The Gift [AUDIO/2016.3.3]

★★★★☆

  In which Doctor Who starts talking like a prophetic madman in a play and decides to cut his hair!

  Whenever Paul McGann is on fire, something special happens. It happened in The Stones of Venice, it happened in the majority of Series 4 of the Eighth Doctor Adventures, and it happens slap bang in the middle of The Gift. Whenever he's given something truly special (especially when that something takes his Doctor to a new, fascinating direction), McGann steps up his already high game and becomes the Doctor — the definite article. Marc Platt's The Gift (at this stage, Platt's name alone should send shivers down your spine) portrays the Doctor as a character whose mind exists on a plane totally different to ours; he strides about a city on the brink of a destructive earthquake speaking in riddles and looking for a barber. He thinks cutting his hair will clear his mind, apparently. He quotes plays, regards every person and event in a wistful manner, and seems to hold all the answers while knowing absolutely nothing. Just listen to the final act, when Caleera gives the Doctor the Gift (another fantastic idea: a curse/psychic weapon engineered by Caleera to exploit the host's desires) and he almost trembles with omnipotent power. Between this and Lies in Ruins, McGann's portrayal of toying with awesome power has got to be one of the highlights of listening to Big Finish audios. 

  I haven't listened to The Gift in a while, and I must say I'm very pleasantly surprised by how amazing this turned out to be. The allusions to the 1996 TV movie (hearing the Doctor ramble on about "death and rebirth in this city" is worth the entire boxset in my humble opinion), the disasterous earthquake that acts as a great dramatic set peice, the colorful characters and, of course, Marc Platt's obvious love for literature (in this case, poetry and theatre)... they make The Gift what it is and I can't be happier with the result. I'd go as far as to say I think The Gift is the strongest adventure out of the first eight Doom Coalition stories; it's sublime.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  I almost forgot that this was the first appearance of River Song in the Eighth Doctor's chronology (at least, in the sense of release dates). There's an air of excitement and mystery as the Doctor, Liv and Helen hear the distant sound of a vortex manipulator and get a message that says, "Hello sweetie". Cue The Diary of River Song's title music, and roll credits — what an awesome way to end an adventure.