Deleted Scenes

"How did that box get on my stage?"

Writer: Angus Dunican

Format: Audio

Released: February 2020

Series: Short Trips 10.02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie

Synopsis

For all that Jamie has seen and done in his travels, nothing quite prepared him for the magic of being a film star.

During a Parisian holiday in 1908, he and the Doctor are taken in by film director Celine Tessier and soon find themselves in the world of the silver screen.

However, Jamie will discover that – in show business – where there is delight, one must also expect one's share of tragedy.

Verdict

Deleted Scenes was a great little audio! I thought this was a really solid and just nice listen and keeps up the usually high standard of the Short Trips range that I so often enjoy embarking back into. The paring of the Second Doctor and Jamie is a rare treat that we didn't get a huge amount of on screen so to get an extended adventure here soon after the events of Fury From the Deep was a real delight! Of course, it is also beneficial in not having either Victoria or Zoe alongside them when it comes to Frazer Hines narrating because he can produce a superb performance in reprising the role of Jamie and providing a stellar impression of Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor. It really is uncanny how good he is and the genuine feel Hines brings to Second Doctor tales is tremendous. I really am a big fan of his. I thought the setting of 1908 Paris was very good and I liked how this wasn't the obvious choice for a story centred on film for the obvious reason of a lack of technological capabilities. The arrival of the TARDIS onto a stage was amusing and hearing the Doctor and Jamie try and talk their way out of that was a lot of fun. They are such a goofy pairing and not having a female presence to keep them on their toes and in check allows for such a fun dynamic. They really shouldn't be let free together! It almost felt like a spoof at times which was great. Jamie's confusion over the TARDIS translation circuits was delightful as he couldn't understand why Celine complimented him on his excellent French. He couldn't speak it! Fantastic stuff and I liked how the TARDIS translation was not directly referred to, as I think is right considering the era this story takes place within. Celine as a French director turned out to be an excellent character and her working out of what the TARDIS actually was and even what the Doctor and Jamie got up to on a regular basis was very impressive! Her relationship with Jamie was the focus of much of the audio and it was really interesting for that to develop. Jamie was enamoured with her and the Doctor seeing that and also doing more for him with her because of what happened with Victoria was a powerful moment. Jamie had been fond of Victoria, but it was a bit more than just friendship and hearing him admit that and also the Doctor acknowledge that fact was brilliant. Jamie getting a kiss in the Parisian shadow was really nice and Christophe's jealousy towards him because of his feelings towards Celine was very good and probably could have been more central. Things were perhaps a little too quick when it came to Celine travelling aboard the TARDIS and the Doctor being asleep for a week as a result of the Great Mind, but the idea of allowing her on a trip to film was terrific! It was a shame for her that her film never got shown as the Doctor had confiscated the tape as he couldn't allow its contents to be seen, and the little monologue from Jemima to conclude at the theatre was a really nice touch. The fact that the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane made a cameo appearance with the former showing Jemima her great-great-grandmother's film after all was a really fitting finale! It was a lovely moment and a nice touch for sure. Overall, a really good little audio!

Rating: 8/10