The Dreams of Avarice [AUDIO/2022.6.21]

★★★☆☆

  John Heffernan's Nine is such a wonderful character. As much as I love Mark Bonnar's later incarnation (as he was the one that started it all in The Eleven), there's an entirely unique charm to this juvenile kleptomaniac that defies explanation. He's simply one of the best original villains -- or incarnations of original villains -- Big Finish has come up with. It's no surprise, then, that I very much enjoyed my time with The Dreams of Avarice. It's not the most remarkable of heist stories in Doctor Who, nor is it the most exciting venture into a Time Lord's mind (at least two superior examples come to mind -- Timewyrm: Revelation and Caerdroia); however, one special element can make even the most serviceable stories into a delightful romp, and I can't praise Heffernan's talents enough for that. 

  Another aspect that makes The Dreams of Avarice a slight cut above the myriad of intergalactic heist tales is Tom Baker as the Doctor... alone. It took me an entire episode to realise why this four-parter felt different from most Fourth Doctor audios I've listened to, and that's the lack of any established companion for the Doctor to talk expository lines to. This particular Doctor is hard to imagine without friends, and so this fact alone lends the story an unpredictable edge, as if we truly don't know what the Doctor's going to get up to this time. With these two strong elements, a handful of imagination (the ultimate heist -- finding an entire planet filled to the brim with valuable goodies, and then shrinking it down to size for your carrying convenience) and a subtle taster of a mystery to come, this is one Fourth Doctor audio drama for even the most adamant of the range's detractors. Hey, any story that makes me go 'I would like more of that in a Big Finish range!' is a winner in some respect.