If you remember the Sixties, they say, then you can’t have been there.
The Doctor remembers the Sixties. That’s why he’s taking Nyssa on a trip back to November 1963. Back to where it all began. Back to the birth of the biggest band in the history of British music. Back to see those cheeky lads from Liverpool…
Mark, James and Korky. The Common Men. The boys who made the Sixties swing with songs like Oh, Won’t You Please Love Me?, Just Count To Three and Who Is That Man.
The Doctor remembers the Sixties. And there’s something very wrong with the Sixties, if the Beatles no longer exist…
1963: FANFARE FOR THE COMMON MEN
With the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who approaching, Big Finish commissioned a trilogy to celebrate the occasion, with three stories set in and around 1963, the year the series debuted. The first of these, Eddie Robson’s “1963: Fanfare for the Common Men,” gleefully embraces its time period and runs with it, creating a whimsical, entertaining story that departs significantly from the more ponderous tales we’ve had of late.
Everything about “Fanfare” derives from a brief scene near the beginning of “An Unearthly Child,” the first Doctor Who story, in which we see Susan listening to a band called John Smith and the Common Men on a portable radio. Robson takes this seemingly insignificant detail and spins an entire story from it, presenting a 1963 in which the Beatles never reach prominence and the Common Men take their place atop the popular charts. The Beatles parallels are quite deliberate: Robson shows the Common Men proceeding along the same general course the Beatles followed, from pop group playing European clubs to the Royal Variety Performance to drug influences and meditation to their eventual acrimonious breakup. The details aren’t the same, of course, but it functions entertainingly as a knowing tribute – and the cod-Liverpudlian accents from Mitch Benn, Andrew Knott, and David Dobson definitely contribute. Yes, it all turns out to be an alien invasion, and Robson’s usual elegant plotting is on display, but the atmosphere is what sells this story and makes it so successful.
The characterization is another plus. While I’ve enjoyed the stories with the fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan, and Turlough, they have at times reduced the Doctor to the role of traffic cop, much like on television – here, with just Nyssa, he’s able to take a much more proactive role in the story. We knew from “The Chase” that the Doctor is a Beatles fan, but the depth of his knowledge is entertaining to witness. Nyssa, meanwhile, spends much of the story embroiled in her own investigations, and her reactions to 1960s culture and the fan/band interactions are often hilarious. The Common Men themselves are delightful, never losing that, well, common man charm. They even get a retired time traveler (Jonty Stephens) as their guru!
I normally spend a brief moment discussing the production of each story, but it deserves special attention in this case. Barnaby Edwards has long been known as arguably the best director in Big Finish’s stable – every story he helms seems to have an energy that others sometimes lack, and this is no exception. The absolute star of the show, though, is Howard Carter. While his sound design is certainly effective, his music is brilliant: several passages, both vocal and instrumental, capturing the Common Men hits in the vein of the music of the time. The music alone communicates when this story is set, never needing the help of the script. This is the first time since “The Rapture” that the music has played such an integral part in the story, and much like Jim Mortimore in that story, Carter goes above and beyond what’s expected of him.
Overall, “Fanfare for the Common Men” is a success. Despite some nods in the direction of the perils of fame and obsessive fandom, it’s not the deepest story Big Finish has ever released, but it’s easily one of the most fun. It’s a glorious tribute to the 1960s – if you’re a fan of the music of the period, and you’re a fan of Doctor Who, you owe it to yourself to pick this up.
Highly recommended.
8/10