4-g. The Shadow Trader.

1 episode. Approx. 17 minutes. Written by: Charles Williams. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: Nicholas Briggs, Jason Haigh-Ellery. Performed by: Sophie Aldred.

THE PLOT

Fraser's Rest was once a bustling shipyard, constructing top-quality space liners. Once. Now it's a shell of its former self, most of its business having gone to newer competitors. It has been given one final gasp of life: A new cargo ship, known by the locals as The Defiance, commissioned thanks to a wealthy man's nostalgia for his boyhood at Fraser's Rest during its glory days. A last chance for those on the decaying shipyard to show what they're capable of.

This is what draws Salim, the Shadow Trader. Salim inherited the trade from his father, who swore it was a noble profession. Great ships, like great buildings, require an ingredient beyond engineering and technology. They require a soul. That's what the Shadow Traders provide: The shadow of a person who best reflects the personality of the edifice. This requires cutting away that person's shadow, and with it a piece of that person's soul.

When Salim sees a young girl with a particularly brash personality on Fraser's Rest, he is certain that he has found a good match for The Defiance. But he hasn't counted on the girl's companion, an unimposing, umbrella-wielding man with a surprising knowledge of Shadow Traders...

CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Hasn't come to Fraser's Rest for any particular purpose. He just enjoys watching the launchings of ships, any ships. He likes to imagine where the ship might go, what adventures it might have. He has dealt with Shadow Traders before, and regards them poorly. He refers to the Traders as "parasites," and includes in that description the Traders of old, who took their shadows from willing participants. He also uses the word "victim" to describe those whose shadows are taken, even the ones who sell them willingly.

Ace: Salim first sees her reacting very belligerently to some bad food served to her. In fairness, the food is apparently extremely bad, leaving her gasping and croaking. But she also shows impatience at the Doctor's desire to watch the launch of a new ship. This continues once Salim has trapped her with a lure that roots her shadow (and with it, her) to the spot. When he approaches, she threatens to kick him - "hard" - leaving them in a stalemate long enough for the Doctor to show up. It's a threat she makes good on the instant she's free.

Salim: By his own admission, he's not much of a Shadow Trader.  The knowledge was passed down to him by his dying father only because the old man had no other choice. Salim is presented as a drifter, lacking ambition. His father, who took pride in the trade, would investigate many potential people before settling on the perfect choice for a given building or ship; Salim, by contrast, sees Ace and decides that she'll be "good enough." When he prepares to cut away her shadow, he confesses that he's not really very good at it. The final scene can be read two ways, equally valid: Either Salim takes a drastic action in response to his encounter with the Doctor or, every bit as likely, his ambition to be more is briefly stirred, before his inherent indolence takes over again.

THOUGHTS

The Shadow Trader is another good example of why Big Finish's range of audio-original Short Trips was short lived. It's not a bad story at all. Writer Charles Williams' prose is sharp and descriptive. There is a running theme of decay: Fraser's Rest was once glorious and is now a shadow of its former self; Salim's father was a proud Shadow Trader, who would work tirelessly to do his job perfectly, while Salim is an unkempt drifter who does the minimum required to maintain his trade. The entire concept of the Shadow Traders, both what they do and the effect it has on their victims, is intriguing and could easily form the basis of a fine story.

The problem is that there isn't enough time in the piece's scant, 17-minute duration, to actually tell much of a story. Listening to it, I find myself interested in the concept, sucked in by the descriptions of Salim's father, instructing his son in the Shadow Trade, and genuinely hooked by the Doctor's disgusted yet conflicted account of the Shadow Traders of days past - Traders who were clearly far more formidable than Salim.

But then, just as the story truly seems to be kicking into gear... It's over. A quick tag, the truncated end music, and I'm left saying, "That's it?"

Everything that's here is good, some of it very good. But there just isn't enough, and the story is left feeling incomplete. Which is why I'm left giving a story that I genuinely did enjoy listening to for 15 of its 17 minutes, a below-average grade of...

Overall Rating: 4/10.

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4-a. A Star Is Born.

1 episode. Approx. 25 minutes. Written by: Richard Dinnick. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: William Russell.

THE PLOT

A distress call draws the TARDIS to a spaceship that is the sole home remaining to the Metraxi, survivors of a race that became sterile generations earlier. Believing their sterility to be a result of a poisoned homeworld, they fled in search of a new planet, maintaining their population during the search through cloning. Now their ship is breaking down. Radiation is seeping into their atmosphere and is slowly killing them.

The Doctor and his companions are quick to promise help, and the Doctor and Ian begin to investigate at once. They find no malfunction in the ship's systems. But when they search further, they find a truth that's even more disturbing...

