Mind of the Hodiac [AUDIO/2022.3.30]

★★★☆☆

  It's no surprise that Mind of the Hodiac has pretty big rough spots — this is Russell T Davies' very first Doctor Who script, after all, written at a very young age and hardly revised (from what I've been told). I could tell that if a few proper revisions were made, this would've been a much more digestible experience... but at the same time, I don't think this would've had that 'surprisingly well-crafted fanfiction' charm if it was revised at all. That's what this is, fanfiction from RTD's past brought to life by the dependable hands of Big Finish — and guess what? It's pretty darn good.

  Its strongest aspect is definitely the focus on family, and the bonds that tie between each other. The Hodiac may be a two-being entity with incredible powers, but it is also the eldest member of a three-generation family living in a modest flat. When the Doctor meets this alien from beyond the stars, all she's ever been to her family was a kind mother and a grandmother, telling bedtime stories to the granddaughter about all the stars, all the planets she's witnessed. Even with all the sci-fi shenanigans going on, some being fascinating (like the villainous Hodiac's accumulation of money through manipulating intergalactic stock exchange) and some being less so (the entire religion nut science experiment laboratory side, actually... though I guess it was an essential part of the story that was needed for the climax), this is very much a story about a normal family with normal generational strains. RTD's "one foot firmly on Earth" approach to Doctor Who has always been the case, it seems, and this audio story benefits from it.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  I'm not here to say Mind of the Hodiac will turn your world upside down, but it is a fascinating look into what could have been (apparently, this was in Andrew Cartmel's consideration before the show was cancelled in 1989), as well as an indicator for what Russell T Davies would bring to the table with the advent of the New Series. Colin Baker may be showing his age as the days go by, but he's never faltered as the Sixth Doctor yet — in this adventure, a poetic wanderer who quotes children's books left, right and centre, and chuckles to himself a lot. He and Bonnie Langford's Mel are delightful as always, so if you're interested in what RTD's Doctor Who in the eighties might have been, give this a go.