The Innocent

Over the past few years I have collected a random selection of Big Finish audio stories, from freebies to sale items, and I'm gradually working my way through them. Whilst I will be discussing most of them on my Who Catch Up blog some just don't fit into a particular category so I'll be discussing them here.

Today I will be discussing The Innocent which is the first story in Only the Monstrous, a boxset of War Doctor stories starring John Hurt. This story was free with Doctor Who Magazine #500.

This story opens with a fairly typical pre-credits sequence. The Doctor has just been declared dead. We all know it's obviously not true but it's an intriguing start and we are then given the War Doctor's Doctor Who theme which keeps the basic tune but gives a more militaristic style. 

Nicholas Briggs makes great use of Doctor Who lore as we flashback to what actually happened. The Doctor (but don't call him that) takes the place of two Time Lords to activate the Time Destructor on the dalek fleet- last seen way back in The Dalek's Master Plan. It's a tricky doing a War Doctor boxset when you have to try and be in keeping with fifty years of Time Lord and dalek lore. 

Much of the story is set on the planet Keska where the Doctor (don't call him that) ends up. There he meets Rejoice who is proper companion material. She looks after 'her alien' as he recovers but when he wakes the Doctor finds himself in the midst of another war as the Taalyens attack. It's swiftly dealt with though when we see this version of the Doctor at his most Doctor-ish so far. It shows us that the personality of this incarnation is entirely due to the awful situation he finds himself in and actually the Doctor is still there somewhere. 

This story is almost an alternative new companions story. Traditionally the Doctor would meet his new companion, save the day with their help and take them with him on his travels. It's the last bit he knows he can't do here as he obviously can't risk taking Rejoice into the Time War. There's a long, brilliant sequence where the Doctor tries to convince Rejoice and probably himself too that he is no longer a hero. Rejoice never falls for it but sadly the Time Lords turn up and Rejoice is forced to remain on Keska. We've seen it in the TV show a few times but it's heart-breaking when a would-be-companion misses out on the best opportunity of their lives. 

I really enjoyed this story and will consider forking out for the rest of the box set in the not too distant future.