Better Watch Out / Fairytale of Salzburg [AUDIO/2018.10.9]

★★★★★

  As an acquaintance of mine once said, the Eighth Doctor seems to have an absolute banger of a Christmas release in every Big Finish era. It happened with The Chimes of Midnight, it happened with Death in Blackpool, and now we have Better Watch out and Fairytale in Salzburg, a two-parter that more than justifies its overwhelmingly positive reputation in the fandom. I couldn't remember much about it after my (admittedly hasty) first listen when this came out all those years ago, but this second evaluation has proved that it's just as wonderful as everyone says.

  With Paul McGann fired up for Christmas yet again (the man seems to love the festivities, and who can blame him?), we have a story of heartbreak, loss and love that's willing to dip into the area of the surreal and the unexplained -- something both the tradition of Christmas stories and the modern Eighth Doctor trend called for. It's no secret that this Doctor's boxset adventures have mostly been technobabble-based (which have been the norm since 2012) and were too busy bringing up Daleks and universe-ending chronometers and whatnot; I enjoy that side of Dr. Who tremendously, but it's still very nice that John Dorney remembered how the show can account for practically any form of fiction. This is primarily about two families under threat of eviction by a greedy man (one of the nastiest humans you'll ever have the misfortune to witness in a Who adventure), and a girl who makes the wrong wish and brings hell upon the Earth -- this is as fantastical as it comes in Who (at least these days), and I don't know about you, but I'm lapping all this up gladly. Truly beautiful imagery, such as Salzburg in wintertime, and the Krampus's clawed hand bursting through the ground (State of Decay, anyone?), is abundant here, and Dorney relishes in making the most impossible occurrences entirely possible through the granting of a single wish.

  The emotions are flowing, with Helen making the ultimate sacrifice to bring this fantastical story to a close and Liv being visibly heartbroken by the sacrifice of someone she loves, and the very real issue of homelessness brought up to the forefront for some heady drama. The atmosphere is sumptuous with Christmas music and hellish ambience, and the narrative tops itself each time with crazier and crazier set pieces and revelations -- and I love this a lot. Better Watch Out / Fairytale of Salzburg is a modern masterpiece of the Big Finish Eighth Doctor adventures, another John Dorney hit that harkens back to when he was Big Finish's golden boy (he still got it in him), and a wonderful showcase of Liv and Helen's status as two of the Doctor's most iconic companions on audio. Imaginative, creative, fun and creepy at the same time... how can you not fall in love with it?