Doctor Who review: The Trouble with Drax (and why you have to listen to this audio)
By James Aggas
Today, we take a look at Fourth Doctor audio The Trouble with Drax, and why it’s one of the best Doctor Who audios to listen to.
I’m going to be upfront right now: this isn’t your usual Doctor Who review. Usually, I try to be objective and not be too enthusiastic about writing it. (Admittedly, I do fail at that sometimes. Quite spectacularly, too.)
The Trouble with Drax though is something different. In many ways, its unlike any other Doctor Who audio I’ve ever listened to. Days after listening to it, it’s easily made my top ten list already. And not for the usual reasons, either.
The Trouble with Drax is not a new audio. In fact, it came out two years ago in 2016, as part of the fifth season of Big Finish’s The Fourth Doctor Adventures. However, at the time, I was taking a break from the range. Despite hearing many good things about this story, I still wanted to listen to the season in full, rather than just diving in and listening to it.
Cut to two years later. After jumping ahead to season seven (although, considering season seven features Leela and is therefore set earlier than season five with Romana, “jumping ahead” might not be accurate, in this case), I decided to finally get the fifth season when it went on sale.
Now keep in mind, there are many excellent stories from this season. The Paradox Planet/Legacy of Death and The Pursuit of History/Casualties of Time especially leap out. At some point, I’m bound to review these excellent stories one day. But the story that leaped out the most? The Trouble with Drax.
Drax originally appeared in Fourth Doctor story The Armageddon Factor, the last story of The Key to Time season.
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: BBC.)
Time-travelling caper
Oh, where to even begin with this story? It’s a very tricky one to review without giving too much away, as half the fun comes from the surprises. The other half is listening to the audio again and getting a completely different story.
Well, first thing’s first: this story brings back the cockney criminal Time Lord Drax. Drax is in some ways refreshingly different from other renegade Time Lords. He’s not out to rule or destroy the universe like the Master. He’s certainly not interested in saving it like the Doctor. He just wants to have some fun, ideally while making plenty of money in the process.
Admittedly, when the character was introduced in his one and only story on television, The Armageddon Factor, I wasn’t that too keen on him. This may be less due to the character himself and more because of how generally weak the story was overall, especially as the finale to The Key to Time season.
However, the character is served in a much better story with The Trouble with Drax. Perhaps because the genre this story is in suits the character a great deal more. Specifically, the crime caper story.
Drax wants the Doctor’s help on a job. At first, it sounds like it should be fairly straightforward. But then the Doctor finds out who Drax is working with. And that’s when things really start to get complicated…
A huge amount of fun
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I can’t say anything more without spoiling an absolutely brilliant story by John Dorney. But what I can say is that The Trouble with Drax is a huge amount of fun. I haven’t had this many laughs with a Doctor Who audio since The One Doctor, which is the highest compliment I can give it.
It perfectly captures the very best of Season Seventeen: it’s absolutely hilarious, but it’s also brilliantly clever, too. I’m not sure if Dorney either had plenty of fun or plenty of frustration when writing this one.
Either way, it paid off. The Trouble with Drax is one of the most enjoyable stories I’ve listened to in a long while. I listened to it three times in as many days, and honestly, that doesn’t often happen.
I also listened to it at just the right time, too. This isn’t just a story that entered my top ten list almost instantly. This is a story that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face, which isn’t necessarily the same thing. In fact, my usual favorite stories are dark, horrifying or tragic. Sometimes, all three at once.
But The Trouble with Drax is just pure fun. It’s a wonderful story that’s light, but also funny and clever. I cannot recommend this one enough, and it really could be one of my favorite Big Finish stories already.
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Have you listened to The Trouble with Drax? Do you agree with this review? Are you a fan of the character of Drax? Let us know in the comments below.