Doctor Who overview: Eighth Doctor Adventures: season four (audio)
By James Aggas
The Eighth Doctor meets four potential companions in Doctor Who: Situation Vacant. (Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish
Image obtained from: bigfinish.com.)
Now that we’ve finished reviewing each story individually, we take a look at the final season of the Eighth Doctor Adventures as a whole. Is it one of the greatest seasons of Doctor Who?
The fourth and final season of the Eighth Doctor Adventures just might be one of the very best. Not just of this particular range, either. But out of the whole of Doctor Who, regardless of medium.
There are several reasons for this. The first is how consistently strong the stories are. Each one works well, and achieves what it aims to do. In fact, while it’s slightly difficult to pick a favorite, it’s even more difficult to choose a least favorite. Sometimes, that can be a bad thing, obviously.
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But in this case, its more that the generally weaker stories of season four are still pretty great. Situation Vacant was a great light-hearted season opener. But it was also very clever, and set up the season really well. It also felt like something straight out of the New Series. Considering the darkness that came later on, that was definitely a great way of wrong-footing the listeners.
Nevermore, while one of the more standalone stories of the whole season, was an incredibly rich and atmospheric tale. The use of Edgar Allen Poe, particularly the direct quotations, was an inspired choice.
The Book of Kells was lighter fare, but it was a fun story. More importantly, it also added a lot to the season’s arc, and had two incredibly well-prepared twists.
Prisoner of the Sun was perhaps the most standalone story of the whole season, and was very much a “bottle episode”. But it was great at exploring the Eighth Doctor‘s sense of morality, and how far he’d go to prove his values.
The last time the Eighth Doctor met Lucie was when they said goodbye in Death in Blackpool. Now, they’re finally together again, but has she forgiven him? (Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish.
Image obtained from: bigfinish.com.)
Lucie Miller
This leads me to another key point about why this final season was so strong. The themes and character arcs that it explored. Particularly for the Eighth Doctor and Lucie.
It’s funny that Lucie was barely in this season. In fact, it had been heavily promoted that the Christmas special Death in Blackpool would be her last story.
But that’s what made the arc work. Because a key part of it was Lucie learning how to forgive the Doctor for his mistake. More importantly, it focused on how much the two really needed each other. Not in a romantic way, but they did share a very deep friendship, even a form a love.
Even when Lucie left the Doctor, she was still eager to see all of time and space. Unfortunately, travelling with the Monk wasn’t quite as satisfying for her as travelling with the Doctor. Particularly as the Monk lacked a great deal less morals than Lucie’s previous companion.
Lucie Miller returns, but it’s far from a happy reunion, as the Eighth Doctor faces the Ice Warriors and the Monk in The Resurrection of Mars!
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions)
Reunion
The Doctor’s and Lucie’s reunion in The Resurrection of Mars and Relative Dimensions was incredibly satisfying to hear. Particularly as it avoided making Lucie forgiving the Doctor too easy. While she was in some ways happy to see him, the pain of his lie to her was still too raw. It wasn’t surprising that she wanted to travel the world with Alex, instead of pretending everything was OK.
Lucie going through hell in Lucie Miller was terrible to hear. But it also allowed her to put into perspective what was really important. So when she finally forgave the Doctor, it felt like a very natural choice.
Of course, the ending to her story wasn’t meant to be a happy one. And when she did forgive him and wanted to go travelling again, you kind of knew that something even bigger was coming. Of course, having her killed off in the truly amazing To the Death was the only way of giving her an exit even more definitive than the one she received in Death in Blackpool.
It’s virtually the opposite of what Rose got: instead of a heartbreaking exit followed by a slightly disappointing and far too easy “happy ending”, Lucie got a heartbreaking exit followed by an even more heartbreaking and final exit. Out of the two, Lucie’s final exit was definitely more satisfying.
The Eighth Doctor finds himself trapped while trying to save billions of lives in Prisoner of the Sun.
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
The Doctor’s morality
The other key character arc of this season was of course the Doctor’s. This season, more than any other, really explored the morality and the depth of the Eighth Doctor in a big way. Beginning right from Death in Blackpool, we got to know what’s important to the Doctor and what he values.
Perhaps most important of all, we got to learn about how easily he can make mistakes. Not to mention the devastating consequences of those mistakes.
In particular, there were three key stories of the season itself that examined the Eighth Doctor in detail. Firstly, there was The Resurrection of Mars. A personal favorite, this story really explored how much the Eighth Doctor valued even a single life.
More importantly, it answers why he has such strong values in a truly wonderful speech. Referencing the Seventh Doctor was particularly a key moment. It was great to have this incarnation explored like never before.
Then we had Prisoner of the Sun. As previously mentioned, it’s very standalone, but it’s also great at showing just how heroic the Eighth Doctor is. Spending six years in a few rooms that he could have escaped from at any time just to save billions of lives is such a wonderful thing for the Doctor to do. It also shows the lengths he’s willing to go to make sure that everyone’s saved.
The Eighth Doctor, Lucie, Susan, Alex and Tamzin fight the Daleks, in a battle To the Death.
Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.
Breaking point
Then we come to To the Death. This is when the Eighth Doctor is pushed to beyond his limit. It’s a story where he loses everything. His family, his values, and his belief in himself. By the end, he’s utterly broken.
It’s not surprising that Paul McGann is just amazing in this episode. He completely sells the Eighth Doctor’s gradual decline. He just owns the pain, loss and rage so completely. McGann has always been brilliant as the Doctor. But it’s with To the Death that he really gives one of his greatest ever performances.
The final season of the Eighth Doctor Adventures will always be one of the greatest in Doctor Who history. It just gets so much right. Character development; stories; arcs; even thematic progression.
The season subtly but easily shifts from the light-hearted fun of Situation Vacant to the grim darkness of To the Death incredibly well. While it’s important to listen to the first three seasons first, the final season is a huge payoff.
Next: Review: The Crowmarsh Experiment (Fourth Doctor audio)
What’s your favorite season of Doctor Who? Have you listened to this particular season? Do you agree with this overview? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.