An epic adventure uniting the Doctor’s friends across time and space, featuring Jago & Litefoot, Counter-Measures, the Vault and Gallifrey!
1: Mind Games by Justin Richards
In Victorian England, Henry Gordon Jago and Professor Litefoot investigate worrying events on the streets of London – which seem to be linked to the New Regency Theatre’s resident act, the mesmerist Mr Rees…
2: The Reesinger Process by Justin Richards
London, 1964, and the repercussions of Jago and Litefoot’s adventure are dealt with by Sir Toby Kinsella and his crack team of specialists at Counter-Measures. What is the Reesinger Process – and who is behind it?
3: The Screaming Skull by Jonathan Morris
Disgraced soldiers Ruth Matheson and Charlie Sato are called back into action by Captain Mike Yates, when the UNIT Vault is mysteriously locked down by a deadly force. Together they must infiltrate the Vault and get those trapped out alive. But what enemy are they facing?
4: Second Sight by Nick Wallace and Justin Richards
The actions of Mr Rees have alerted the Time Lords of Gallifrey, and Romana has assigned her best warrior. Independently, the Sixth Doctor has arrived on Earth. A power from the dawn of the Universe is about to be unleashed once more…
Fifteen years ago, Big Finish released Oh, No It Isn’t! the first in their line of audio adventures with Bernice Summerfield, who had gotten her start in Virgin’s series of Doctor Who novels. Big Finish followed not long thereafter with The Sirens of Time, the first of their Doctor Who audio stories.
Now with nearly 200 main range titles, four seasons of 8th Doctor stories, eight seasons of Companion Chronicles, four seasons of Lost Stories, three seasons and a few sets of 4th Doctor audios, and then lot, lot more, Big Finish seemed to feel it was time to sit back and reflect on all they’ve done over the years, and all the properties they’ve created that are uniquely Big Finish, yet add a great deal to Doctor Who in general. This is the rest.
This set contains four stories, each about an hour long, focusing on one of the spin-off series that Big Finish has done. The first is a rollicking Jago and Litefoot adventure, featuring our favorite Victorians as they investigate the sinister Mister Rees. Then we move into the 1960s, and follow the Counter-Measures Group as they look into a series of grisly murders, suicides, and other bits of Cold War nastiness. After that, we touch base with Mike Yates, now retired from UNIT, and two former UNIT officers who have been held in custody ever since the Master tampered with their minds. The three of them go into the UNIT vault to try and find several people who have gone missing. Finally we tie it all together with a story featuring Romana, Leela, and the Sixth Doctor as they face down the last (?) of Mister Rees’ evil plans.
Each of these four stories actually works surprisingly well as stand-alone versions of their various series, with the slight exception of the final one. The Gallifrey stories just aren’t the same without Brax and Vansel and the like. But otherwise, Mind Games feels very much like a good, solid, Jago and Litefoot story, and The Reesinger Process really feels like it belongs among the Counter-Measures series.
It helps that all four of these are quite good. In point of fact, I’d give the first two five stars out of five, with four-and-a-half to the third and four to the last (it just felt a bit rushed). The stories are, in general, nicely-paced and very well-written. They tie together quite excellently, but still, as I pointed out above, stand on their own.
It is also worth noting that we’re very spoiled here when it comes to acting. All the principles are just excellent at what they do, with the slight exception of Tso and Ashbrook, who aren’t yet quite “there” when it comes to voice acting (but I’m glad they’re getting more chances to practice!). Special notice must be given to Jamie Glover, whose performance as Mister Rees is really what the entire concept of this set rides upon. Had he been anything other than exceptional, then these stories might have fallen flat. As it is, he gives a wonderfully menacing turn as someone who could genuinely be a threat to the universe.
Now comes the part where I recommend buying or not. If you’re a long time Big Finish fan, of course you should buy this! Not only do you support Big Finish in their excellent efforts at exceptional audio adventures (pardon me…I think Henry Gordon Jago took control of me for a moment), but you’ll get a wonderful set of stories. However, if you haven’t ever listened to any Big Finish stuff, or you’ve only ever heard their actual Doctor Who titles, well, I still recommend this. At twenty dollars/pounds for download, it’s a steal (…though don’t steal it!), and it’s a great “sampler” of what Big Finish’s various spin-offs are like. It’s a truly excellent set.
Written By: Justin Richards, Jonathan Morris, Nick Wallace
Directed By: Ken Bentley and Lisa Bowerman
Cast: Colin Baker (The Doctor), Louise Jameson (Leela), Lalla Ward (Romana), Daphne Ashbrook (Ruth Matheson), Trevor Baxter (Professor George Litefoot), Christopher Benjamin (Henry Gordon Jago), Richard Franklin (Mike Yates), Karen Gledhill (Allison Williams), Hugh Ross (Sir Toby Kinsella), Pamela Salem (Rachel Jenson), Yee Jee Tso (Charlie Sato), Simon Williams (Group Captain Gilmore), Jamie Glover (Mr Rees), Sinead Keenan (Stephanie Wilton), Rory Keenan (James Wilton)
The Worlds of Doctor Who is available now from BigFinish.com and via the Amazon link below.
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