Other Lives

"I've never really thought of myself as a family man."

Writer: Gary Hopkins
Format: Audio
Released: December 2005
Series: Main Range 77

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley, C'rizz

Synopsis

London, 1851.

Scene of the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations.

Scene also to a plot to unseat the government, dethrone the monarch and start a republic.

If the Duke of Wellington himself is to be believed...

While the Doctor and Charley are drawn into the murky world of nineteenth-century politics, C'rizz struggles to maintain his dignity against growing odds.

What begins as an attempt to prevent murder quickly becomes a desperate race to avert revolution. Separated from the TARDIS, the travellers are left to wonder if they'll get their own lives back or be forever entangled with the lives of others.

And who is Mrs Georgina Marlowe? What need does she feel the Doctor can satisfy?

Verdict

Other Lives was a terrific little audio adventure that has hopefully got me right back into the swing of things when it comes to listening to Big Finish. This was actually my first audio in well over three months and I don't think I've had a break anywhere near as long as that since I started this blog back in 2013. Hopefully I can fit in a few more longer stories whilst university work isn't too demanding but for now it was just nice to be back doing some performed Doctor Who from the Classic era. I quite liked the fact that this story was simply a pure historical and there aren't enough of them around nowadays which I think is quite a shame. Obviously, I could be a little biased in that comment as I am currently halfway through my studies for a History degree but they always impress and very rarely, if ever, fail. This adventure focused on the Great Exhibition of 1851 which is an event I know quite a bit about after studying it at A-Level and then returning to it in two of my university modules this academic year. I had no idea what the story entailed other than the name and its CD cover as I never read a synopsis before listening so I was quite happy to have a story based around an event I know pretty well. However, I did have an ironic laugh when I realised that would be the case as by listening to this audio I was trying to escape from History for a little bit! It seems to be following me everywhere at the moment though but that's okay. A lot has occurred in the recent stories involving this trio so it was really nice to just get a one-off adventure featuring them. There was no overlapping theme like we had with the Divergent Universe story arc and instead we just got a pure story which I thought was a real positive. Paul McGann was once again superb as the Eighth Doctor and these audios really are wonderful in giving us a whole timeframe and storyline involving the most unluckiest of incarnations. We may have only got to see him twice on screen but these audios are proving just how fantastic the Eighth Doctor really is. Charley was once again wonderful and I really have loved her as companion ever since her arrival in Storm Warning. She was delighted to be able to visit the Great Exhibition and I thought her relationship with the Duke of Wellington was one of the story's highlights. C'rizz is slowly improving and whilst I don't think I'll ever be his biggest fan he did provide a bit of humour here because he was so out of place, That was of course understandable given where he is from but it wasn't nice to think of him being paraded around as a freak I must admit. My favourite aspect of the story was probably the relationship between the Doctor and Georgina. That was really intriguing to see play out and I loved the cliffhanger to part two where she referred to the Doctor as being her husband. Of course, the Doctor was not her beloved Edward but she seemed to be trying to convince herself that he was which was strange. The Doctor was clearly uncomfortable but felt sorry for her. The way the TARDIS went missing was good and I liked how that provided us with a sense of danger for the story but I did feel a little more was needed in terms of explanation for its arrival at the end of the story. Overall though, a very good audio adventure!

Rating: 8/10