Coda – The Final Act

"I'm not your Doctor."

Writer: Tim Foley

Format: Audio

Released: November 2024

Series: Once and Future 08

Featuring: Fugitive Doctor, War Doctor, Benny, Vienna

Synopsis

The Time War.

Dealing with the repercussions of degeneration, the Doctor has a limited window of time to evade capture, recruit old allies, wage a war, and find out what's really going on.

A warrior is being hunted by a mysterious stranger in a TARDIS. A rogue agent has been assigned a mission to eliminate a dangerous foe. This is a fight between a war criminal and a fugitive. A fight between Doctors.

Verdict

Coda – The Final Act was a really good story to conclude the Once and Future series, a whole year later! Well this final episode in the rather whacky series was a long time coming, but it was certainly worth the wait because we found out that we would be hearing the Big Finish debut of the Fugitive Doctor! It's a big shame that this mysterious and hidden incarnation of the Doctor didn't get the chance to really shine on television after the monumental reveal in Fugitive of the Judoon, but I think the pandemic may have had something to do with that. If that hadn't have happened, the series that became Flux would surely have been longer and allowed a little more time to delve into the lore of her incarnation. Thankfully, this is where Big Finish steps in and begins to fill the gaps. This certainly serves as a delightful little addition to the adventures of the Fugitive Doctor before we get into her own new series next year which I cannot wait for! I was intrigued by the comments of the Fugitive Doctor here as she seems to be post-Division which is exciting and it's fun that even prior to the First Doctor she was running away. It's ingrained in her DNA! I also thought it was an interesting move to use the very first theme arrangement for this story. I thought we would have gone with the War Doctor's theme but alas this was a fun and unexpected twist given the modern connotations of the two incarnations. It is a fun moment the two Doctors share late in the story as they realise they are one and the same, but two very different incarnations and somewhat removed from the Doctor as we know them. The suggestion of them being weak links though was not something I agreed with! I thought the premise of the story at the start with the Fugitive Doctor hunting the war criminal that was the War Doctor was a delight, and the after effects of degeneration being felt in much the same way as they would be post-regeneration was a nice touch. I thought some of the guest characters in the story were random but a nice surprise and it's delightful for Benny to tick another two incarnations of the Doctor off on her list. Her reactions to both were intriguing, but seeing the Doctor as a woman almost made her howl! I thought the little nod to the Unbound Doctor was tremendous when she assumed that the Fugitive Doctor was from another universe and remembered liking that. I also thought it was a delight to feature Vienna in a couple of cameo roles alongside the War Doctor, and having her set him up as the Fugitive paid more gold was magnificent! The little reference to The Shadow Heart was nice as Vienna remembered who he was and alluded to the Time War, and it was good for the Doctor to reassure her that everyone was fighting their part whether they knew it or not. What was a little more random was the inclusion of Elizabeth I! She was a little strange to be in a story like this although I did really enjoy the insinuation that she knew the Doctor travelled in time and also knew which order his faces came in. The Voord featuring too and having a history with the Fugitive Doctor was an unexpected treat, although I would have preferred them to be on the other side. But they made such an impact on me in The Keys of Marinus so I'm all for their return. I thought Shalavar as the one pitting the two Doctors against each other was fine, but it was actually bringing them together which was a highlight. As was Benny's reaction to the Fugitive's control room in the TARDIS in labelling it retro. I loved how she helped Benny see that the Fugitive was actually hunting herself too. That was fantastic and from there this Doctor really did seem to change from the bad guy to a good. Overall, a really fun start to Jo Martin's life on audio (of which I'm sure will be extensive!) and a fine way to bookend the sixtieth anniversary celebrations. 

Rating: 8/10