Curiosity Shop [AUDIO/2023.2.21]

★★★☆☆

  As a story that looks fondly upon its show's past (i.e. the incredibly entertaining shtick Jacob Dudman pulls off impersonating an assorted succession of Doctors), I would say that All of Time and Space is a more refreshing and original take on the celebratory nature of the adventure. Curiosity Shop, for all its impressive performances -- especially from Dudman, he has to act out the personalities of no less than eight incarnations of the Doctor -- it fails to be quite as interesting or as gripping as the first story of the boxset. Apart from the notion that the Doctor forgets who he is and acts like his previous incarnations, this doesn't stand out from the myriad of stories where the Doctor develops amnesia and forgets who they are. It's a shame, because there are still quite a few standout elements; chief among them is another memorable showcase of Valarie Lockwood, whose belief in the Doctor and the TARDIS is so strong that she is willing to give away parts of her body to help the cause. Curiosity Shop, then, can be used as a good example of how the Doctor instills such a strong sense of hope that their companions are, by default, in a position of danger as they plunge into danger and sacrifice themselves for the Doctor. Taking into account how the Doctor reacts to Valarie's justified rage at the conclusion of the adventure, it's certainly a more reflective and careful portrayal of the character -- they don't really abide by our human sense of morality and compassion. Not really.

  Anyway, Curiosity Shop's still really good and I would recommend it to any fan willing to try out some of Big Finish's lesser known releases. Derek Griffiths has a ball playing the confused shop owner who starts to believe he's actually the Doctor, and Safiyya Ingar gives their absolute all as Valarie (again, this is another fantastic performance from them -- but I would hesitate to call it Valarie's finest hour as she literally tears herself apart for the Doctor and almost goes through the Dr. Who equivalent of torture porn). Let's not forget Dudman's super impressive performance as multiple incarnations of the Doctor, of course; he's incredibly good at catching the slight mannerisms and tones of each of the Doctors. He struggles a bit with Six, but nobody's perfect. All things considered, the 11/Valarie adventures are turning out to be such a consistently strong run of stories.