In Review: Big Finish: Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures: The Quintessence

Synopsis: In The Quintessence, The Doctor and Jo Jones arrive at Always. The Victorian manor house is perched impossibly on the distant storm-world of Nethara Reach.

They’re greeted by the peculiar Pepperdines. The couple is frantic with worry about their ailing daughter. The duo also discover terrible secrets hiding within the paneled walls and gruesome oil paintings.

These secrets will bring the Doctor face to face with one of his most ancient and implacable enemies. What’s more, they’ll put his relationship with Jo to the ultimate test.

Review: Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures: The Quintessence was a wonderfully atmospheric offering for spooky season. Additionally, writers Stewart Pringle and Lauren Mooney crafted a soulful character showcase for Jo Jones.

Story

Pringle and Mooney hooked me with the opening section of the story. They achieved the right level of disorientation as Jo and the listeners found themselves amid the gothic tropes.

I also really appreciated the writers choice of gothic tropes. Pringle and Mooney gleefully committed to a combination of haunted house and creepy child.

The true stroke of genius, though, lay in their narrative bait and switch. Frankly, they executed the twist more effectively than Russell T. Davies did during the Tenth Doctor’s era.

Once the threat is revealed, the Doctor and Jo found themselves in an unraveling situation. What’s more, Pringle and Mooney bravely embraced the inexorable tragedy.

Characters were gothically doomed. The story’s thematic core centered around how they reacted to that doom. 

Along the way, Jo Jones was brilliantly herself. Indeed, her arc required her to draw on her years of lived experience.

As a result, Jo’s story line often felt structurally more akin to The Sarah Jane Adventures than Doctor Who. However, the tale was tonally darker than both.

Acting

The entire cast was superb. That said, the soundscape belonged to Katy Manning.

She cycled through simultaneous conflicting emotions as Jo’s peril unfolded. Manning’s sincerity, nuance, and awareness came through in every scene.

Overall

Thank you, Big Finish. Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures: The Quintessence was everything a mid-October six-part yarn needed to be. 

You can purchase Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures: The Quintessence here.