...ish

"English - what a remarkable, versatile language! Ever expanding, adapting, surviving..."

Writer: Phil Pascoe

Format: Audio

Released: August 2002

Series: Main Range 36

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis 

A conference of lexicographers: bromides in tweed. But the leading expert in the field is found dead by her own hand - and by her hologlyphic assistant. Is he responsible? Does the death for any conventional definitions? Can the Doctor deduce who wrote the suivide note and why, exactly, it was riddled with spelling errors?

Peri should help out, but there's a guy. Someone who loves language even more than the Doctor. Maybe, she realises, enough to kill for it. Or perhaps just enough to ask her out to dinner. Unless, of course, he's already spoken for...

Is it madness? Seeking transcendence in the complete lexicon? Having the right words on the tip of your tongue but never quite knowing when to use them?

If so, how?

Verdict 

...ish was a pretty good and intriguing audio adventure with one of my all time favourite TARDIS pairings. Despite the wonderful pair of the Sixth Doctor and Peri, who currently just about edge the Fourth Doctor and Leela as my favourite audio pairing, this was probably their worst adventure together. I really enjoyed the first three Lost Stories they did and also the only other Main Range story they did in Whispers of Terror, which seems a lifetime ago, but somehow the pair didn't quite live up to my expectations. Maybe I like them so much that I just expect brilliance every time? I'm not sure. The development of the Sixth Doctor in the audios from the television stories continues wonderfully and it's nice to see the softer side of this incarnation of the Doctor once again. Alongside Peri, 'softer six' as he's been dubbed absolutely shines. The relationship between the two is just fantastic and I like to think that the audios are somewhere late on during Season 22 or actually, more closer to preceding The Trial of a Time Lord. There's a big gap for Big Finish to do just about whatever they want there and it's nice to see that they're more than taking advantage! After doing a little research on the writer, it doesn't surprise me that this is Phil Pascoe's only contribution to performed Doctor Who. It was good but it was far from the best. A near two hour audio story based on the theme of linguistics? Now, I'm a fan of Countdown but two hours of a dictionary story could become a little tedious and boring. Sadly, in some parts that was exactly what happened. Part two was quite disinteresting sadly. The latter parts did make up for that though to give us a solid story overall. The arrival of the Doctor and Peri wasn't all that dramatic and neither was the story as a whole really which was a shame because I felt there were moments where a few action scenes could have been thrown in. Even in audios, although we can't see the story adding some action adds to the pace and flow of the story greatly. The main thing that sees this story receive what I consider to be a low rating is there was a lack of oomph. I thought I might get it after the second part's cliffhanger but it wasn't to be sadly. There was no real moment of triumph where the Doctor could step in and save the day, establishing himself as the hero. Despite that, I felt Colin Baker gave a very assured performance and his vocabulary skills were most impressive. If this script was for the Second or Seventh Doctor then I think it'd turn out very differently! I must admit that I've been looking very forward to getting to this story in my Main Range run, which isn't proceeding as quickly as I might have liked, due to the name. I've been intrigued by it for a long time as it doesn't really offer us any insight into what the story is going to be about. However, it wasn't quite up to what I was hoping for. The characters were good and I liked that the Doctor and Osefa had a history but I hoped that could have been explored a bit more. The relationship between Peri and Warren during the early parts of the audio was lovely though, a standout from the adventure. Book was a very intriguing character I must say. The concept of trying to produce a dictionary as vast as it was tasked was almost incomprehensible! The omniverbum problem was a good inclusion and the mystery of it being said to be the word equivalent of pi was a superb analogy. It was so big that only the English language could defeat it for size! I liked how the story took advantage of the Doctor having an American companion and the differences in the English language they have ultimately proved to be the plot's resolution. Together, the Doctor and Peri saved the day. The setting could have been explored a bit more with some detail added but it sufficed. I also would have liked some TARDIS scenes as despite their simplicity, I think they add greatly to the start of a story. Just look at The Land of the Dead for example. Overall, an interesting choice of theme for a Doctor Who story. The worst audio since The One Doctor, but a brave effort.

Rating: 7/10