REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Warehouse (Audio)

As I mentioned in my review for ‘We Are The Daleks‘, I was initially very cautious about the idea of Big Finish telling stories firmly set during season 24. The very colourful, very 80s and even juvenile tone of the original TV stories weren’t my cup of tea, Mel’s main role was to scream as loudly as possible, and Sylvester McCoy‘s Doctor was far from the master manipulator we all know and love. Last month’s release proved, however, that done right, the combination of Seven, Mel and colourful stories could actually make for some really fun listening. Does ‘The Warehouse’ continue the success of the previous story?

Absolutely. ‘The Warehouse’ has all the colourful characters and mad ideas you’d expect from a season 24 serial, but it adds a lot of quality to it, too.

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What immediately leaps out is that it’s more than willing to embrace just how 80s the original TV season was. There’s a lovely conversation between the Doctor and Mel about how shopping will be done in the ‘future’: instead of going into music or video stores, people will instead – gasp! – just order things from their computer at home! Mel’s shocked reaction to this is a lovely little reminder of how much things have really changed in 25 years, and it’s great to have an idea of just how alien the modern world could be to some of the classic companions.

Speaking of which, Mel is, as ever in the Big Finish audios, brilliant to listen to. Not only do we get more of her computer wizardry, but what really makes her such a great character is her strong sense of morality. She talks to one group of people who do nothing but work (literally), and she’s utterly appalled. Not by their lack of a life outside of the work they do, but by how much they enjoy it. These people have no interest or desire to do anything but work their whole lives, and the idea of people wanting to be practically little more than slaves truly horrifies her. Mel had hints of a strong morality on the screen, but that always got overshadowed by her screaming. It’s great that, as ever, Big Finish know how to bring out the best of the character, as they’ve done with a lot of the arguably weaker TV companions.

The story itself is also great. Like Mel, it takes the unique and particular style of season 24 – the colourfulness of it all, the light hearted tone, and the larger-than-life characters – and mixes in a few new elements in such a way to make its story that much stronger. The tale of a rather unusual warehouse in space that’s not only literally worshipped by some characters, but also infested with a very dangerous kind of mould is exactly the kind of plot you’d expect from a story in McCoy’s first season. But the surprising depth added to both the characters and its original and interesting science fiction ideas make it so much more enjoyable.

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But I think what I really enjoyed the most from ‘The Warehouse’ is the Seventh Doctor. When McCoy first started, his Doctor was presented as something of a buffoon – a man who mixed up his metaphors a lot and enjoyed playing with his spoons. By the start of his next season, however, he had become the kind of man who liked to keep his secrets and manipulate his enemies, to the point when they do all the work for him and wipe themselves out. While I preferred this interpretation of the character a lot more, the rapid shift was very jarring.

Which is why I’m really enjoying hearing the much more innocent character we’re getting in these stories. McCoy’s Doctor at this point is not exactly a buffoon, but he’s certainly not as dark as he will become. He comes across as enjoying himself a lot more, still having some fun on his travels whenever possible. He also likes to improvise a lot more than he will do later. I adore the Seventh Doctor because of how dark and dangerous he can get at times, but it’s nice to hear him in happier days. Still, there are little hints of the kind of man he will eventually become. Especially the final line which, while I won’t spoil it for you, is absolutely brilliant.

With a cracking story and some great development for McCoy’s Doctor and Mel, ‘The Warehouse’ is another strong story from Big Finish.

Next: Official Synopsis for 'The Witch's Familiar'

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