CHARACTERS

The Doctor: While William Russell can't make himself sound exactly like Hartnell, he does manage to fit some of Hartnell's mannerisms into his First Doctor line deliveries. As such, his readings of First Doctor stories always end up being a pleasure to listen to. When the Doctor becomes righteously indignant at a terrible discovery, the image is vivid of the First Doctor standing, chin raised, grasping his lapels as he imperiously stares down a villain. Russell's reading is no small part of bringing such moments gloriously to life.

Ian/Barbara/Susan: The 25-minute length and comparatively complex story leaves little time for characterizations of the companions. Ian acts as the Doctor's assistant, helping him to investigate the radiation leak, but he really is just a sounding board for the Doctor here. There is a nice exchange between Barbara and Susan, in which Barbara references The Bible as "the book of our religion," only for Susan to correct her by reminding her that it is "one book, of one religion." This is a good moment, one which feels right for the characters even as it expands beyond the usual teacher/student, surrogate mother/daughter roles they were usually confined to in the series.

THOUGHTS

The final volume of Big Finish's short-lived audio "Short Trips" series launches with this atypically lengthy story. Whereas most of the "Short Trips" on these discs run somewhere between 10 - 20 minutes, this one clocks in at 25 minutes, the length of a full episode.

Writer Richard Dinnick fills that time with a full episode's worth of story, which he even takes care to structure and pace like a black & white Hartnell story. It's not difficult to picture the whiskered, pot-bellied Metraxi as benign aliens in the early Hartnell era, and a fair amount of time is provided to establishing their background and even a bit of their culture. The regulars are split up, with the Doctor and Ian investigating the dilemma of the episode while Barbara and Susan talk with the Metraxi and share cultural insights. The character divide is fully in-keeping with the televised era.

It's a well-told story, tightly structured but with a measured enough pace to reflect the characters of this TARDIS crew. William Russell does his usual fine job of narration, switching effortlessly between the First Doctor and Ian. Between his skillful recreations of this story's primary regulars and the effects layered onto the Metraxi voices, the story almost feels "full-cast"... though, of course, Russell can't do much with the Barbara and Susan bits.

The story does suffer from one huge continuity error, a glaring one given the era in which it is set. The story's climax depends on the Doctor being able to control the TARDIS... Something he absolutely could not do at this point in the series. I could have blinked at this if there had even been a couple of short lines to address it. As it is, however, it feels like a glaring error that's allowed to pass simply because it would be inconvenient to do otherwise. This is sufficient for me to dock a point from the story's score.

Even so, it stands with a solid score as one of the better audio original "Short Trips."

Overall Rating: 7/10.

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3-d. The Wondrous Box.

1 episode. Approx. minutes. Written by: Juliet Boyd. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: Nicholas Briggs, Jason Haigh-Ellery. Performed by: Louise Jameson.


THE PLOT

The TARDIS materializes in the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1885. For the Doctor, this is a wonderful stroke of luck - a chance to kick back and enjoy the show while taking in living history at the same time. Sarah Jane is less enthusiastic, but largely goes along to keep from disrupting the Doctor's good mood.

Unfortunately, their arrival was observed. Benjamin, a low-level circus worker, saw the TARDIS materialize. Entranced by the thought of selling such a marvel to P. T. Barnum, he and a circus clown hatch a plan to gain access to the blue box. The results will go down in history...


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: The Fourth Doctor's more childlike qualities are on display here, as he reacts with joy at the prospect of enjoying some down time at P. T. Barnum's famous circus. He reacts to Jumbo the elephant with genuine awe, laughs hysterically at the antics of the clowns... and studiously ignores Sarah Jane's concerns until he reaches into his pocket and physically recognizes that his TARDIS key is missing.

Sarah Jane Smith: Is very much in her role as the Doctor's anchor. As we've seen in the television stories, Sarah Jane has far more empathy than the Fourth Doctor does. She finds it cruel to put "freaks" on display in the circus, something the Doctor dismisses as simply being in keeping with the time and place. She is also more pragmatic. The Doctor is carried away by being at the circus, but Sarah Jane doesn't surrender her instincts. She recognizes something is "off" about the clown who comes up to tickle the Doctor. When she hears the TARDIS move, she won't let the Doctor ignore it, pestering him until he checks for his key.


THOUGHTS

While Chain Reaction was more of a fun sketch, The Wondrous Box is an attempt to tell a proper (if minor) 20 minute Doctor Who story. It's not a bad one, either. Writer Juliet Boyd does a good job of capturing the characters of the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane. It's easy to visualize both, because both characters feel very much in keeping with their television personas. OK, Sarah Jane's a bit grumpier here than she usually was on television... but maybe she isn't too fond of circuses.

It's an entertaining diversion, ideal for helping either a walk or a drive to go by just a little bit faster. The script even manages to sketch some added dimension to its two guest characters: Benjamin and the clown. There's a brief scene from the clown's viewpoint, in which he resigns himself to Benjamin's bossiness and takes advantage of a few minutes' respite to take a nap. It's a tiny moment, entirely unnecessary to the story - but it hints at a partnership between these two that has extended back well before this story, and will extend well beyond it, making these two supporting players feel much more real in the process.

