1935: a message from a Time Lord in trouble sends the Eighth Doctor and Charlotte ‘Charley’ Pollard to the streets of London’s West End, in search of a mysterious alien adversary – unaware that something monstrous is already on their trail.
They soon discover that an insidious conspiracy is indeed at work, its tentacles extending the length of the British Isles. Proving its existence won’t be easy, however, after a confrontation in a music hall ends up with the Doctor under arrest and Charley on the run, suspected of murder. All their hopes rest in a musical clue and a man named Hilary – neither of which are much consolation, with the two time travellers the object of a nationwide manhunt.
And all the while, the enemy aliens are drawing closer and closer still…
ENEMY ALIENS
The final classic series story in the Destiny of the Doctor range is Alan Barnes’ “Enemy Aliens,” featuring Paul McGann’s Doctor in a story narrated by India Fisher in the anniversary series from Big Finish and AudioGO. Given that McGann only featured in one television story, they used one of his audio companions for this release, which is in the same traditional vein as all the others.
It’s difficult to capture the eighth Doctor in an anniversary story because it’s difficult to say who, exactly, the eighth Doctor is. We’ve seen different portrayals of Paul McGann’s Doctor on TV, in novels, in audios, and in comics. Of course, with Big Finish producing these stories, the choice was obvious, but it’s still interesting to see the direction Barnes chooses to take. “Enemy Aliens” is a very lighthearted, comedic story, absolutely in the vein of slapstick, screwball films of the 1930s-50s. There’s lots of spy-themed intrigue, unexpected twists, and marriages of convenience to draw the attention. It gets a bit mean-spirited in places – the conclusion, especially, sees the Doctor and Charley positively delighting in a terror-stricken man facing his impending death – but it’s an entertaining enough way to pass the time. Just don’t pay close attention to the prose: you’ll notice, for example, the narration saying that the Doctor only calls Charley “Miss Pollard” when she irritates him, but then you’ll notice the Doctor calling her “Miss Pollard” every five minutes for the rest of the story, irritating or not.
The problem with “Enemy Aliens,” unfortunately, is the narrator. India Fisher is the only audio companion to narrate in this series, so it’s a shame that she’s not very good at it. That she’s terrible at impressions isn’t that important – some of the others weren’t very good either, although she’s the first to fail to capture Matt Smith convincingly – though there are points where she switches between the Doctor’s lines and Charley’s lines and it’s impossible to tell. The problem is the narrative itself: she never changes her tone, using exactly the same speech pattern to relate both a jokey passage and a gruesome murder. “Enemy Aliens” definitely tries to be funny, but Fisher doesn’t contribute at all to the atmosphere. I was concerned right from the opening moments, when she says “Doctor Who Enemy Aliens” without even a pause between the two titles, and my concerns were never relieved. There’s more to narration than reading out loud, but none of that seems present here.
Still, this isn’t terrible by any means. Simon Hunt’s sound design contributes effectively to the production, directed ably by John Ainsworth. Barnes’ script is one of his better efforts, effectively mixing tones and keeping the listener guessing throughout. And while we’ve had countless eighth Doctor stories since his debut in 1996, it’s still nice to hear his “era” brought under the anniversary umbrella with a traditional tone. And no, there’s nothing groundbreaking about the story, but at this point to expect that from this series is just unrealistic. All in all, another solid entry in the range.
Not bad.
6/10