Destiny of the Doctor: 7, 8, 9

Continuing my run through of the DESTINY OF THE DOCTOR CDs, we come to those for the seventh, eighth and ninth Doctors ... and they are a mixed bag.

For Sylvester McCoy's seventh Doctor, we see him paired with Sophie Aldred's Ace for 'Shockwave' by James Swallow.  I have always enjoyed Jim's writing and this is no exception, being something of a straightforward tale of a spaceship fleeing a disaster which has engulfed their homeworld. But there is a traitor on board, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who they are.  One problem I had here was that the rehabilitation of the traitor comes a little too easily I felt. But the story is well told and performed by Aldred and has a good sense of excitement about it.

For Paul McGann's ninth Doctor, we have 'Enemy Aliens' by Alan Barnes which pairs him with India Fisher as Charlie - one of the Big Finish audio companions and one which I never felt really worked. She doesn't work here also, coming over as too proclamatory and world-knowledgeable for my liking. The story is a bit daft too, being based around a musical cue, attacking monsters, and a cross country trip by train where the Doctor conveniently turns up in a coffin, and where just about every incidental character turns out to be a spy of some sort. I didn't really enjoy it to be honest, just found it a little muddled.


Finally we have 'Night of the Whisper' by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright, where we have Nicholas Briggs doing the narration chores, and, I must say, doing the most brilliant impression of Christopher Eccleston's ninth Doctor that I have ever heard! It is magnificent!  I loved the story here too, it seems to 'fit' the era nicely, and well done to Cavan and Mark for pulling it off.  The only issue I have is that John Schwab's American accent is very close to Briggs' own, and sometimes it's confusing who is speaking ...  but overall this is one of the better releases in the range.

There are two more to come ... and the final release got mixed up in AudioGo going into Administration ... luckily Big Finish managed to get hold of the stock and are selling the CD themselves ... so I have it ... need to listen to it ... and then I can pen my final comments on this 11 CD, year long adventure for the Doctor!