n Review: Big Finish: Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Deadly Strangers

Synopsis: In Deadly Strangers, The Doctor, Audacity and Charley visit many times and places. They always have the best of intentions. Unfortunately, others have a different agenda.

Review: Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Deadly Strangers contained three more hugely entertaining adventures. They were each an early Christmas gift I didn’t know I wanted.

Story

The three stand-alone tales were linked by compelling guest characters and world-building. Indeed, the return of a classic Doctor Who villain was the least interesting element of this box set.

I’m a Puccini fan. Consequently, “Puccini and the Doctor” by Matthew Jacobs was my favorite installment. 

I loved the research and effort Jacobs put into the story. He put a Doctor Who twist on Turandot that justified this set alone.

Having watched the 1996 Doctor Who movie when it came out, I was also delighted Jacobs got to come full circle. He wrote for the Doctor he originated in the medium both he and the Eighth incarnation deserve.

“Women’s Day Off” by Lisa McMullin benefited from universal themes within a lesser known historical setting. The juxtaposition caused me to invest in the characters and brought a tear to my eye.

“The Gloaming” by Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle was delayed by rights issues. Frankly, I’m glad. Listeners got stronger plot and character dynamics as a result.

I particularly appreciated the social commentary. Mooney and Pringle capitalized on the Mara in a chillingly effective way. 

Charley got the obvious plot line. Audacity had the truly difficult realizations and conversations.

The whole effort represented storytelling we couldn’t have had in the 1980’s Mooney and Pringle demonstrated the value of a decades old franchise.

Acting

The entire cast was superb. However, I must give kudos to several guest actors.

First, Tim McInnerny did a wonderful job as Giacomo Puccini. Second, Molly Harris brought authenticity to Kyla. Last, but not least, Homer Todiwala was pitch perfect as Dekkar. 

Overall

Thank you, Big Finish. Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Deadly Strangers was an excellent addition to this range. I can’t wait for the next set.

You can purchase Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Deadly Strangers here.