As with most "Short Trips," however, it does come across as a bit insubstantial. The direction of the story is very obvious very fast, leaving it an exercise in preditability. The period detail is adequate, but it lacks texture. There's little sense of the life of the circus or of the community in which it's performing. That bit of extra life given to Benjamin and the clown? No real trace of that is given to the setting, leaving it existing solely to fuel the story.

It's an above-average "Short Trip," don't mistake me on that. But only just above-average, and largely on the strength of the characterizations. It's a limitation of the format, I think. Barring the odd, outstanding piece, the extremely limited format is better suited to showing a single scene or reaction than it is to actually trying to tell a full story.


Rating: 6/10.

Set during: Season 13

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3-c. Pop-Up.

1 episode. Running Time: Approx. 16 minutes. Written by: Dave Curan. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: Katy Manning.


THE PLOT:

After attending a peace conference, the Doctor is in a hurry to leave the asteroid Epsilon Gamma. Jo is confused by the rush - until she notices the flood of advertising everywhere, so pervasive that the TARDIS has been literally buried under billboards planted by Micro Server Robots.

The Doctor shoes the robots away... most of them, at least. Jo notices one with a crippled leg and, out of misplaced compassion, tucks it away in her pocket when they leave in the TARDIS. She is able to repair it, which leaves her quite pleased with herself.

Then the robot taps into the TARDIS systems and begins flooding the time/space vehicle with ads, leading the Doctor desperate to stop the promotional deluge!


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: He has fond memories of Epsilon Gamma as it was before it was consumed by advertising. He abhors the current state of it, observing to Jo that people have long stopped paying attention to the ads, but that hasn't stopped the corporations. He reacts with weary disapproval to Jo's sympathy for the tiny robot, but he quickly gives up on trying to get her to see that the robot isn't alive and therefore can't be in pain. By this point, he's realized that he's not going to change her nature (nor does he particularly want to).

Jo Grant: When she notices the injured robot, she can't help herself from trying to rescue it, which leads to the entire situation in the story. We see again that underneath her surface ditziness, she's rather capable. She's able to repair the robot without any help in a matter of minutes. This time, that ends up not being such a good thing. Though the Doctor doesn't berate her for creating the mess, she feels enough sense of responsibility to take it on herself to organize afterwards.


THOUGHTS:

Like most of the early Big Finish Short Trips, Pop-Up is a trifle. Fortunately, it's a fun trifle.

Writer Dave Curan works within the 16-minute running time by keeping his structure simple and precise: The advertising robots are introduced creating minor mayhem by covering the TARDIS exterior with ads, setting up the larger mayhem created when one manages to tap into the interior systems. The Doctor tries to resolve the problem, only for the situation to keep escalating. It's small scale, but it works because there aren't any deviations. There's some minor and obvious commentary about pervasive advertising, but everything is here to advance the base story.

The piece benefits from a splendid reading by Katy Manning. As usual, she does an equally fine job of capturing the Third Doctor's voice and of recapturing her old, early 1970s performance as Jo. She's also extremely good with the advertising voices, putting on an inauthentically chirpy tone for the promos, which adds to the humor while at the same time conveying how annoying it would be to be stuck in the center of this.


OVERALL:

Pop-Up is a tiny diversion; but within that stricture, it's expertly turned. It's meticulously structured and benefits from an outstanding performance by Katy Manning - and it's also quite a bit of fun. A good listen, though it probably won't linger long in the mind afterwards.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

Set during: Season Ten

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2-g. Critical Mass.

1 episode. Approx. 19 minutes. Written by: James Moran. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: Nicholas Briggs, Jason Haigh-Ellery. Performed by: Sophie Aldred.

THE PLOT

The Doctor delays a trip to a relaxing ocean planet to investigate a top-secret research lab on the planet Talalias. The planet is in the midst of a devastating world war, and while the Doctor would normally stay out of the conflict, he has concerns about the weapons being created in the laboratory. He impersonates a government official and learns that an experimental implosion device has switched itself on. If it isn't stopped, it will not only destroy the research lab, but all life for miles around.

Despite his outrage at the weapon's existence, the Doctor agrees to help disarm it. When he and Ace begin seeing what appear to be ghosts, however, he begins to suspect that the destructive power of this bomb has been sorely underestimated...

CHARACTERS

The Doctor: The story's largest problem is the characterization of the Doctor. There are flashes of the quirky Seventh Doctor's better traits; he tells Ace to let him do the talking, and when she points out that doing so got them into trouble, he blithely replies that she won't make that mistake again. But mostly, we get a generic, rather self-important Doctor who enjoys making speeches at seemingly the drop of a hat. I'll talk more about that below, but I will observe that the Doctor's characterization ends up being the story's worst single element.

