STORY PLACEMENT THIS STORY TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE NOVEL "INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS" AND THE BIG FINISH AUDIO "THE JUGGERNAUTS."
PRODUCTION CODE 7C/R
WRITTEN BY GARETH ROBERTS & CLAYTON HICKMAN
DIRECTED BY GARY RUSSELL
RECOMMENDED PURCHASE BIG FINISH CD#27 (ISBN 1-903654-56-4) RELEASED IN DECEMBER 2001.
BLURB it looks as though the Doctor's luck has run out. Who is the mysterious, curly- haired stranger who insists on causing trouble? What role does the feisty redhead Melanie play in his scheme? And what have they to do with the sinister alien cylinder approaching Generios? |
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The One Doctor DECEMBER 2001 (4 EPISODES)
As the title suggests, “The One Doctor” is a light-hearted celebratory romp very much in the spirit of the anniversary specials “The Three Doctors” and “The Five Doctors.” Thankfully, it does not go as far as parodies like Comic Relief’s “The Curse of Fatal Death” and Children In Need’s “Dimensions In Time,” but nevertheless it is still littered with in-jokes and obscure nods to the past. Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman’s script gently pokes fun at some of the weaker elements of Doctor Who, in doing so ironically showing off the show’s strongest asset – its versatility.
The plot is based on a lovely idea. At “the vulgar end of time” intergalactic conman Banto Zame masquerades as the legendary Doctor, using hoax threats such as the amusingly-named ‘Skelloids’ to endanger a planet, only to arrive in the nick of time, save the world and be rewarded handsomely. Christopher Biggins is superb as Zame; brash, arrogant, and cowardly, though it is his ‘assistant,’ the hopelessly unlucky in love Sally-Anne (Claire Buckfield) who provides the bulk of the comedy throughout, especially in her scenes with Colin Baker where she makes her attraction to the real Doctor clear!
Matt Lucas - now familiar to millions along with his cohort, Big Finish veteran David Walliams, thanks to their wonderful Little Britain series – is given a chance to prove his versatility as both the Jelloid and the Cylinder; his song as the Jelloid is amusing, but is nothing compared the hilarity of the whole ‘missed delivery’ saga. He waits in for millions of years, than pops out for two minutes and misses it! I really can sympathise.
Colin Baker’s sixth Doctor and Bonnie Langford’s Mel are both at ease in their more comic roles, Mel not actually grating quite as much in this pantomimic story. Jelloids, Skelloids, the Weakest Link, the dusting off of the time-space visualiser and even Baker’s “…and a Merry Christmas to all of you at home…” are just a few of wonderful little touches that breathe life into “The One Doctor” - an audio play that lovingly celebrates nearly forty years of Doctor Who.
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Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2006
E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. |
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