Big Finish Review: Doctor Who: ‘Paper Cuts’ (Sixth Doctor audio)

As ‘Paper Cuts’ begins, the Doctor and Charley attend the funeral for the Draconian Emperor. But someone – or something – is killing the other attendees, one by one…

I must admit, I always enjoy a Marc Platt story. Particularly if the story is given plenty of room, such as the serial format used in both the Classic Series and the main range of Big Finish’s Doctor Who audios. I feel he’s always at his best with the serials.

It’s not just the fact that his stories can be described as “different”. Even for Doctor Who, the science fiction stories of Marc Platt can be filled with very unusual ideas. Ideas that need time for the audience to adjust to.

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There’s also the fact that Platt is excellent at creating and developing characters. And this leads me to the first thing I love about Paper Cuts: the wonderful mix of characters it contains.

There’s the scheming Prince, who hardly mourns his father and is desperate for power. There’s Gomori, a peasant who really isn’t interested in such matters, but is forced into them. And there’s the soldier with no name. Is he a man who has truly given up his honor? Or is there more to him than that?

Marc Platt does a fantastic job of fleshing out each and every one of these very different characters. They each have their own motivations and desires. No one’s completely a villain, but no one’s completely a hero, either.

Draconian society and history

He also fleshes out Draconian society, too. We’ve only seen this race once on TV, in Frontier in Space. They’ve always stuck out for me, though. Partly, it’s because their makeup is so good, especially for the era it was made in.

But also, it’s because they appeared to be more complex than your average aliens on Doctor Who. They had their own system of honor, and they had only been brought into conflict with Earth over mistakes and manipulation.

It’s great that for Paper Cuts, Marc Platt gets to present them in a very fresh way. There’s a strong and clear influence from Japanese culture on the Draconians, while still ensuring that they retain their distinctive alienness.

Another element to enjoy was how the Doctor’s own history with Draconia was explored. Marc Platt is very good at exploring the history of the First Doctor, even when he’s writing for other Doctors. (This is the man who wrote Lungbarrow, after all. As far as Doctor Who novels go, the Seventh Doctor novel that deals with the Doctor’s origins is pretty legendary.)

With Paper Cuts, the Sixth Doctor has to deal with the consequences of the choices that he made in his First incarnation. Some Draconians aren’t happy with those choices, as the story makes clear. It’s interesting when the Doctor gets to see the effect he has on people and even entire races. It’s a little low-key here, but it’s still nicely explored.

A new Charley?

Most of the time, Paper Cuts feels rather standalone compared to the two stories surrounding it. It does continue directly from and resolves the cliffhanger of Patient Zero, but afterwards, it almost feels completely unconnected. With one key exception: Charley.

It’s great to hear more from “Charley” in this story. Patient Zero really changed things in a big way for her. While the moments where her character is explored aren’t important to the story, they are important to the arc as a whole.

It’s fitting that the key arc scenes in Paper Cuts are character ones, because that’s the story’s greatest strength. A brilliant focus on a mix of fleshed out, three dimensional characters that really make it a great listen.

Next: Steven Moffat to release Christopher Eccleston version script of 50th anniversary

Next time: ‘Blue Forgotten Planet’

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