Ace: Is better-captured than the Doctor, though some of that is probably thanks to Sophie Aldred making her lines work within her character. Ace is horrified by the prospect of the bomb, and the Doctor has to remind her that they are there in the guise of government officials who would already know about it (though he starts into his own speech-making all of five minutes later). Ace's recollections of how she once short-circuited a radio provide the Doctor with the ultimate solution. Her reward is for the Doctor to once again bypass the ocean planet he's been promising her in favor of another problem planet.

THOUGHTS

In contrast to many of Big Finish's audio Short Trips, Critical Mass feels like a complete story. With a script by television veteran James Moran (The Fires of Pompeii), it benefits from a strong structure. It has a contained setting and limited characters, allowing it to be properly developed within the 19-minute running time. It provides high stakes for solving the problem, and plants obstacles for the Doctor and Ace to overcome. There is even a reasonably convincing solution to the problem. Based strictly on a summary, Moran's story looks like a winner.

In practice, it is completely undone by the relentless preachiness. Did you know that weapons of mass destruction are bad? If you didn't, let this story tell you how bad they are. And then tell you some more. And then remind you just a bit more. Ace is morally outraged; the Doctor is morally outraged; the Doctor makes a speech, and then makes another. By the end, I'm almost wishing for the bomb to go off just to shut them all up!

Don't get me wrong, the Doctor should be appalled by the weapon. But it would be more effective if his disapproval was a quiet attitude, only voiced directly at the end. When he grumbles about how he has a half a mind to let the bomb go off - killing millions of civilians along with the scientists who created it - he stops being sympathetic right there and then.

Worst is the story's ending. The Doctor pretends that he failed to disarm the bomb, simply so that the scientists and maintenance people in the room will have a few seconds of terror before he reveals that he was successful after all. This is meant to be an object lesson in how very bad their work is. Because if he can convince this roomful of scientists that Weapons of Mass Destruction Are Bad (mm'kay...), then there is no possibility that such a weapon could ever be created again... Say, by any of the doubtless many scientists not in that room, under orders from the government officials who would have approved this project in the first place. The Doctor is meant to come across as the voice of morality. Instead, he comes across as a sanctimonious ass.

Overall Rating: 2/10.

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2-d. Chain Reaction.

1 episode.  Approx. 16 minutes. Written by: Darren Goldsmith. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: Nicholas Briggs, Jason Haigh-Ellery. Performed by: Louise Jameson.


THE PLOT

On a hot summer day at an English shopping centre, the Doctor sets a coin rolling toward a pigeon. This simple act sets off a chain reaction that has effects both minor and major on several of the people in the parking lot - and attracts what should be genuinely impossible interference from a particularly stubborn security guard.


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: This is a case of a story that's particularly well-matched to its chosen Doctor. There are only two Doctors n that I can comfortably see pushing the rules of time to test the impact of a simple coin roll: The 4th and the 7th. And if it was the 7th Doctor, then it would probably be due to some grand master plan to thwart an all-powerful villain, meaning that only the 4th can really convince in setting this chain in motion for no significant purpose.

Sarah Jane Smith: Appears (briefly), placing the story somewhere in Season 13 or early Season 14. Otherwise, has no real role to speak of.


THOUGHTS

This story presents the Fourth Doctor at play, and it's a rather engaging snapshot - the sort of thing a 15 minute audio Short Trip is probably best suited for. It's easy to picture Tom Baker's Doctor lounging against a wall, rolling a coin toward a pigeon and watching to see what happens. Of course, like all good games, the Goldberg-esque chain reaction he sets off has a purpose - a way for the Doctor to "win." Like any good gamer, he plays until he finally beats the game.

There is a complication in the form of the security guard, and the guard's intrusion is used to create a challenge for the Doctor. It's a classic three-fold structure. The first pass sees the most likely result of a coin roll: Nothing of any consequence happens. This pass also describes the basic setting (the parking area, the scaffolding with the paint) and introduces the security guard as an irritant to the Doctor's ploy. The second pass shows us the bulk of the chain and the Doctor's urgency in observing the spectacle. I particularly liked the detail of the three knots in his scarf, with a knot being undone every time one of the major steps of the chain was completed. This second pass ends by bringing the guard back and presenting him as a more significant hurdle for the Doctor to overcome. And finally, the third pass completes the chain, presents the punch line to the Doctor's little game, and explains the guard's seemingly impossible interference.

This very precise structure helps this minor little piece to maintain momentum, while the portrayal of the Doctor keeps it engaging. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the chain reaction itself. Each piece of the chain is amusing, but nothing happens within that chain that's so over-the-top as to strain credibility. There's no question of life and death here: A woman will either get splashed with paint or she won't; a businessman will either bump into a teenager or he won't; a young man and a young woman will either meet, spark, and exchange phone numbers or they won't. No lives hang in the balance, and no piece of the chain provokes any actual destructive slapstick.

