So, back in the summer I excitedly posted the news that Tom Baker was going to be back as the Doctor, in a five-part series of connected tales from BBC Audio.
Well, the first CD has been released, and given the reviews I’ve been reading, if you were at all excited about this, don’t be.
Despite the fact that they mentioned multiple actors, these are NOT Big Finish-style full audio adventures. Apparently, it’s nothing more than an audiobook, with the occasional extra actor voicing some of the dialog. BOO.
Worse yet, a lot of fans are saying that Baker sounds like he phoned it in. Given the format of the thing — the Doctor essentially narrating a previous adventure to former (3rd Doctor) companion Mike Yates (they were going to use the Brigadier, who actually met the 4th Doctor, but Nick Courtney had a stroke, and had to bow out), his performance has almost none of the manic energy that is so associated with his Doctor. BOO.
Why, oh why couldn’t Big Finish have done this instead of BBC Audio? Then we would’ve gotten a true 4th Doctor adventure.
As it stands, I don’t think that I’ll bother picking it up. I love the 4th Doctor, but I’d rather not be disappointed. Plus, there’s tons of 5th through 8th Doctor audios that I’ve still yet to hear from Big Finish, so I think I’ll stick with those.