The Great White Hurricane

"It's been snowing all night."

Writer: Guy Adams

Format: Audio

Released: December 2017

Series: First Doctor Adventures 1.02

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara 

Synopsis

Rival gangs turn streets into battlegrounds, and the Doctor and his friends are caught in the crossfire. They find themselves separated, and lost in the cold.

As the hunt for a fugitive turns ever more desperate, a blizzard descends. The snow keeps falling. And soon it will prove as deadly as any weapon...

Verdict

The Great White Hurricane was a good story to conclude the first series of First Doctor Adventures! It didn't quite live up to the high standards set in The Destination Wars, but it was still a really solid outing to continues the adventures of the recast First Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara. It's still a little strange getting used to the companions all being recast, but the familiarity of David Bradley in the First Doctor role definitely makes me want to continue listening to this series. I liked that we had a cliffhanger leading into this story and that was also the case at the end of this one too! It feels really authentic to the era which I think is necessary when the actors are all changed. I quite enjoyed the setting of nineteenth century New York because it's so different to anything we had from the era, and we were thrust straight into action with Susan getting kidnapped by Patrick. That was a good way to separate the main cast immediately and quite a frantic arrival following Ian getting shot in the head. It turned out that the shot was more of a glancing blow and resulted in nothing more than concussion which was a bit disappointing, but of course he couldn't actually get shot! Daniel was a good character and I enjoyed his relationship with the Doctor. The Doctor learning more about his granddaughter's kidnapper was really good and I thought this was a stellar performance from David Bradley in the role. I think it's his best yet to be honest. I thought the writing was also very good in making this feel like a genuine First Doctor story. Having him constantly referred to as grandpa was a lot of fun and you could hear the frustration which was terrific. His reaction to being accused of being inebriated was wonderful. I thought the event of the Great White Hurricane was very good and having a real and natural threat that was established in history was a really good dynamic. Barbara's knowledge of the event worked well as well, although I still think she is presented way posher than she was on television. I enjoyed her relationship with Rosalita and hearing her personal story was quite emotional with her having been beaten by Henry, who also hit their son which is just shocking. I cannot understand that. His weakness was exploited and once the story was told, it was clear he'd show up. The speed at which the snow came was exciting and I think they did as well as could be without the visual aid of a televised or comic story. Hearing the struggles over the ice and the desperation of reuniting Rosalita with her son was good, and I thought Ian's determination to ensure no financial gain was had from the rescuing of people in this natural disaster was fantastic. I thought the cliffhangers were good but quite sudden, and as a whole I thought the story was good and solid without being incredible. Regardless, it was still a good adventure and I liked that there was a cliffhanger to lead into the next batch with the enticement of the Doctor having the means to get Ian and Barbara home. That's an exciting prospect! Overall, a more than solid adventure.

Rating: 7/10