In short, tone and incident match. Chain Reaction is a light, pleasant, clever diversion. Judged on that basis, I find it a thoroughly enjoyable one.


Rating: 7/10.


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2-c. Walls of Confinement.

1 episode. Approx. 18 minutes. Written by: Lawrence Conquest. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: Nicholas Briggs. Performed by: Katy Manning.


THE PLOT

When the Brigadier all but orders the Doctor away from his lab for the afternoon, the Doctor goes to one of his few local haunts: the zoo. Liz is surprised when she finds him there, saying that she didn't think the zoo would be his kind of place. But he isn't really there to wander around and look at the animals. His attention is drawn by a single animal: A tiger in a tight, narrow cage, pacing endlessly back and forth in its confinement.

The Doctor's reverie is broken when the crowd sees that a small child has found his way into the cage. The tiger has the child's hand in its mouth. The boy is too terrified to react, which is probably all that has saved him from real violence. The Doctor works his way into the cage - but every step he takes toward the tiger results in it tightening its grip on the boy. With no way to help, the Doctor's only course now is to push the boy to help himself...


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: It is surprising just how strongly Katy Manning is able to suggest Jon Pertwee's voice. The first of her Big Finish Companion Chronicles truly startled me, in that there were times when Manning got Pertwee's tones and inflections so dead-on that it was almost like hearing Pertwee delivering the lines himself. That proves to be the case here, strongly enhancing the sense of the Third Doctor's presence within this little tale. The script itself does a good job of capturing the Doctor's frustration at being trapped on this world, as he is downright intense in identifying with the tiger pacing around its tight and rigid cage.

Liz: Very much a supporting presence, though her warmth toward the Doctor shows itself when she tries to comfort him at the end. Again, Manning does a splendid job of suggesting Caroline John's characterization. When she speaks Liz's lines in the story, never for an instant does my mind summon up Jo Grant; it's firmly Liz I'm picturing, and credit for that is due to Manning's excellent impression of John's cool, occasionally harsh delivery.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart: The one regular Manning doesn't channel is the Brigadier. The deep and gruff voice she puts on for the Brig does the job, but is noticeably less dead-on than her Third Doctor and Liz impressions. Lethbridge-Stewart does get a decent role in this slight tale, mainly in his final speech to the Doctor about trying to show him what this planet is truly all about.


THOUGHTS

The problem with reviewing the Short Trips stories is that, while a few may be either outstanding or dreadful, the bulk of these little 20-minute pieces are going to be what you'd expect from such a time-frame: trifles. It's difficult to individually rate a trifle. In the end, you can only judge how the story stacks up against the limitations of its format.

In this, Walls of Confinement is a success. It's enjoyable, with a strong portrayal of the Third Doctor. The parallels drawn between the Doctor and the tiger are effective, and the story's final image comes close to being haunting. Within the confines of what it is, it works.

But it's always clear that the story is a trifle. It's a solid Short Trip, but I doubt many cite it as their favorite of the range. The same release features three stories that I find to be much better, though it also contains at least two stories that I find to be much worse. It's... average, maybe slightly above. Worth a listen, certainly - but probably not one to revisit.


Rating: 6/10.

Set during: Season 7

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2-a. 1963.

1 episode. Running Time: Approx. 20 minutes. Written by: Niall Boyce. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: William Russell.


THE PLOT:

The Doctor has finally done it. The TARDIS has materialized in London, November 1963, not long after Ian and Barbara's original departure. The two have finally come home!

Except that something is wrong. They are in the city on the right date, but it's as if time has stopped. People and cars are frozen on the street, and Ian and Barbara are even able to walk on the surface of the Thames.

Has there been an attack. Is it aliens? Or maybe the Russians? Or is there a more mundane explanation...?


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: Beams with pride at having finally gotten Ian and Barbara back home. Barbara observes the twinkle in his eye, particularly around Vicki, and she muses that he seems much younger than his years.

Barbara: When she comes across one man frozen in the act of attacking another with a knife, her impulse is to attempt to close the knife or to somehow intervene. When it becomes clear that the situation will not allow that, she leaves with reluctance, helpless to stop this act of violence but hating to simply let it happen. She realizes that this is the date she was supposed to meet her "maiden aunt," with whom she hasn't spoken in years. She goes to the meeting point and is able to see her aunt; but with no chance of interaction, that only makes her feel guiltier.

Ian: Is less emotionally affected than Barbara, seeming to enjoy it almost as a clinical experiment. When Barbara asks him if he thinks this could be the result of an attack, he intellectually engages witht he possibility. Even so, he seems unconcerned, and I suspect he already has guessed the truth of the matter. Oh, and one for the shippers: When Ian wanders onto the unmoving river, his instinct is to share this experience with Barbara, calling out for her to join him.

