![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neadodsAfter the faintly psychadelic angstfest that was Absolution, I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of The Girl Who Never Was. What I got was a solid, entertaining audio.
Things start off immediately after the end of Absolution, with a strained, grieving Charley insisting that the Doctor take her back to her own timeline, even if that meant that she had to die in the crash of the R101 (see Storm Warning for that story). But the Doctor can't bring himself to do that to her, so he takes her to Singapore instead, her original destination when she stowed away on the R101. It's impossible for Charley to stay angry at him when that is his idea of a parting gift. But then they realize that it might be where she wanted to be - but not when. Charley figures it's just the Doctor's usual lack of piloting skills, but the Doctor protests that the TARDIS has been pulled off course by a strong temporal anomaly...
I can't say much more about the plot without spoiling some good plot twists, but I can say it's a very solid story. Alan Barnes, the writer who ushered Charley into the series, gives her a superb swan song, well paced and well plotted. Only one of the plot twists is telegraphed; the others took me by surprise. Although the plot is nonlinear (characters move between roughly five time periods), the listener isn't left confused by what is happening or when it is happening. And although it is a very serious adventure, there is some delightful humor:
HOTEL CLERK: The Doctor? He have suite here. (sic: the clerk doesn't speak English well.)
CHARLEY: I really don't think it's the same doctor.
CLERK: He have it since 1872.
CHARLEY: That's him!
My only major complaint is that Big Finish continues its new pattern of having CD extras on the first disk as well as the second, and I can't think of anything that I would rather listen to less than the director's thoughts right at the moment when the Big Bad has grabbed control of the storyline. (And while I'm complaining, Big Finish? Love the website redesign. Very smart of you to finally put all of David Tennant's audios on one page for easy ordering. But could you please go back to listing the monthly releases in reverse-chronological order? Most of the people hitting the website have known for years what the first episodes were, and the ones who don't will have the patience to click back. Or at least update the Monthly Series page to show the latest audio - by the time the CDs have wended their way to me in the States, they're pretty officially The Latest Story. Thanks.)
But these are very minor quibbles in the face of such an excellent installment. Charley fans will feel that she's been done right by Big Finish; Eight fans get some excellent character moments; Doctor Who fans get an exciting adventure.
Oh and one more thing - listen past the end credit music. Trust me.
Things start off immediately after the end of Absolution, with a strained, grieving Charley insisting that the Doctor take her back to her own timeline, even if that meant that she had to die in the crash of the R101 (see Storm Warning for that story). But the Doctor can't bring himself to do that to her, so he takes her to Singapore instead, her original destination when she stowed away on the R101. It's impossible for Charley to stay angry at him when that is his idea of a parting gift. But then they realize that it might be where she wanted to be - but not when. Charley figures it's just the Doctor's usual lack of piloting skills, but the Doctor protests that the TARDIS has been pulled off course by a strong temporal anomaly...
I can't say much more about the plot without spoiling some good plot twists, but I can say it's a very solid story. Alan Barnes, the writer who ushered Charley into the series, gives her a superb swan song, well paced and well plotted. Only one of the plot twists is telegraphed; the others took me by surprise. Although the plot is nonlinear (characters move between roughly five time periods), the listener isn't left confused by what is happening or when it is happening. And although it is a very serious adventure, there is some delightful humor:
HOTEL CLERK: The Doctor? He have suite here. (sic: the clerk doesn't speak English well.)
CHARLEY: I really don't think it's the same doctor.
CLERK: He have it since 1872.
CHARLEY: That's him!
My only major complaint is that Big Finish continues its new pattern of having CD extras on the first disk as well as the second, and I can't think of anything that I would rather listen to less than the director's thoughts right at the moment when the Big Bad has grabbed control of the storyline. (And while I'm complaining, Big Finish? Love the website redesign. Very smart of you to finally put all of David Tennant's audios on one page for easy ordering. But could you please go back to listing the monthly releases in reverse-chronological order? Most of the people hitting the website have known for years what the first episodes were, and the ones who don't will have the patience to click back. Or at least update the Monthly Series page to show the latest audio - by the time the CDs have wended their way to me in the States, they're pretty officially The Latest Story. Thanks.)
But these are very minor quibbles in the face of such an excellent installment. Charley fans will feel that she's been done right by Big Finish; Eight fans get some excellent character moments; Doctor Who fans get an exciting adventure.
Oh and one more thing - listen past the end credit music. Trust me.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-12-15 12:49 am (UTC)*averts eyes*
no subject
Date: 2007-12-15 12:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-15 02:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-15 02:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-15 08:24 pm (UTC)