Flatpack [AUDIO/2022.11.23]

★★★☆☆

  If nothing else, Flatpack serves as a wonderful demonstration of just how pivotal Nicola Walker and her portrayal of Liv Chenka have become for Big Finish's Doctor Who. After about a decade and a year since her introduction in Robophobia, Liv's come such a long way as a character; she knows more about the Doctor and how he operates than most other companions, she's been through hell and back with him and his TARDIS several times, and now she's settled down with Tania Bell from the Stranded series, living a normal life and going shopping on weekends. Even with this drastic change in her life, one look at something beyond ordinary and she's back being the no-nonsense Kaldoran medtech whose savvy and quick wit has saved both her and the Doctor's lives countless times; I've come to be head over heels for Walker, and her performances are always unique among the many Big Finish companions. She's just... different, and she gels immediately well with the similarly down-to-earth Ninth Doctor.

  Christopher Eccleston also seems to get the feeling of this adventure immediately, acting a little colder and more distant than usual (possibly to show how the Time War's affected him, and because the Eighth Doctor post-Dark Eyes -- when he and Liv travelled together -- was a wildly different beast from the widely known breathless romantic), creating a nice divide between him and his former companions. He also gets to don a posh London accent for the role of the manager of the mysterious Flatpack, and it's a testament to his acting skills that it didn't click for me until halfway (the voices weren't even modulated, they simply had a mask muffle effect on them). It's also great to find out that Eccleston and Walker have an immedately palpable chemistry -- have they acted in other works before? -- and make it believable that these are two old friends. I just love it when new series Doctors interact with EU companions, and so this is something of a dream come true situation.

  Flatpack isn't the story to end all stories; its concept (and first half) is much stronger than its conclusion, certainly. That said, there's no part of it that actively disagrees with me, and Nicola Walker, Rebecca Root and Chris Eccleston are simply amazing at their roles at this point. There's an energy of excitement in the air, as if they know this is something new (an entire adventure set inside a weird shopping mall, in which Liv has to save the day because Tania and the Doctor have been ensnared into becoming breathless shopaholics). I could do with some more new names in the director's seat, though; Ken Bentley's good, but he's practically Big Finish's house director at this point. Surely, more opportunities for new blood are important for creativity?