WE FINALLY GOT HIM BACK!!! Well, kinda....

Back in 2015, as I'm sure a good many of you will remember, Big Finish got the license to do stories in the modern era of Doctor Who, which lead to the return of both the late and legendary Sir John Freakin Hurt, and the immortally amazing David Tennant to their roles of the War and 10th Doctor respectively. This of course lead to the question: what about the other two? Big Finish now have a license to do stories for the War Doctor and the 9th, 10th and 11th Doctors. "Does this mean that we'll get Matt Smith?" Possibly, but give it a while. "AND CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON?!?!"

Ah.....

Yeah, um, listen. I'm as hopeful as many of the rest of you that Chris will return, even if it's for a very short while. But I wouldn't count on it.

What you can count on is that Nick Briggs will always find a way around it!

DOCTOR WHO NEW SERIES REVIEW

THE NINTH DOCTOR CHRONICLES

By Jack Ryan

BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

Ever since Eccleston left, we've been campaining and begging him to come back, and although we may have come close to it for the 50th, I do believe it's fair to say, if it's going to happen it's not gonna happen for a while. But in 2013, when BF was getting their big Destiny of the Doctor series wrapped up, they brought in Nicholas Briggs to do the narration and "voices" for the cast of the Ninth Doctor's entry, Night of the Whisper.... and, to be fair, Briggs actually did a decent job on Eccleston's voice. Not perfect but still decent and recognisable. So when the first set of Ninth Doctor stories for 12 years came around (I said set, not single stories), they knew a way of how to get around not having Eccleston and Piper (at least, not having Piper, yet)....

The Doctor. The Oncoming Storm. The last survivor of the Last Great Time War. Now in his ninth incarnation (or so we understand), he wanders through the universe, seeking injustice and battling the fiercest creatures, hell bent on dominating the universe. With the assistance of companions Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Adam Mitchell and Captain Jack Harkness, the team of the TARDIS are ready for any adventure and any situation. From an unusual death on a planet of peace, to finding Emily Bronte on a planet at war, discovering a link to the past in an old forgotten theatre, and Jackie Tyler assisting in an unusual invasion of Earth....

Akin to the Churchill Years set of last year, these stories are done a la Companion Chronicles, except this time , they're just pure narration, rather than a companion relating a story to another. But they do still work, and the four stories we are greeted with here are so brilliant, they feel as if they can just slot easily into the 2005 series. Cavan Scott's The Bleeding Heart gives us perhaps the Ninth Doctor's earliest story, on a peace-inspiring planet with a deadly secret that has disastrous consequences for everyone. Then, The Window on the Moor, by Una McCormack, gives us a nice blend of Bronte-esque writing with a sci-fi twist, not least because a Bronte herself turns up in a childhood story that becomes a reality. Scott Handcock's The Other Side gives us Adam Mitchell's first trip in the TARDIS to a theatre plagued by ghosts and old forgotten history that can steal people out of time. Finally, we have Retail Therapy by James Goss, which sees Rose head home to see her mum, only for her mum to have become the Powell Estate's biggest entrepreneur, thanks to the suspicious Gluby-Glubs... All four stories are masterfully written and created in a perfect for narration style that gives you a further bit of insight than full-cast ones could, not forgetting the pinpoint direction from the Voice of the Village, Helen Goldwyn...

As these are chronicles, the cast list is notoriously small, but still brimming with talent, not least from the returning glory of Camille Codruri and Bruno Langley as Jackie Tyler and Adam Mitchell respectively. Regardless what you may think of these characters, it is an absolute delight to be reunited with them and ground these stories perfectly in their intended era. As well as them, we are joined by the formidable talents of Clare Wyatt and Laura Riseborough, helping with story-telling duties for the first two stories, with Riseborough giving a stellar turn as Emily Bronte. But the true star of this set is our glorious narrator and brilliant back-up Ninth Doctor, Nicholas Briggs, with his take on the Northern One being a nice blend of narrated impression and genuine attempt at recreation. Whilst Briggs might not be able to live up to the recreation standards of Hines, Treloar or Chapman, he tries his damned hardest here, and in the absence of Eccleston himself, it is most certainly a welcome attempt...

As for sound design and music, Ioan Morris and Rhys Downing, and Joe Meiners take on the respective duties for this boxset, and they show a brilliant attempt to evoke the sounds of Murray Gold himself. And like Briggs attempt, whilst they don't hit it perfectly, like Howard Carter in the Tenth Doctor Adventures, they make a valiant effort at doing so, whilst giving it their own unique spin. And as before, it is a welcome change of pace that shows a new spin on something now considered classic.

It's surprising how this seemed to come out of nowhere and how we are now lapping it up in our droves. From the writing to the cast to the directing and sound design, they all try their hardest to make sure this set hits its high point. And whilst it just falls short, it's still a welcome and damn fine effort and it will certainly be interesting to see what they do with Doctors Ten and Eleven in the future.

Lastly, the obvious plus side is we've more Ninth Doctor stories. That's always a win!

VERDICT: 9/10 Tiny titbits aside, a brilliant boxset and some new stories for a "FANTASTIC" Doctor! ;D

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Chronicles is available to purchase on CD and Download from the Big Finish Website here, or from all good stockists.

Cover (C) Tom Webster and Big Finish