'Doctor Who': "Audacity" Review

If there’s a Doctor that’s benefited from the myriad of spin-off media that’s grown up around Doctor Who, it’s Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor. Comics, novels, and especially the Big Finish audio dramas have given the one time self-described “George Lazenby of Doctor Who” a chance to be far more than a once and done incarnation. Something that has seen McGann grow and find new facets to his performances over the last two decades. Which makes it fitting that the eighth Doctor has returned to his Big Finish roots a bit for his latest set of adventures, Audacity.

A set which gets its name from the new companion it introduces. With Bridgerton having brought the Regency era back into popular culture consciousness, the fact that Lady Audacity Montague hails from that era is an inspired idea. But the character, as played by Jaye Griffiths, isn’t a romantic heroine in the Regency romance mold. Instead, she is a feisty woman of many interests and talents. Among them an interest in astronomy, a penchant for sticky situations, and a strong moral code that sees her trying to better the lives of both the less fortunate and women in general in an era not known for either. Nor does coming from our past keep Audacity from understanding what’s happening around her or comprehending the wonders of distant worlds.

A woman, in other words, after the Doctor (and this reviewer’s) own hearts. Griffiths, no stranger to Big Finish’s output, proves more than up to the task. There’s a fire in her performances across this set are an utter delight to behold. The wit and banter between them, the delight of being in each others company, taking in all the universe has to offer, is something that makes the chemistry between Griffiths and McGann come alive.

And Audacity more than lives up to her name. Introduced by Lisa McMullin in The Devouring, the set wastes no time introducing us to its title character and getting her into a situation. The extent of which only becomes clear as the Doctor enters the narrative. McMullin writes a compelling opening installment, one that both makes fine use of the Regency setting and fits an intriguing sci-fi narrative into it. One with an interesting theme, fitting for the era (and the present day, sadly), about obsession and the extent some will go to be possessive. In doing so, McMullin’s The Devouring has the flavor of one of the better season openers from Modern Who, introducing a new companion and setting up just why it is that their traveling with the Doctor.

The other story of the set shifts gears into Classic Doctor Who territory. Tim Foley’s The Great Cyber-War borrows a page from McGann’s Big Finish debut, moving from a companion debut in a historical setting to an encounters with one of the Doctor’s best known foes. In this case, Foley’s script also has the added attraction of tying into a TV serial. Albeit, in this case, one that is less than well-loved by Doctor Who fans: 1975’s Revenge of the Cybermen.

Indeed, one might argue that Foley’s two-parter exists largely to take on the various inconsistencies and plot logic fallacies apparent in that serial. Among them an emotive Cyber-Leader and just how the Vogans managed to even exist on a barren world with no obvious biosphere to begin with. Across two episodes, Foley answers those questions. In doing so, he restores a bit of logic to that less than stellar TV serial and answering just how the rather unique circumstances of it came about.

That said, The Great Cyber-War is more than a mere exercise in nostalgia and continuity box ticking. Foley’s script builds on the backstory that Gerry Davis and script editor Robert Holmes created for Revenge of the Cybermen nearly half a century ago, using the throwaway references in it to build a wider story. One set during the eponymous conflict where humanity and its allies faced down the tyrants of logic. Focusing on a scientist working to create a new super weapon and the price being paid to create it, Foley’s script explores the questions of wartime morality and scientific responsibility that this past summer’s film Oppenheimer explored. Combining those themes with an appearance by one of Doctor Who’s great foes, the result is a solid two-parter that calls back to the past in more ways than one while also looking to the future.

Anchoring the set are its two leads. McGann, as mentioned at the top of this review, has had more than two decades in the role at Big Finish. A time that has moved him from the sprightly, even bouncy characterization from the 1996 TV Movie to the more world (well, universe) weary figure standing on the edges of the Last Great Time War. Audacity harks back to McGann’s earliest days at Big Finish with scripts calling for all the wit and energy he can muster. Thankfully, as he was for last year’s Charlotte Pollard - The Further Adventuress, he proves more than up for the task. Having recently revisited Seasons of Fear from those early days, it’s nice to hear that take on the eighth Doctor present once more, full of adventure while also hinting at this incarnation’s destiny. It’s no mean feat to achieve and something that McGann ought to be proud of as a performer.

Audacity, both as a companion and as a set, more than lives up to the name. It’s the launch of a compelling new era for the eighth Doctor at Big Finish, recapturing the spirit of McGann’s early days alongside a new companion and fresh stories. With a follow-up set due for release in time for Christmas 2023, it’s a great time to go from Regency balls to the planet Voga and beyond.