davros; rather, the story simply presents a first adventure for this short-lived TARDIS crew, set between “Dalek” and “The Long Game.” And while it’s written and performed to a high standard, it doesn’t do much with a potentially interesting setup, leaving me to wonder what, exactly, the point was.
Adam’s function in the revived first series is to illustrate by contrast what makes Rose a good companion for the Doctor. He’s a bit overawed by new situations, but he’s intelligent and resourceful – the problem is that he’s also selfish. Rose, on the other hand, has her selfish moments, but she’s largely a selfless person concerned for the welfare of the less fortunate. You’d expect “The Other Side” to explore this dynamic even further – but in fact it does the opposite, showing Adam’s good side with few of the questionable elements. There are brief hints at arrogance, but none of his actions here are driven by selfishness – the worst you can say is that he’s more concerned for Rose’s welfare than the Doctor’s. In fact, by the end of the story, the Doctor is conceding that he’s “fantastic” at times and actively wanting to keep him around. Of course, had this aired on TV, it would make Adam’s ouster in the following episode even more shocking – but since we’re getting it 12 years later and we all know how the story ends, why not engage with it? This seems like a massive wasted opportunity.
Fortunately, Handcock’s story is very well structured, with sure-handed characterization leading to a logical story progression. Two moments struck me – first, when the Doctor and Rose are separated into two different time zones, I wondered why the Doctor didn’t just use his time-traveling mobile phone to call her – and almost immediately after thinking that, he did! Then, I wondered why he wouldn’t just wait around for 30 years to meet up with Rose – and then he did! I know “answers my questions right after I ask them” isn’t the entirety of a good story, but it certainly illustrates that Handcock wrote something I enjoyed. The story is entertaining, too – I like the characters visiting different time periods revolving around a music hall/theater. And let’s not forget Bruno Langley – he sounds like he just stepped off the set in 2005. Overall, “The Other Side” is a very good story that nonetheless wastes its chance to be great. Nonetheless, it is recommended listening.
7/10
THE NINTH DOCTOR CHRONICLES: RETAIL THERAPY
The final story in the set is “Retail Therapy” from James Goss, a story that marks the return of Camille Coduri to the role of Jackie Tyler. Of the four stories, this one comes the closest to the tone of the TV season – it’s set on Earth and features a strong focus on Rose and Jackie, their relationship, and their relationship with the Doctor.
The plot is simple, as these things go – Jackie is selling a hot new product, but that product turns out to be part of a plot to threaten the world. But the story isn’t about that; rather, it’s about Jackie’s frustration with the Doctor and his interference in her life. There are several conversations in which we learn about Jackie’s life: how she’s always struggled, how her primary goal has always been to provide for Rose, and how she’s jealous of the Doctor’s ability to take Rose on journeys that Jackie could never hope to replicate even if they were all on present-day Earth. Finally, she’s found her way to a modicum of success: she’s actually making money, and she’s even doing it in a way that would have made her late husband proud. So what happens next? The Doctor shows up, of course, and says that the secret of her success is dangerous and must be stopped.
The plot twist, if there is one, is that underneath their bickering and surface dislike, the Doctor and Jackie respect one another. There’s a moment where Jackie is shown doctored video supposedly showing the Doctor and Rose speaking badly of her and she doesn’t believe a word of it, even though she feigns offense. Ultimately, despite the Doctor’s supposed hatred of domestic affairs, he knows how important Jackie is to Rose. Similarly, despite Jackie’s envy of the Doctor, she knows how important it is for Rose to have access to the things the Doctor can show her. So the Doctor and Jackie are essentially bonded through their mutual, if dissimilar, love for Rose, and Goss lets us learn this through a series of conversations. The plot is resolved elegantly, but it’s hardly the point. The first season of the revived series was all about its characters, and it’s great to have a story that follows suit.
Helen Goldwyn directs the four stories in the set, with sound design from Joe Meiners and music from Ioan Morris and Rhys Downing. While the music provides a decent rendition of the Murray Gold style, the sound design is fairly minimalist, matching the talking-book format of the stories. Nicholas Briggs, as I mentioned in my first review, is an excellent narrator, and his Christopher Eccleston impression definitely calms down as the set proceeds. The Ninth Doctor Chronicles is worth a listen – hopefully, if they do more of these sets, the stories will be more like “Retail Therapy.”
8/10