Vicki: Barbara regards her as the most precocious teen girl she's met - and as a schoolteacher, Barbara's likely met a fair few girls who match that description. Vicki is attentive to what her companions like, even taking time to program the food machine so that Barbara can enjoy some brown sauce with her breakfast. She and the Doctor are conspiratorial as they eagerly spring the date on Ian and Barbara. When it goes wrong, Vicki stays with the Doctor to go over the console.


THOUGHTS:

Big Finish seems to have a knack when it comes to the First Doctor, one that continues with the "Short Trip," 1963. The clever-yet-simple concept allows for some excellent visual descriptions. Writer Niall Boyce observes the way the sun is reflected on the suspended blade of the attacker in the alley, and later details the expressions on the faces of a husband driving his extremely pregnant wife to the hospital.

Boyce also weaves elements of the period into his story. Barbara wonders if this could be some sort of Russian attack. Ian laughs that off as ridiculous, but it fits the paranoia of the time. That train of thought leads Barbara to recall the Cuban Missile Crisis, when she went to bed each night fretting that she wouldn't wake up the next day, that she and everyone she knew would be wiped out as collateral damage from the tension between two other countries.

The most important thing the story gets right is the characterization. Boyce captures all four regulars just about perfectly. The Doctor and Vicki are only in a few scenes, but their interactions really capture the screen rapport between William Hartnell and Maureen O'Brien that made them such a delightful pair on television. Ian is calm, observing the situation, but also supportive of Barbara - at one point literally supporting her when she stumbles over the frozen waves of the Thames. Barbara's thoughts and reactions all feel right for both the setting and the character, and I have no problem envisioning Jacqueline Hill throughout.

A brief epilogue follows up on all the frozen vignettes Barbara observed and grants a bit of added thematic depth by discussing the ways the world was changing in 1963. It's an excellent button on a fine little story.


OVERALL:

I suppose I could quibble that the "coding" for Barbara's aunt is just a touch heavy-handed. She has a severe haircut, wears tweed, and is suspended while reading The Price of Salt when Barbara reaches her. All of which (probably minus the book title) would pretty much be the way a lesbian character would be coded in a 1960s story... but it's so on the nose that at a certain point, it almost becomes funny. All that's missing is a reference to a long-term roommate and possibly a couple of pet cats.

But that's an extremely tiny quibble. 1963 is extremely well written, with strong characterizations and a concept that is simple enough to feel complete within the short running time but interesting enough for some memorable descriptions.

The best of the Big Finish Short Trips that I've heard remains Rise and Fall - but 1963 is a pretty close second, making excellent use of the format.


Overall Rating: 9/10.

Set some time between The Romans and The Space Museum.


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1-e. The Deep.

1 episode. Approx. 15 minutes. Written by: Ally Kennen. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: Nicholas Briggs, Jason Haigh-Ellery. Performed by: Peter Davison. 


THE PLOT

When Nyssa announces that she thinks she's fixed the TARDIS chameleon circuit, the Doctor decides to test it in a big way: By materializing in the depths of the ocean. The chameleon circuit kicks in, and the TARDIS transforms into a whale... but it doesn't stop with the outside. The console room is replaced by the inside of a whale, and the Doctor and Nyssa are ejected into the sea!

Now the Doctor is left to improvise desperately. He needs to draw the TARDIS-whale to him before it eats, while it's still drawing energy from what's left of the TARDIS core. If it ingests so much as a single krill, it will become fully a whale - stranding the time travelers on Earth for all eternity!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Realizes that it's a bad idea for Nyssa to tamper with the TARDIS circuitry. But he's so excited by the thought of having a working chameleon circuit again, that he rationalizes away his doubts. He gives his companion's work only the most cursory inspection before his enthusiasm runs away with him. "If we were to go to Earth and arrive in a desert, the TARDIS might become a rock or a cactus... If we arrived in Antarctica, we might become an iceberg!" He pays for his lack of caution by nearly losing the TARDIS, though his quick thinking allows him to get away with only a short period of inconvenience.

Nyssa: Is led to try to fix the Chameleon Circuit because she hopes it will make their lifestyle a bit safer. Perhaps Adric's fate is on her mind? She's dismayed when the Doctor decides to push the circuit's "test run" as far as he can, when she would clearly rather start with something simpler. 


THOUGHTS

The Deep was the 5th Doctor's story from the first Big Finish audio Short Trips collection. It's notable for being written by Ally Kennen, an award-winning young adult fiction writer. Kennen's ability does show. This is a well-written story, with quick but vivid descriptions, and it successfully packs a clever narrative into a brisk 15 minute running time. For the short-lived audio "Short Trips" range, this is above-average.

