Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating ****
Cast: Peter Davison, Caroline Langrishe, Clive Mantle, George Rainsford, Dominic Rowan, Derek Hutchinson, Caroline Keiff, Tim Treloar, Kirsty Besterman.
It is unusual to find the fifth Doctor’s incarnation adrift in time and space without any of his much loved companions keeping a watchful eye on him, to bounce their anxieties off him or even just to make sure he stays on the right side of compassion. This latest story from Big Finish, The Burning Prince, sees the fifth Doctor, played by Peter Davison, do exactly that and it is a surprisingly frightening prospect.
With no Tegan, Nyssa or any other member of his adopted space faring family alongside him this new story is a division of a three part trilogy encompassing the fifth, sixth and seventh doctors in a story line that will challenge the listeners, fans and story tellers alike. The fifth Doctor’s story sees him having left Nyssa and Tegan in Amsterdam and travelling alone, a dangerous thing for the doctor, especially Peter Davison’s one. The Doctor should never travel alone and when it is arguably the most compassionate and less-ego driven of them all, it makes for more trouble than he is really ever prepared for.
Finding himself pitted two warring families and the love of two young people that could unite two great empires and peoples, the Doctor soon finds that one is infinity easier to deal with than the other. Throw into this heady mix of continued hatred, death and a passionate burning flame the monsters and foes and it becomes a great story that could have stood on its own two feet rather than being part of a Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy trilogy.
The Burning Prince sees the fifth Doctor at his most fighting best, his most sarcastic and most indolent and it is refreshing if somewhat surprising change to his demeanour, then again when you have monster on the loose trying to kill you it’s easy to slip into the ways of other possibilities of yourself.
Although purists would bemoan the fact that Peter Davison’s Doctor needs a trusted companion to make him bring out his compassion for other races, this particular audio play by John Dorney brings out a more dramatic edge to that can sometimes be missing in Peter Davison’s performance. It is as if, without the likes of Tegan by his side he is allowed to flourish and occasionally get snappy and throw his toys out of the pram.
Perhaps the only disappointing aspect of the audio drama is in which the ease of pointing out who the true enemy is appears to be taken straight from the pantheon of clichéd reveals. Otherwise, the audio play is one of the finest to showcase this particular Doctor and it is a relishing prospect to see him being portrayed in such a way and away from anyone he can really care about.
The Burning Prince and other Big Finish titles are available from Worlds Apart on Lime Street.
Ian D. Hall