The Three Companions

 

"We were trapped in a moving morgue."

Writer: Marc Platt

Format: Audio

Released: April 2009 - February 2010

Series: Companion Chronicles: The Specials 01

Featuring: Second Doctor, Polly, Ben, Jamie, Third Doctor, Brigadier, Thomas Brewster

Synopsis

Polly Wright has tracked down an old friend of the Doctor's... Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, former Brigadier at UNIT. As they trade stories of their time travelling in the TARDIS, it soon becomes clear that their pasts are intertwined, and linked to a current crisis on the planet Earth. And there's a third companion, watching them from a distance. A certain Thomas Brewster...

Verdict

The Three Companions was a very good audio adventure! Now, I was listening to this in the omnibus style as part of the Companion Chronicles: The Specials format and whilst I thoroughly enjoyed listening, it was clear that consuming the story all in one go was not the best way to experience this particular adventure. I like the idea of an episodic format and even though you could kind of work out where the initial cliffhangers would be from the original ten minute episodes that accompanied Monthly Adventure releases, it would have worked better to have more than just the three splits. In saying that, having a focus on a separate adventure for each of Polly and the Brigadier was magnificent. Their conversation over email and letter was just wonderful and they are two companions that you just can't help but love. Hearing them together for the first time was marvellous and I just loved listening to their conversation. Polly having read a blog of Jo's was delightful and I liked the initial confusion when the Brigadier supplied a photograph of the Third Doctor, but Polly not recognising him having predominantly travelled with the Second Doctor. I really enjoyed that and her presence in The Tenth Planet made her accept straight away that the unfamiliar face was still the Doctor. The very idea of her wanting to catch up with him after 43 years since departing in The Faceless Ones was fantastic and it's actually a shame that her and the Brigadier didn't get to meet an incarnation at the end. The addition of Thomas Brewster was an intriguing element and provided an enigmatic feel to the story that provided something else to focus on. He's quite a mischievous character so hearing him clearly there to do a specific job was of great interest. I liked how things for him were set between The Haunting of Thomas Brewster and Time Reef with him having possession of the TARDIS. Except, that wasn't totally true with Mr L around. The whole concept behind him also being Gerry Lenz and Landler worked well and it was great to link the adventures both Polly and the Brigadier shared with one another. Polly's experience on CFC5 was brilliant and I thought the idea of a planet counting down to its destruction in the form of cremation was excellent! Splitting Ben and Jamie up from the Doctor and Polly was a good direction as far as the narration went and Anneke Wills was just tremendous throughout. Polly firmly remains right up there in terms of my favourite companions. The Brigadier is also a fantastic character and his experience at the fake Waterloo train station after stumbling aboard the TARDIS was really good. The impossible skyline description of a fractured London was great and I loved the idea of space being jumbled together. Gerry Lenz being on the freighter that the Doctor answered the distress call of was very good. I thought the reveal that the Coffin Loaders were present in all three stories was really good and them being scavengers that turned up at the end of a planet's life was brilliant. I was a big fan of them. Lenz turning out to be the financier of Jo and Cliff's plan to save the planet after it was being flooded and global warming was accelerating was good and that whole process was quite rapid! It made for a very pacy final third. I have to say, the Cliff impression was horrible but it was nice for him to get a little cameo. Brewster being bait was a fun element but I liked how things concluded in quite a simple manner after all that had gone on. The Hunter was dealt with and it was just lovely to have Polly and the Brigadier meet up, even with Brewster lurking and up to no good. Overall, a really fun audio adventure! 

Rating: 8/10