New Vegas, 23rd Century – a sprawling city huddling beneath an artificial atmospheric bubble on a distant moon. Pleasure seekers flock there from every corner of the galaxy, to take in the shows and play the tables in the huge casinos. But beneath the glitz and the glitter, organised crime rules the streets.
Whilst Rose Tyler works as a waitress in the Full Moon nightclub, Jack Harkness poses as a reporter for the Daily Galax. Meanwhile, the Doctor is helping the police department with their investigation into The Whisper, a strange vigilante that has been terrorising the city’s underworld. But the Doctor is also on a mission of his own – to save Police Chief McBain’s life at all costs.
NIGHT OF THE WHISPER
Cavan Scott and Mark Wright’s “Night of the Whisper,” the ninth in the joint Big Finish/AudioGO anniversary series Destiny of the Doctor, is a landmark release in Big Finish history. As their license limits them to classic series productions, this is the first time they have crafted a release based on the series post-2005. Much like its predecessors, “Night of the Whisper” is very much an homage to its era – but as we have so few stories from that era in the first place, it’s a delightful listen.
Despite the story featuring both Rose and Captain Jack, neither Billie Piper nor John Barrowman narrates the story. Unfortunately, this means “Night of the Whisper” is the only story in the range not to be narrated by a series regular or semi-regular – so they get the next best thing in Nicholas Briggs, voice of the Daleks, Cybermen, and many others besides. While some complain about Briggs’ ubiquity in other Big Finish productions, he absolutely belongs here with his multitude of voices. His Christopher Eccleston impression is particularly noteworthy – it’s perhaps a bit too flippant, but that’s nitpicking at a fantastic (ha) performance. His American accent wavers, but he absolutely captures Jack’s mannerisms, while his Rose is similarly recognizable. If Wolfsbane sounds a bit too much like Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, well, that’s just an additional source of entertainment.
Scott and Wright are on the short list of best Doctor Who writers at Big Finish, and they demonstrate why yet again with this story. We didn’t get enough of this TARDIS crew on television, which is a shame because of their versatility: we can open the story with Rose working undercover as a cocktail waitress, Jack posing as a newspaper reporter, and the Doctor lurking in the shadows, pushing buttons from the sidelines. We also get the now-traditional style of the pre-credits sequence crashing into the titles, something that put a wide grin on my face after hearing it for the first time on audio. I was worried, about halfway through the story, that it wasn’t going to venture beyond a straightforward “undercover investigation” plot – but the revelation of the nature of the Whisper took the story in a much more rewarding direction. Series 1 has the strongest thematic thread of any Doctor Who season, and failing to embrace it would have been a serious mistake. Thankfully, Scott and Wright approach it head-on, telling a story about serious personal sacrifice and the changes that inevitably ensue afterward. It’s also appropriately placed near the end of series 1, as the Doctor is able to reflect on his own pain without letting it devour him – this story could not have taken place prior to “Everybody lives!”
The story isn’t perfect, of course. Despite the appropriate themes of the script, it’s still a bit too predictable and obvious – describing Rose as the Doctor’s anchor while she literally keeps him from falling is way too blatant, for example. It also could have been edited a bit better for audio: almost every single line of dialogue in the script is punctuated with “said the Doctor” or similar to the point of annoyance. But these are minor complaints, and the solid production covers for them, for the most part – John Ainsworth’s direction is at the same consistent height as the rest of the series, while Howard Carter pulls out the stops for an orchestral score very much in keeping with the style of the new series. Overall, “Night of the Whisper” is a strong success. It’s a fine tribute to the Eccleston era that never forgets what made that period great, it features a dynamic, entertaining narrator, and it shows exactly why Big Finish should be allowed to play with some modern toys.
Highly recommended.
8/10