The Rock of Judgement. Court, prison and place of execution for the Uva Beta Uva system, hewn into the skin of a rocket-powered asteroid. Not a good place to be. Particularly not for two Time Lords and their dog.
Upon arrival on the Rock, the Doctor, Romana and K9 find themselves embroiled in the plans of a maverick law-man, but that is just the beginning of their troubles. A highly-strung artist’s gallery holds a deadly secret… and soon everyone’s lives will be in danger.
They struggle to know who’s good and who’s bad, a terrible scheme is being unleashed. With enemies old and new attacking both sides, can they possible escape alive?
THE ROMANCE OF CRIME
I questioned the decision to go with “The Highest Science” as the second novel adaptation from Big Finish because it wasn’t especially famous and it wasn’t especially well regarded. The same cannot be said of “The Romance of Crime,” the first MA from Gareth Roberts and the first in a celebrated trilogy of season 17 stories, which was both well-known and highly acclaimed. Adapting that story, with John Dorney handling the novel-to-script duties, was an obvious step for Big Finish, and the result is largely successful.
It’s amazing how the Fourth Doctor Adventures, which openly aim to capture the atmosphere of the 1970s stories, are largely dreary, boring slogs, but every Tom Baker story outside of that range is vibrant and interesting. The same holds true here, as “Romance” captures the feeling of season 17 while simultaneously providing more modern elements. And unlike “Highest Science,” which was deliberately scattershot and based around coincidence, “Romance” is centered around a murder mystery that holds together rather well considering its comedic elements. It’s not perfect – the ending is almost as abrupt as its predecessor, for example – and it’s not a brilliant, incisive drama, but it’s quite entertaining with several laugh out loud moments.
Tom Baker is easily the best thing about the story. I’m not sure what inspired such a strong performance, but he sounds like he just stepped off the set in the mid-‘70s. He’s also clearly having a ball – more than once, his lines start with a spontaneous chuckle that leaves little doubt of the massive, famous grin across his face while he reads them. And his declaration of “Ogrons!” at the end of the second episodes is over the top in all the best ways. Of course, credit also goes to Roberts and Dorney for crafting such fitting lines – I’m sure the sparkling dialogue helped Baker’s enjoyment immensely.
While this certainly isn’t Lalla Ward’s first performance for Big Finish, it’s the first time she’s appeared in a story opposite Tom Baker since “Warriors’ Gate.” And while behind-the-scenes records indicate the two never recorded together, it’s impossible to tell from the final product – it sounds as though the two are sparking off one another even if they’re not. John Leeson is also back to play K-9, and he gets some of the funniest lines in the script. Just hearing a full-cast Doctor Who story with this cast is glorious, and the effortless way it recaptures the feeling of the era makes it even better.
The huge guest cast is quite strong as well. Miranda Raison is the star, going way over the top as Xais, and Michael Troughton does the same in a wonderful performance as artist and coward Menlove Stokes. Dorney doubles up on acting, as he often does, bringing some color to the role of Eddie Nisbett (as well as some Ogrons). Marcus Garvey is perhaps the only weak spot, as he deliberately underplays the role of Spiggot but, in doing so, forgets to make him entertaining – there isn’t much humor in a perpetually deadpan delivery, even with repeated references to the wife and kids.
The production is effective throughout, with Nicholas Briggs directing and drawing excellent performances from his regulars, while Howard Carter’s sound design is convincing and often disgusting. Overall, “The Romance of Crime” is an effective adaptation of a good novel. There’s nothing brilliant going on here, but there’s also nothing to complain about – this is a strong, funny Doctor Who story with almost uniformly great performances and a strong production. That I don’t have a great deal to say about it should not be taken as a criticism – it’s a good way to pass two hours and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Recommended.
7/10