But not much above average, however - and the culprit, as with so many of the Short Trips, is the running time. With only 15 minutes to work with, there's just enough time to create the problem and explain it before the story has to rush to resolve it. All of these stages are well done, and there are some amusing asides such as the Doctor's worry about the TARDIS-whale mating with a real whale. The only thing lacking is some development. The same story with the Doctor having to make multiple, increasingly desperate attempts to recover his TARDIS would be much more fun - but there isn't enough time to explore any of the complications.

It's an enjoyable 15 minutes - But with a little longer a running time it could have been a lot better.


Overall Rating: 6/10.

Set Between Season 19 and Season 20.

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1-c. A True Gentleman.

1 episode. Running Time: Approx. 18 minutes. Written by: Jamie Hailstone. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: Katy Manning.


THE PLOT:

A young boy suffers a punctured tire while riding his bicycle home from the shop. Times are hard, leaving no money for a new tire, so the boy has been patching it to stretch out its lifespan - but this puncture is beyond repair.

Then a bright yellow roadster approaches. The driver stops, and the boy recognizes him as his father's tenant: the Doctor, who rents out a small croft every year. The Doctor offers to take the boy to the croft, promising to repair his tire. With his father's assurance that this is no stranger but "a true gentleman," the boy agrees.

Then there's a knock at the door - a visitor with green skin who demands to see Doctor, and who won't take "no" for an answer!


CHARACTERS:

The Third Doctor's natural authority is emphasized; but because he's interacting with a child, we see only his kindest side, with none of the brusqueness. Despite appearing middle aged, the boy is startled to see the Doctor jumping out of his car with youthful energy. When the boy sees the TARDIS and wonders how the Doctor got it into the croft when it's taller than the door, the Doctor draws an analogy with a ship in a bottle before pointing out that while he could go into more detail, that wouldn't fix the bicycle tire.

Katy Manning does her usual fine job of capturing the overall persona of Jon Pertwee's Doctor. She also does well with the child, putting on a country accent that suits both the young character and the narration.


THOUGHTS:

The Third Doctor's tale from the first Big Finish Short Trips anthology, A True Gentleman provides a small-scale piece that spotlights the most likable aspects of the main character. Atmosphere is strong, with the well-written narration and Katy Manning's reading emphasizing the country setting and the narrator's youth. There's just enough incident for there to be a story, but nothing here calls for additional time.

And... there's really not much to say beyond that. This is a thoroughly pleasant minor work that makes good use of its short running time. The Third Doctor is well captured; the story is well-written and well performed; and the entire piece is enjoyable.


Overall Rating: 7/10.


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1-b. A Stain of Red in the Sand.

1 episode. Running Time: Approx. 14 minutes. Written by: David A. McEwan. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: David Troughton.


THE PLOT:

All is not well in the dreary council estate known as "The Slab." It's suffering not just from the usual problems of poverty, neglect, and urban decay - It is the site of a most peculiar alien invasion. An insect-like species the residents have dubbed "Caretakers" are bleeding through from another world, a desert planet with two suns that is only visible from one specific window within "The Slab" - the window of sculptor Roger.

Indigo has an undefined but strong relationship with Roger. She is also drawn to the view from that window - enough so that, despite her fear of the Caretakers, she continues to visit every day.

Much to her annoyance, Roger has become obsessed with his latest work of art: a depiction of an innocent-looking young woman the artist insists on naming "Zoe." He speaks about her as if she is alive, which only increases Indigo's ire. But still she goes to that window, where a stranger known as The Doctor, who had promised he would sort everything out, is engaged in a confrontation. She can't make out the details of the struggle, but she can tell that it's a matter of life and death...


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor/Zoe: Sometime before the story's opening, the Doctor promised to "sort out" the problem of the Caretakers. In the story's present, we see through Indigo's eyes that he's in dire straits while locked in conflict with (presumably) the Caretakers' leader. Zoe is also in some form of danger, with Roger seeming convinced that accurately sculpting her will result in him saving her.

Indigo: The story's viewpoint character. What little we glimpse of the conflict is entirely through her eyes - leaving us very much at a remove from the action. The focus is more on her trips to The Slab, despite her fear of it, and her general resignation to the idea that her life will never deliver anything good. She is concerned for Roger, particularly as he refuses to pause his work to eat, but she is also jealous of the attention he pays to Zoe the Sculpture.


THOUGHTS:

A Stain of Red in the Sand is a rather odd piece. There is a Doctor Who story going on - but since we are locked to the viewpoint of a character who is only peripherally involved, we only catch glimpses. At the end, we are told that the Doctor "won" - but we are left with very few clues as to what happened to create this situation, who the Caretakers are, what happened to Zoe or how Roger's sculpture helped, or what the Doctor and Zoe did to resolve the problem. We only see what Indigo sees... and that is extremely little.

For some listeners, I suspect this was annoying. Truthfully, though, I'm not sure this was a bad approach. What we can glean of the story boils down to: aliens invade; Zoe is put in danger; the Doctor confronts the lead alien; with Zoe's help, the Doctor wins. Which is to say, the actual conflict is a "Who-by-numbers" runaround that would be entirely uninteresting if presented traditionally. Never mind that the scant 14-minute running time would be woefully inadequate to telling it traditionally.

