Light the Flame [AUDIO/2021.6.22]

★★★★☆

  I highly recommend listening to the behind the scenes featurette for this one, because it gives you a new perspective on how Big Finish chose Jonathon Carley, how he prepared for the role and how Big Finish (and director Louise Jameson, who's fantastic in bringing this production alive, by the way) prepared him for the star of an audio drama series. It's clear they put a bit more thought into the recasting process than usual, and I appreciate that extra effort; the late great Sir John Hurt left a huge impact on the world, let alone Dr. Who, Those are big shoes to fill in any sense, and I must say that when I first heard of this release, I was pretty skeptical.

  Well, if this first installment is anything to go by, consider me a convert. Carley is magnificent, not just as an impersonator of Hurt, but as the actor for the newly-regenerated War Doctor. Just listen as he mourns the death of Cass, allows himself to reflect on the loss of an innocent life for just the right amount, and then decides that he's mourned as much as he's allowed to. That's some powerful stuff, and I'm really glad to say that Carley is fantastic in the role. I can definitely see him become the definitive voice actor for the War Doctor in future years, given more time and material. Speaking of, Matt Fitton's script is so delicate with emotions and a sense of dread tha tthis Doctor might not have long before war comes crashing down on him. It's laden with great lines, better characterisations, and a narrative which allows listeners to fully take in how war's changed the Doctor, and the Time Lords as a whole. It's telling that the "villain" of the piece is a Time Lord war hero who used to be a traveller like the Doctor, who chose the greater good and authorised a mass killing of innocents. Karn, then, with its giant fire monster as it devours this Time Lord for her crimes, acts as a representation of the rest of the universe, the innocent planets and galaxies not part of the war who nonetheless have to suffer its consequences. Perhaps setting Light the Flame immediately after The Night of the Doctor was a decision by Fitton so that he could spend the story on Karn, as a reminder to this new incarnation that his war is capable of destroying reality as he knows it?

  The fact that this release got me thinking so much about its subtext and its themes is a good thing. IT's been a while since a Big Finish release got me excited this way, and I'm very hopeful for my further explorations into the War Doctor Begins range. Light the Flame is a fantastic post-regeneration story, and one fitting for a Doctor of war.