Phantasmagoria: 5th Doctor and Turlough
Happy to admit that I’ll always have a fondness for this story as it was the first full story for a single Doctor that Big Finish released and, thus, really felt like Doctor Who in a meaningful sense was back. It’s possibly one of the most “Gatissy” of Mark Gatiss’s stories, and I find it a real comfort listen. I haven’t listened to it for many a year so wasn’t sure how I’d find it this time around. For me, at least, it still hasn’t lost its charm.
The setting is simply lovely, rich and historical. It’s easy for me to visualise mentally (one of the most important tasks of an audio, I find), with colourful characters and plenty of event. Nicholas Valentine is a thoroughly dastardly villain. Jasper Jeake is a little (how shall we put it?)… a little broadly written, yet fun enough. I loved the use of Wisdens. Very much a “Checkov’s gun” in this story - it’s a nice moment when possession of this cricketing tome becomes pivotal to the plot. Indeed, the use of cricket in this story is a nice nod to this quirk of the Fifth Doctor, and I felt was handled better than in other cases.
If I’m going to gripe, and I feel mean spirited in saying this, then it’s with Mark Strickson’s acting. He’s normally so reliable and certainly has been later on with his Big Finish releases, but here it feels like he overacts or isn’t quite taking it seriously at times. It just feels off (and I normally really like Strickson as a performer).