Writer David McEwan instead focuses on Indigo and her emotions involving the building, Roger, the Caretakers, and even the Doctor. This approach allows him to create a strong sense of setting and atmosphere. McEwan's prose is effectively descriptive, whether describing the smell of urine hanging in the air of the lift, the color and texture of the clay Roger uses, or the hues of the sand on the other world that Indigo sees from Roger's window. Her overall attitude of resignation to what we can presume has been a hard life also makes it effective when, near the end, she begins to feel a faint sense of hope.

The story feels entirely controlled in a way that isn't always true of the briefer "Short Trips," and I enjoyed both the writing style and performer David Troughton's narration. Still, I will admit that this is an odd piece that won't be to all tastes. Even at the end, we're kept determinedly at arm's length from the actual conflict, left to piece it together from the scraps seen by someone who only observes a few key moments. No explanation is forthcoming at any point, and I can't blame anyone for feeling frustrated by that.

I will say that within the confines of its running time and format, this story worked for me. I think the end result largely meets the writer's ambitions for it, and I found it atmospheric and engrossing. As a result, within the confines of its very restrictive format and running time, I'm awarding a solid score.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

Set During: Season Six

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1-a. Rise and Fall.

1 episode. Approx. 25 minutes. Written by: George Mann. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: William Russell.


THE PLOT

Deciding that they need a rest after their recent ordeal in Paris, the Doctor brings the TARDIS to an idyllic hillside on a distant world, a place where the only life is vegetation and the low-orbiting moon is visible even in the day. While Barbara and Susan linger in the TARDIS, the Doctor and Ian step outside and enjoy the unspoiled landscape. After a few minutes, Ian notices strange, alien faces appearing and disappearing in front of them. The landscape begins changing before their eyes in a rush of images. The Doctor cannot explain it, but studies the phenomenon, truly fascinated.

Meanwhile, a society rises, evolving from an animal state to a tribal society to a modern one. The process takes thousands of years. This society has one constant throughout its history: Two unmoving figures on a hillside, standing near a tall, blue, box-like structure...


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Manages control of the TARDIS to reach this planet, something Ian notices right away. He does not specifically indicate that this is a place with which he's familiar, but he does state that he's looking for a place where they can rest. He is intent in studying the phenomenon he and Ian witness, and is suitably thoughtful as he figures out the truth of what they've witnessed at the end. As in Transit of Venus, William Russell recreates William Hartnell's vocal mannerisms quite well, even slipping in an amusing beat in which the Doctor botches Ian's last name.

Ian: Suspects that the Doctor's solicitous turn, finding a spot for them to rest, is motivated by a desire to convince him and Barbara to stay. His sharp eyes make him the first to notice the phenomenon. He grapples with the implications of what he and the Doctor witness, and he and the Doctor seem to make a silent agreement not to discuss it with the others. Despite his age, William Russell recaptures Ian's voice with seemingly little effort. Even moreso than in Transit of Venus, I had no difficulty picturing Ian as he was in the television series, as Russell sheds the years from his voice for Ian's lines.


THOUGHTS

The first story of the first release of Big Finish's Short Trips audio series (following a couple of well-received "subscriber freebies" on the website). It's an auspicious start, as writer George Mann crafts a thoughtful story with a tremendous sweep, all while fitting snugly into a very short running time. William Russell's reading is outstanding, both in character dialogue and in narration, and the sparing sound effects are expertly applied in a way that complements both the story and the era of the show in which it's set. All told, I can't imagine a better short story that could fit into a 20-odd minute running time.

The story itself is an almost ideal template for a "Doctor-lite" story. The Doctor and Ian really aren't in that much of the story, their actions mainly confined to bookends at the beginning and end. But in the details of the society that rises and falls around them, the writer shows the impact the time travellers have. The story could be seen as an extended example of the observer effect: simply by being present, the Doctor and Ian have a tremendous impact on the society they observe.

This is borne out by the scenes we are shown of the society. Their entire evolution is represented by four short scenes. The scenes effectively convey the evolution of the society, which mirrors the evolution of human society from tribal to modern times. But the scenes also tie this civilization very strongly to the Doctor, Ian, and the TARDIS, whose importance to these people is shown in ways both explicit (a father's talk with his son about what they've learned from "the strangers") and not (the shapes of the buildings, a child's dolls). Each scene is short, a necessity of the story's length, but each is vivid enough to make an impression. Audio transitions between these scenes make it clear that we are "moving on," without lasting so long as to be annoyances.

The overall effect is thoughtful and more than a little haunting. As a note to start the Big Finish audio Short Trips, the only problem is that it may just be impossible to top within this format. An outstanding story.


Rating: 10/10.

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