The Auntie Matter

"He could have at least killed us before losing all interest!"

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: January 2013

Series: FDA 2.01

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Romana I

Synopsis 

England in the 1920s. 

Whilst K9 is off in the TARDIS leading the Black Guardian on a wild goose chase, the Doctor and Romana are enjoying a leisurely lifestyle as the Lord and Lady of a London townhouse. But trouble never stats away from them for long, and before they know it a chance discovery of alien technology leads them deep into the heart of the English countryside where a malign presence lurks. 

As the Doctor dodges deadly butlers and ferocious gamekeepers, Romana is faced with a malevolent Aunt and an even deadlier peril - marriage. 

Verdict 

Like the first season of Big Finish's range of Fourth Doctor Adventures, The Auntie Matter was entertaining, comical and a very good story! Naturally with Leela in the first season, there was always a bit more room for humour as that's just an attribute she can effortlessly bring but seeing as she's been swapped for the first incarnation of Romana, the Doctor has to take a more central role in the funny side of things and that wasn't a problem at all! Season 16, despite my lack of appetite for it, was a time where the Fourth Doctor had become less serious as seen with the likes Sarah and Harry, and having a fellow Time Lord travel with him on a hunt for the Key to Time seemed to allow him to open up and express himself more directly which was good, and perhaps new, for the Doctor. Anyway, I loved the title of this story prior to listening and after seeing the role of an auntie play pivotal I liked it even more after the hour was up. Lady Bassett played a terrific villain even if she sounded like a friendly old women! Well, I guess in truth that's what she was but it seemed she was trying to prevent that and her scheme set on poor old Reginald was fantastic. She would send him off out into the wilderness to find himself a wife that she can approve of, and then steal her body and take the remaining life force from. And as it would be, Romana I was next on that list. Now, the character of Romana I absolutely love but that's down to Lalla Ward and her absolutely wonderful role as Romana II. Season 16 wasn't great for me and that was partially down to Mary Tamm as companion, I just couldn't get to liking her on screen. But here on audio, I hope my opinions of her change, and there was no problem at all with her in this story! I could have done without her calling K9 "the dog" but I'll nudge. I liked how Jonathan Morris dealt with the absence of chasing the Key to Time in a Fourth Doctor/Romana I story by describing how K9 was left in the TARDIS controlling its safety whilst it bundled around the universe on the randomiser until the Black Guardian got tired of chasing it. A good way of dealing with the obstruction. Lucy Griffiths put in a stellar performance as Mabel, the maid, and her interaction with the Doctor was outstanding! I think she'd have made a very good companion and having someone on the TARDIS with a 1920s background would be good I think. Storm Warning, in which Charley arrived on board with the Eighth Doctor, wasn't set too far ahead of the '20s but India Fisher's magical companion always seems to be a bit ahead of her time. The setting was very good with Bassett House but I would have liked a bit more explanation as to how the Doctor and Romana had acquired the status of Lord and Lady in London. Jonathan Morris has given us some brilliant stories in the form of Bloodtide and The Golden Ones, but to me he doesn't clarify everything that needs to be on times. He's just a bit edgy. But overall this story was actually terrific. The identical android twins were good and despite it not working anywhere near the success that it did in The Romans, the fact that the Doctor and his companion(s) narrowly missed meeting each other was wonderful. It added great humour to an already comical story and the scenes at the end with the pair arguing over who actually thwarted the Aunt's plans were reminiscent of the aforementioned First Doctor TV serial. To me though, it was pretty evident that the Doctor was the reason the threat was thwarted! Nonetheless, a very good start to another series of adventures for the Fourth Doctor!

Rating: 8/10