The next Main Range episode for the Audio Club is The Marian Conspiracy, starring the Sixth Doctor, and introducing Evelyn Smythe.
Buy it online using the link above, or listen for free on Spotify or Apple Music.
Once you’ve listened, talk about it below! Even if you listened to it before and just want to discuss it - dive right in! Just please use spoiler tags where appropriate.
This is the best 6th doctor story I have heard/watched (I have not listened to him often). Evelyn is such a perfect companion for him. A non-bullshit woman forces him to step back and become a little more grounded and nice. I also feel like the premise is interesting and it is also interesting that it is a story that doesn’t have a bad guy.
I love this story - one of Big Finish’s finest. I reviewed it many moons ago for my History of the Universe marathon and it was interesting as it came within clutch of stories which used the tensions between Protestants and Catholics as a backdrop for an adventure (the story after this in my marathon, for example, was The Massacre).
This, sadly, is the audio that I’ve repeatedly started and never finished.
I feel bad about it, because I actually like Evelyn a lot, and enjoyed the first part. Just somehow, somewhere after it becomes a historical, I find myself losing track of what’s going on, and suddenly realize I stopped listening a bit ago.
Still am going to try listening again, and since it’s up on the audio club, if I find myself with time and the right mood, it might be soon…
This is a wonderful story, Evelyn and Sixie makes a perfect team. She demands respect from the Doctor on the basis of her experiences and achievements which he accepts. Maggie Stables is incredible and the chemistry between her and Colin Baker seems effortless.
But this is such a good script and a really clever use of timetravel storytelling
One thing that always nags me a bit about Evelyn is that she is 55 years old, but played and written like a 75 year old, at least that’s the impression that always sticks with me.
I love this story. The first Big Finish true historical, beautifully written by Jac Rayner. I did speak to her via Twitter about Evelyn’s age, as I’d just turned 50 at that time, and I know that Jac is a similar age to me. She said that she had to have a similar discussion with her mum at the time it came out and she agreed that 50 is not really “old”, but it would have been back in Tudor times and also in comparison with her students. The character was co-created by Gary Russell, who was running the range at the time. I got the impression that he’d specified Evelyn’s age.
I think she could have easily been aged 60 or older and the character would have worked just as well or even better. Maggie Stables was wonderful and I really loved her portrayal. It’s such a shame that she’s no longer with us.
Excited to relisten to this one a little later this week! But I know I love it already, Evelyn is just the best - and I’m about to listen to Industrial Evolution, the last story with her in the main range so going back to the start will be soothing
I just finished listening to it. Six wasn’t one my favorite tv doctors so I haven’t really listened to or read any of his extended universe. So far this episode was the most I’ve enjoyed the sixth doctor. I think I’ll probably enjoy him more after I listen to more of his audios. I don’t usually like pure historical as much as other stories, but I enjoyed this one.
Started, as always, on the way into work this morning and I was immediately captured. Evelyn makes a strong impression instantly and is the literal lynchpin of the story.
This is the second subsequent classic banger from BF! It remains one of the finest examples of a “The Romans”-style pure historical story Big Finish has released and is one of Rayner’s very best stories. This is also the one that made me appreciate Six much more, and it made me understand what people mean when they say that BF at its best at times surpasses even the best TV episodes!
The two main reasons why this story works so well are the funny, clever, and surprising script (many LOL moments, a couple of good twists, great characterization, and AMAZING dialogue!). as well as Evelyn. BF has introduced several great companions over the years, but Evelyn is, to me, the very best. It’s partly down to the lovely performance from Maggie Stables (bless her soul!) and the way she’s written as a mature, well-educated, witty, and no-nonsense woman who refuses to be controlled or told what to do and not to do by the Doctor.
The entire first episode, which introduces Evelyn and how she came to meet the Doctor is amazing. Baker and Stables hit it off instantly, and the first few scenes tell you all you need to know to understand and appreciate Evelyn as a character.
This is such a gem; however, it’s a bit slower in the middle than what I remembered. But since the first and second episodes are amazing, I’ll give this a 94/100.
I’ve just finished this - wow another absolutely brilliant Main Range story!
This is my first time meeting Evelyn and she is captivatingly brilliant. It’s also so nice to have a companion that isn’t a teenage girl haha, someone who can stand up for herself and who won’t take any nonsense from the Doctor.
I was not sure I’d like a pure historical as they aren’t my favourite genre but the script and dialogue was so good that it didn’t matter. And I learned a few things about history too
This is an excellent story. I love Evelyn as a companion and this is a brilliant companion introduction for her. Why is it the history teachers who have been the best companions? Evelyn’s kind and intelligent. She also doesn’t take any abuse from the Doctor and often puts him in his place. And yet there’s a slight sense of humor about her too. It’s a shame that the actress has passed. There have been event releases where her presence has been greatly missed. The plot is straightforward and relatively simple. It also did a good job of humanizing Queen Mary without villainizing one side or the other. Anah Ruddin, the actress who played Queen Mary hasn’t been back to Big Finish which is a shame because I quite enjoyed her performance. I also liked the characters of Leaf and Crowe a lot better than the main two in Phantasmagoria. This story I rate at 4.75/5 stars mainly because there are even better stories with this team yet to come.
it’s been ages since i listened to a Six + Evelyn story and it all came flooding back how much i love her i remember the back half of this episode boring me the first time i listened (i tend to have a harder time with pure historicals… sorry lol) but this time i really appreciated how good the script was a lot more !! also such a strong intro episode for such a strong companion. had to go back and listen to my favorite evelyn story again after this one… Arrangements for War my beloved… great start to a great run
so going back to the start will be soothing 
i remember the back half of this episode boring me the first time i listened (i tend to have a harder time with pure historicals… sorry lol) but this time i really appreciated how good the script was a lot more !! also such a strong intro episode for such a strong companion. had to go back and listen to my favorite evelyn story again after this one… Arrangements for War my beloved… great start to a great run