Winter is Coming
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Big Finish Review: Doctor Who: ‘Patient Zero’ (Sixth Doctor audio)

By James Aggas

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The Sixth Doctor finally confronts Charley, but there’s far worse for them to face. The Daleks have arrived, and they’re desperately looking for someone called “patient zero”…

Picking up directly where The Raincloud Man left off, the situation is tense between the Sixth Doctor and his current companion, Charley Pollard, as Patient Zero begins. She’s been keeping secrets from him for a long time now, and he wants some answers.

However, when Charley is infected by a virus – something the TARDIS should protect her from – the Doctor goes looking for a cure. However, when he arrives at Amethyst Viral Containment Station, all he finds are more viruses. Many, many more viruses. Even worse, he also finds the Daleks…

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I’m going to warn you now: there’s a lot that I need to talk about with Patient Zero. Not just for what it resolves or builds upon, but also for what it sets up. It’s is an incredibly important story in the Big Finish mythology, for several key reasons.

There’s the immediately obvious reason – it’s the beginning of the end for the Doctor and Charley. While the pair do have two more stories after this (technically), Patient Zero clearly starts building up to their finale from the start.

In fact, Patient Zero sets up a lot of major events and key storylines that would be spread out for years. It does this while partially resolving a small arc across several previous Big Finish stories. In several one-episode length stories, the Doctor had come across several different viruses. Patient Zero ties into that arc in a pretty big way, but you don’t need to have to listened to those previous stories to enjoy it.

The Viyrans and Mila

Patient Zero also features the Viyrans, who had also featured in the virus arc, albeit rather briefly. Honestly, I’m a big fan of the Viyrans. They’re not exactly a villain, or at least, not a typical one. They’re just incredibly single-minded when it comes to their mission. As such, they’re the kind of race that cause more problems than they solve in their approach.

Patient Zero doesn’t feature many examples of that single-mindedness compared to later stories. But you still get a sense of how dangerous their dedication to their mission can really be.

This story also introduces new character Mila. She’s a rather interesting character, and someone who’s known the Doctor for a long time. Even if the Doctor doesn’t know it.

Considering that these are the Doctor and Charley’s final stories, it’s a bold and risky decision to introduce another major character into the mix. But I have to admit, it’s an interesting twist. Especially where both Mila and Charley end up by the time Patient Zero finishes.

The Dalek Time Controller

There’s one more major character introduced in this one. Like Charley, he’s someone who will become very familiar to the Eighth Doctor. Unlike Charley, this is someone the Eighth Doctor will learn to hate: the Dalek Time Controller.

With the Time Controller, Nicholas Briggs was able to create a Dalek that truly stood out from the rest. This is due to both his writing and his vocal performance. Briggs had already been voicing the Daleks for years at this point. It’s easy to forget just how good he is, especially when he’s voicing for several of them at once.

The Dalek Time Controller isn’t just different because of his voice. (It sounds a little close to the slightly higher pitched voice of Dalek Caan in The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End .) The Dalek Time Controller is great because he’s clearly much more intelligent, and therefore much more dangerous, than most other Daleks.

He doesn’t just want to exterminate others on sight. If he believes the Doctor could help with his plans, even unconsciously, he will make sure that the Doctor’s existence continues.

Now, admittedly, that potentially could sound like another lazy excuse for the Doctor’s greatest enemies to avoid killing him. However, there a couple of things that make this work. One, Briggs makes sure to give the Time Controller real presence in this story. He’s more quietly pitched, and clearly a creature that thinks and considers all options very carefully.

The other reason it works? It’s because the Time Controller is right. Without giving too much away, the Doctor makes a terrible mistake in this story. It doesn’t just allow the Daleks to win. It’s a mistake that has repercussions, both in the Doctor’s own history, and his future.

The story

You might have noticed that in this review, as much as I’ve gone into detail about the arcs and foreshadowing, I haven’t written much about the actual story of Patient Zero. Or rather, whether it’s actually any good. The reason for this however is that the arcs and foreshadowing are a huge part of Patient Zero. It feels like a season finale as well as a season opener, all in one.

Having said that, Patient Zero is a great story in its own right. It has a nice balance between the epic and the intimate. I didn’t realize until after I finished listening to the story, but there are only five cast members. This even includes the two regulars! And yet, like many of the best Big Finish epics, it’s a story that feels like it has a great sense of scale. Also, it’s a great Dalek story. Not surprising, considering who it’s written by.

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend Patient Zero for new listeners. It has a lot of history building up to it, while it also sets up a whole lot more.

But then, it isn’t meant for new listeners. It’s the first act of a finale to a story that had lasted for eight years. And, for people who had followed the story of the Doctor and Charley, it’s a very rewarding listen indeed.

Next: How can Doctor Who make gains in viewer numbers and ratings?

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