The Eight Truths / Worldwide Web [AUDIO/2009.5.30 ~ 6.20]

★★★☆☆

  The Eighth Doctor Adventures range from Big Finish has always been the company's adaptation of the New Series formula, and this finale to the third series is unfortunately in the latter half of my quality scale (out of the four EDA series). It's not terrible by any means, but it's a very middle-of-the-road exercise with little in the way of genuine excitement for me. You've got mass panic, chaos brought onto the world resulting in an almost dystopian and cynical post-mortem on the human lifestyle, recurring series villains making a return with a surprise classic series monster re-appearance -- this is Russell T Davies' Dr. Who without the heart and joy of Russell T Davies, and the result is something that is baseline entertaining but failing to be more than that.

  That said, the pastiche is still a very enjuyable pastiche and I can't complain too much. Both Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith are at the top of their game, and Eddie Robson has a lot of fun with the Eight Legs and putting them in a cult setting. Like many new series finale two-parters, the first "episode" is much more appealing than the second (which for me boils down to a lot of noise), but I wouldn't call the first installment a hit either. The Eight Truths definitely has its strengths -- and it has more strengths than weaknesses, let's get that out of the way -- but it's a bit too middle-of-the-road for me to genuinely latch onto it. Robson commits the ultimate sin in my eyes and makes a Dr. Who story that doesn't feel ambitious in any way. It's dormant, content to be what it is and refusing to budge. There are so many more interesting ways the story could've tackled the cult aspect of the Eightfold Truth and the implementation of the Eight Legs in general, but alas, the new series formula wouldn't allow for such exploration. We get plenty of action in exchange, though, and McGann's total involvement makes it enjoyable.

  The Eight Truths and Worldwide Web make up a fun little two-parter, but it's clear that the series and Big Finish itself were slowly getting used to a certain formula. It was clear they needed a shift, and I'm glad to know that the next series would be that exact change. This series 3 finale, though, is alright to listen to on its own. I still have my gripes about it, but at the end of the day it didn't offend me in any way other than by being so unambitious.