Tag: Paul McGann

Doctor Who: The Witch from the Well

Doctor Who: The Witch from the Well by Rick Briggs (Big Finish, 2011) As ever, Big Finish have gone beresk with their screeching creature effects. Notwithstanding such overindulgence, this pseudohistorical take on the seventeenth-century witch trials offers uncommon nuance and character depth. A particularly good story for Paul McGann and Julie Cox (as Mary Shelley).    

Doctor Who: Scherzo

Doctor Who: Scherzo by Robert Shearman (Big Finish, 2003) An experimental, at times very disturbing two-hander played with considerable finesse by Paul McGann and India Fisher. The premise is to be lauded but lacks execution (at both script and production level). Though not incongruous, the unceasing background mosquito whine was ill-advised.    

Neon Reign

Jenny – The Doctor’s Daughter: Neon Reign by Christian Brassington (Big Finish, 2018) Trite premise, clumsy exposition, heavy-handed on the agenda. The saving grace here is the characterisation of Jenny (who’s inherited some of the Tenth Doctor’s traits) and her companion Noah (who carries himself with a naïve sangfroid that curiously echoes Paul McGann’s Eighth).    

Doctor Who, Doom Coalition 2: The Sonomancer

Doctor Who, Doom Coalition 2: The Sonomancer by Matt Fitton (Big Finish, 2016) Fitton manages some strong characterisation — Liv Chenka takes charge; Helen Sinclair bonds with River Song — but although Alex Kingston is quite the drawcard, the lack of interaction between her and Paul McGann is disappointing, as is the plot degeneration into runaround dénouement.