16. Storm Warning

This was Paul McGann's first Big Finish audio and his first appearance as 8 since Doctor Who: The Movie. In terms of timeline several adventures were later placed as happening earlier than this in the 8th Doctor's timeline so this comes after the adventures with Mary Shelley. It features the Doctor arriving in 1930 on board a British airship which is impressive but doomed. He meets new companion Charley, some British military officers and some aliens who appear to present some serious danger.

This story is an interesting concept with a promising plot but is not executed quite as well as it could have been. The doomed airship, the Doctor wrestling with how to interact with historical events and the appearance of aliens with a fascinatingly different social heirarchy could have lead to a classic but somehow it does not quite nail it. New companion Charley is OK and has some strength, the Doctor himself presents a difficult job for McGann and the writer, Alan Barnes, re-establishing him after the Movie. The first episode shows the strain of this introductory pressure and is a bit weak. McGann does a great job with this task and the writing allows him to show humour, strength and a bit of depth. On the minus side the military characters are rather cliched and not particularly deep and the script just does not hit the right notes enough. Great ideas end up underwhelming and some scenes fall flat.

My ratings: Episode 1 - 5.5, Episodes 2 & 3 - 7.5/10, Episode 4 - 6.5/10

Overall: 6.75/10

Storm Warning, the first Monthly Range story for the Eighth Doctor is a light and character driven story. This story isn't exactly the best of Doctor Who nor Big Finish, but as a jumping on point for the Eighth Doctor or Big Finish itself, Storm Warning is one of the best audio stories to introduce to friends. Storm Warning is loyal to the format of the classic series, with the story consisting of four 25-30 minute episodes.

Paul McGann - reprising his role after the TV Movie in 1996 - settles into the role superbly and is immediately a strong incarnation (although, I already loved his Doctor in the TV Movie). We learn more of this incarnation, and McGann really expands and develops his incarnation throughout. India Fisher as the memorable Charley Pollard is fantastic - although, I associate Lucie as 8's true companion - Charley is a great companion to 8, both Fisher and McGann sell their chemistry and their presence makes the story entirely engaging.

Overall, the story itself isn't entirely special, and I found myself getting bored easily and the story began to drag out - a good story, and although I do find it boring and slow at times, I have seen many claim this as a marvellous debut story for 8 and Charley in Big Finish - therefore this story is a great jumping on point with some great moments between the cast, but the plot itself is at times, the weakest part

“Storm Warning” (“Avis de tempête”) sert de redémarrage aux aventures du Huitième Docteur et introduit un nouveau compagnon, Charley Pollard. Les deux interprètes sont tellement charmants et impliqués qu’il est difficile de ne pas aimer cette aventure somme toute un peu facile.

Niveau de difficulté : +

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Français anglophone et Doctor Who-phile, je me suis lancé en 2017 dans l’exploration des productions de Big Finish. J’espère que mes avis aideront d’autres « whoviens » francophones à sauter le pas.
Voici mon échelle de difficulté :
+ : facile à comprendre
++ : quelques détails m’ont échappé mais cela ne nuit pas à la compréhension générale
+++ : quelques détails clés de l’intrigue m’ont échappé (à compléter par la lecture de résumés en ligne) / peut demander des connaissances en histoire britannique
++++ : une large partie de l’histoire m’a échappé / histoire difficilement audible (déformation de voix, etc.)

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As an English-speaking French Whovian, I threw myself into the exploration of Big Finish productions in 2017. I hope my reviews will help other French-speaking Whovians to take the plunge.

Big Finish's very first Paul McGann audio had a lot to do, and a lot of expectation was riding on it. And it's testament to all involved that Storm Warning is such a confident and extravagant production. Sure, the story it's telling isn't anything original, but when it's this well-told and well-produced, I think it's hard to complain.

Doing a Doctor Who historical set around the destruction of the R101 is a great idea, and the story embraces the adventure vibe that such a story idea offers. Both the Eighth Doctor and his new companion Charley Pollard are pushed front and centre here: Charley, in particular, shines, as the Edwardian Adventuress, who's jumped into this scenario and now has no idea what's going on. India Fisher and Paul McGann have an instant chemistry together, and I love the way they bounce off each other. They're joined by a fantastic cast, namely Gareth Thomas as Lord Tamworth. Sure, Thomas never shies away from Tamworth's bluffness and upper-class scruples, but he also finds some hidden depths that show how he is, really, a decent person. He just comes across as a bit of an imperialist pig. The story itself is arguably lightweight, and the plot seems to slow up a great deal in the third episode, but, since this part introduces a very well-developed alien race, it's hard to complain.

Overall, Storm Warning is a great start to the Eighth Doctor's audio adventures. A strong, well-formed script bursting with classic Who elements, excellent performances and some truly cinematic sound design and music combine to create a release that is a joy to listen to over and over again.