Old Friends: Fond Farewell

"Welcome to my funeral!"

Writer: David K Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: February 2022

Series: Ninth Doctor Adventures 4.01

Featuring: Ninth Doctor

Synopsis

Fond Farewell is the intergalactic funeral parlour with a difference: the deceased attend their own wake! Invited by celebrated naturalist Flynn Beckett to his memorial, the Doctor finds he's not quite the man he was. But who would steal the memories of the dead?

Verdict

Fond Farewell was a very good story to kick off the fourth series of Ninth Doctor Adventures! I'm so glad that we're going to get a whole batch of new stories with the Ninth Doctor following on from this set, but we've got some catching up to do here. Knowing what's to come, I thought it was a good approach to have the Ninth Doctor catching up with an old acquaintance in the form of Flynn Becket the professor, although he wouldn't have been expecting a conversation given that he was attending his funeral! His wife Idara seemed a shady character right from the off and the idea of Flynn then attending his own funeral was incredible! I liked the audacity of that because obviously it shouldn't be possible, and I liked that there was no time travel involved. This was Flynn, but not in his original body which I didn't actually anticipate happening. He was in a synthetic that was totally lifelike and to ensure the dead did stay dead, there was only a short lifespan which seemed a bit harsh. After bringing someone back from the dead, surely the technology could extend life? The twist of Flynn's memories having been altered was good as he'd forgotten the Doctor and Sasha despite them both accompanying him on the final expedition before his death. Something fishy was afoot. The flashback scenes to that expedition worked well and helped flesh out the adventure. The revelation that Flynn had been involved with Sasha intimately was intriguing and the humour that came with having to explain that to the Doctor was great. The prospect of him pretending to forget about her did seem to have potential, but the Doctor wasn't having it. Thomas as the AI computer programme was pretty good and the constant interludes of 'I'm still here' were quite chilling knowing that Flynn was synthetic. The power fluctuations added to the atmosphere and I thought Winifred made for a good and shady character in charge of Fond Farewell. The Doctor using the psychic paper to get her and Sasha in on official business as Good Funeral guides performing an investigation was amusing, but they weren't laughing when it came to a death amongst the bereaved. As if a funeral wasn't depressing enough! The use of electrical charge as the method was brutal and Thomas continuing to fluctuate provided some good tension. The Doctor and Winifred venturing to the nerve centre of Thomas was great and I liked how this was where the brain centre was held before being transferred to the synthetic for around twelve hours before fading out and death essentially occurring all over again. Winifred admitting that she could alter the memories of those brought back was very good and it seemed there was a secret discovery on that final expedition. The attendant being confirmed as the killer seemed a tad late, but it was fun to have the Doctor and Sasha blamed by Idara. The Doctor linking in with Thomas to find the problem was decent stuff and I liked the discovery of the rest of Beckett being held within the system. His wife being the culprit and wanting the man she loved brought back and to not remember cheating with Sasha, although she wasn't the first. Winifred was paid off but she was clumsy in the memory alteration and was ridded of the final month instead of just the specifics of Sasha. It was a bit of a sad ending but it was all pretty logical. Flynn trying to complete himself from within to make himself whole again was powerful, but Idara was desperate and didn't get what she wanted from her final moments with her husband. Overall, a strong start to the series and I liked how the Doctor is now headed for a meeting with an old friend, the Brigadier. 

Rating: 8/10