Wreck of The World
Location : TARDIS and Space Ship The World
Time : Unknown
Released : December 2017

Lord have mercy what was going on at Big Finish in 2017 with these Companion Chronicles? Big Finish was on fire! So was The World. When the TARDIS slammed into The World while Zoe was space walking I was trying to figure out how in the world Big Finish was going to explain her death? I really thought she was killed. That head-scratcher, finger on the eyebrow moment got me wrapped up in this drama quick, solid and through the whole story until the end. I had not intended to listen to the whole story the initial evening but this was one where I could not keep my finger off the play button.

This was a long listening night for me and while the story is only an hour plus something in length it felt like about 10 hours but in a really good way. The character development was gradual and progressed in a way that this was one of those stories where I really wished there was another one to follow with the exact same cast, the exact same author (Timothy X. Atack) - (Wow who is that?!) and the exact same people at Big Finish that did the sound effects and music. No wonder every single used copy of this that turns up on eBay sells out before the end of the same day it's listed. The word must have gotten out. I went online the next day and started to read reviews just to see if it was just me in the right mood, maybe that glass of Willamette Valley, Oregon Syrah before bedtime or just the rainy day that set this one up right. Wasn't just me.

This story creates some haunting, claustrophobic, metallic imaginative imagery in a manner that I like to agree where "everything fell into place". I could just picture Nick Briggs with a sly grin on his face when he gave the final green light to just press the button and release this one and see what people have to say about it.

Some online reviews from people that have obviously spent way more time than I have in creating colorfully worded reviews have called this a classic even tossing out names like "The Chimes of Midnight". While I have no comment on that accolade I will say that a true "classic" to me is one that I will listen to again in full and enjoy it just as much or even more the second listen. And that is this one for me. The second listen was better than the first. And the third listen was just as good. Is it a "Spare Parts" level of classic? Hell no. Is it one of the "good ones"? Heavens yes.

Location : London, 10 Downing Street
Date : 1900
Released : September 2013

When I first started to listen to Big Finish Doctor Who audios a few years ago I always skipped the Companion Chronicles assuming I would only enjoy full cast audio dramas with the original actors, blah blah. Boy was I wrong. The Upstairs CD came into my possession quite by accident as I believe I won it at an eBay auction for like $5 or something. It laid on my desk for months until one night I popped it in and figured I would try to endure this for 10 minutes to go to sleep. I could not stop listening. It felt like one of the old black and white tv episodes just one I had never seen. I had no idea that Maureen O'Brien and Peter Purves could do a ridiculously kick ass job of emulating William Hartnell's Doctor and the story was very interesting as well. Obviously they did Vicki and Steven in an excellent manner.

When Steven found the book called "A history of the inhabitants of 10 Downing Street" and started to read how 5 Prime Ministers died in the house in just 22 years I would have believed this was an historical as not being British I am not well versed on British history so the laugh was on me in the end, which I did appreciate.

You may wonder how being trapped in an attic could possibly constitute an hour long drama with two readers? Raw talent and a good story is how that works and whenever the Doctor can't find the TARDIS that's tense and exciting because that sucks. We always know he will but look at Doctor 3 being stuck on Earth when he could not operate the TARDIS. If the Doctor were to actually lose the TARDIS that's pretty much the ultimate disaster right?

This here little story and this pair of talents did open my eyes to the fact that Companion readings can be gripping and wonderful. I had not started to question yet why Big Finish would have a woman attempt to voice a male doctor when they have no male actors voicing women. Maureen O'Brien nails Doctor one so well that it's not even funny it's just amazing actually.

For anyone whom enjoys full cast audio dramas and may have little or no experience with Companion Chronicles where the story is read and partially dramatized, I have no reservations about suggesting Upstairs as a launching point as it really worked for me much to my surprise.


"The world's largest empire was orchestrated from this place here" -The Doctor

To which Vicki replies "From this dump?"

Location : Eastern Turkey
Date/Time : 1921
Released : 06-10-11

Matt Smith has only voiced his 11th Doctor 4 times in audio. His first audio was The Runaway Train from 07-09-10, second time from The Jade Pyramid released 01-12-11 and both of these had just him. This story is the third audio where he is paired with Clare Corbett as the narrator of the diary of Amy Pond. After this he did the Eleventh Doctor Tales along with Arthur Darvill and Meera Syal. None of these are Big Finish Productions, they are all produced by the BBC. Matt Smith and Christopher Eccleston (9 and 11) are the only living main and non current season actors to have never worked for Big Finish, and it is a shame. If Big Finish was able to get Tom Baker's crotchety elderly ass into the studio, why can't they get nine and eleven as well?

The story opens with an absolute feel of Indiana Jones. The voice acting is quite nice with the exception of having a woman attempt to voice a male Doctor. Fortunately that was rare. This is a very quiet story with almost all reading and no sound effects. When some music starts it's actually shocking and then only for a few fleeting seconds. Big Finish most certainly wipes BBC's nose when it comes to audio drama sound quality.

Has references to Wikipedia and McDonald's Happy Meals, a common theme found in audio dramas.

It is a scary story where people are vanishing with screams in the pitch black of the night. Even a family of 8 is just gone. Eventually it is determined that they are not vanishing, they are becoming the hounds themselves, or rather two legged creatures that walf like men with the heads of dogs.

Matt Smith did a great job of his own Doctor. I do believe that eventually he, like Tom Baker, will end up broke and humble enough to show up with pride in hand at the front doors of Big Finish.

The Crash of the UK-201

Location : Planet Dido & Space Ship UK-201
Date/Time : 2493
Released : December 2018

The Crash of the UK-201 is a story based on Maureen O'Brien's portrayal of Vicki and it is inextricably tied into the First Doctor story The Rescue.

Maureen O'Brien is shockingly talented at voice acting and her full range of voices can be heard from what I determined to be an 18 year old, all the way up until her 170+ year old self. (In real life she is 75 in 2019)