Good afternoon lady and gentle readers, recently it was Big Finishes 21st anniversary of releasing Doctor Who output. Blimey 21 years, what better way to celebrate than with a list and for your pleasure I have ranked the first 100 releases of The Big Finish monthly range. This is the second round of the rankings taking from 30-21. As usual beware spoilers and enjoy!
30. The Wormery, possibly the most bat bleep crazy play in this ranking and I mean this in a barnstorming fun way. We have the sole appearance of Iris Wildthyme played by Katy Manning in the range who is a bonkers pastiche of The Doctor who first turned up in the books and has gone on to have her own spin-off range. Colin Bakers 6th Doctor is a wonderful foil for her, we have a vulnerable Doctor who is post trial and having issues. This leads to a story of wonderful melancholy, we're not in a Doctor Who story here - it feels like Big Finish have released this story in the wrong range - a feeling also put across by the cover. As I'm writing this entry my memory is being overloaded by wonderful memories. Like Zagreus the release beforehand this is a good gateway into other ranges and a story which has an unexpected cameo. If I could compare this play to something else it would be Twin Peaks, lots of surrealism lots of melancholy and lots of everything.
29. The One Doctor, a play thats become a Christmas tradition among Big Finish listeners as its fun panto. Similar to the 10th Doctor meeting someone who is himself dialled up to 11 in The Next Doctor the 6th Doctor does the same with Banto Zame imitating him. The jokes hit and its a fun Christmas family play.
28. The Council of Nicaea, its the 5th Doctor, Peri and Erimem in a fantastic play where The Doctor and Erimem take opposite views and opposing sides in Emperor Constantines first council. Speaking personally I had no knowledge of the events in this play and was fully absorbed by the events. It speaks of how divisive religion can be in that it nearly tears the lineup of regulars apart. We would touch on The Doctor and Erimem disagreeing with each other and the unique perception Erimem has as a princess from ancient Egypt this however is the deepest this storyline would go.
27. Storm Warning, its hard to believe now but this play and the following season (and seasons) is the closest we felt we would ever get to a new series. Paul McGann was the current Doctor and a few years after getting the rites to Doctor Who they finally got the current Doctor. Theres something magic about the opening narration - of which is one of Paul McGanns best skills. We have lovely introductions of the 8th Doctor and Charley, we have a fun setting in the R101, we have a fun plot and fun guest stars. This play is a snapshot in time where everything was fun and fluffy.
26. Phantasmagoria, the second release in the range and first "proper" release after the multi Doctor story Sirens. Its another fun and fluffy play with the 5th Doctor and rare appearance by Turlough. Turlough is at his best when he's being a rubbish companion and this is played to a hilt. Its 1702 in London and we have fun and fluff with demons, highway men and the Diablo club. Its another case of a fun romp going for gold in being a fun romp.
25. Circular Time, an absolute gorgeous collection of one episode stories with a vague theme of seasons of the year. With the lineup of the 5th Doctor and Nyssa this is Big Finishes first collection of one episode stories in a release and its absolutely fantastic. After a fun rompy story in Spring things get deep and as a listener it shows that not all plays have to by two hour plus epics as we go the opposite way and go intimate. David Warners performance as Sir Isaac Newton is one of the best one off appearances in the range. The second disc contains Autumn and Winter feels like a complete change in style it feels like two epilogues (one of which the epilogue to an entire era) and its an engaging change of pace. We get to go to places we may have only been in our own head cannons and in that respect it makes me think it makes me ponder. This release is one of the ones I've only heard once but it lingers more in the mind than others and I look forward to a revisit.
24. No Man's Land, we're back with the 7th Doctor, Ace and Hex in World War 1. A fantastic concept of a story with the Doctor being asked to investigate a murder and accidentally arriving before it happens. Its a whodunnit, a war story and a psychological horror with plenty of twists and turns.
23. The Harvest, we have the debut of Hex as the 7th Doctor and Ace investigate the goings on at a hospital. This story feels like the start of an era and is a good jumping on point if you want to go through a TARDIS lineup in story order. There are links to other stories - however this story also works if you don't know about them. Its a very intriguing and espionage heavy story, the format is very good as we don't see things from The Doctor and Aces point of view but are introduced into the events through Hex. This play is for you if you enjoy a thriller and want to come back multiple times to see how the story works after later revelations.
22. Seasons of Fear, now this is a proper fun one - the 8th Doctor finally gets Charley to Singapore where all hell breaks lose. Its a quest with the TARDIS off to a different location every episode taking on the mysterious Sebastian Grayle and his unseen (until later) mysterious allies. This is Big Finish doing The Chase / Dalek Masterplan and it feels like its built on a foundation of playing cards yet a strong riff keeps it together. Theres a lot going on and its a story where centrally there is a lot of fun fluff yet a lot of tangental ties to other plays in this season - again it rewards a re-listen. There's a fun little mystery to who Grayles allies are and the clues are all there if you want to play the game and avoid spoilers. Possibly one of the most fun plays in the range.
21. The Natural History of Fear, we're in the 8th Doctors third season with this being the highlight. Its a twist story where we're thrown in and try to work out what on Earth is going on. I don't mean this in s frustrating way, all the way through this play the listeners ears are on edge as we strive to work out whats going on, listening for clues and looking for dual meanings. There are two minor problems that stop this being higher, its C'rizz second story and the listener isn't as familiar with Conrad Westmass voice as the story requires us to be. This added on to the nature of characters we've already met in this story lead us part way to some answers before we're meant to get them. Without doubt this is one of the best scripts Big Finish have ever produced and its a shame Jim Mortimore hasn't done more. This story works best out of context with the season and shines during what was a frustrating time for the range.
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