Doctor Who review: The Eighth of March – The Big Blue Book (Ace and Benny)
By James Aggas
With Benny missing and the Doctor on his own mission, it’s up to Ace to find out what’s going on, in the second episode of The Eighth of March, The Big Blue Book.
The Big Blue Book is a little bit different from Emancipation, as well as the other episodes of The Eighth of March box set. While the other stories essentially take the form of episodes from several of Big Finish’s spin-off series – including The Diary of River Song, The Paternoster Gang and UNIT – The Big Blue Book is essentially a Doctor Who episode, but without the Doctor.
In this particular instance, the episode is set during the Seventh Doctor’s era, and features two of his companions: Dorothy “Ace” McShane, and Professor Bernice “Benny” Summerfield. It definitely seems fitting to include these two in a box set celebrating some of the women of the Doctor Who universe, as these are two very popular companions. They’re also consistently well-written and were a natural precursor to the companions of the New Series.
Having said that, you actually don’t get a lot of Benny in this one. It begins with the Doctor doing one of his disappearing acts, leaving Ace and Benny to work out where he’s gone, (he did that a lot in the New Adventures novels,) but it’s not long before Benny disappears herself.
And she’s not the only one, as many students and tutors have been disappearing from the university that Ace and Benny have been staying at. It’s up to Ace to track Benny down, while hopefully saving many lives in the process. But how? And who is causing the disappearances?
Ace and Benny first met each other in Love & War. The Big Blue Book takes place quite some time after that, during the middle of their adventures together.
(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
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An episode both light and dark
The Big Blue Book is a very strong story from Lizzie Hopley. She knows how to play to both Ace’s and Benny’s strengths, and gives us a great Doctor Who story, even when the Doctor isn’t around.
For example, this is an episode which has moments of light and darkness in equally measure. The story begins straightforwardly enough, but there are dark and even horrific moments that can genuinely shock the listener. (One moment in particular involved Ace finding out what the cover of a book was made out of…)
It’s great to have a story that focuses on Ace so much. It reminds us that, while she may not be as book-smart as either the Doctor or Benny, she is intelligent in her own way, and knows how to handle a situation by this point. Sophie Aldred of course continues to play her brilliantly, too. She has been playing this role for over thirty years now, so she knows Ace inside and out.
The Big Blue Book is another strong episode that features two great characters in a story that’s clever, thrilling and at times chilling too. It just might be my favorite episode of The Eighth of March. Fans of Ace and Benny are going to love this one, while fans who’ve never met them before are going to love them.
Are you a fan of Ace or Bernice Summerfield? Are you glad to see them featured in a box set like this? What are your favorite stories featuring these two very different characters? Let us know in the comments below.