Colditz [AUDIO/2001.10.22]

★★★☆☆

  Colditz is a fun one to talk about, because whenever people hear that Elizabeth Klein is a Nazi scientist who becomes the Seventh Doctor's companion and gest angry over that, it's a good way to know that they've never listened to this, and that they've also never gone remotely close to A Thousand Tiny Wings... which should be the two essential Big Finish releases to gain enough knowledge about her to say they know her.

  Apart from that little tangent, this is pretty solid stuff. I wouldn't call it an absolute classic, mind, but even separated from the fact that it retroactively became one of the most important early releases from Big Finish, it's a rock-solid thriller drama that pits the Seventh Doctor and Ace under the deadly gaze of the Nazis at the height of World War II. Part prison escape, part sci-fi time paradox horror, and part David Tennant being the most sleazy bastard on Earth, Colditz features some great direction, a host of wonderful performances (Sylvester McCoy's very much having an on day, his Doctor being portrayed as a mysterious creature from the future and his rising up to the challenge with much aplomb), and a great commentary on how the Doctor "chooses" the realities he decides to subscribe to, Does the Doctor really see history "as it is", or is he just as bad as Klein when it comes to defending his own understanding of how it should be? This is all appreciated by me under the opinion and knowledge that obviously I'm not saying the Doctor's bad in any way for choosing to help beat the Nazis... simply that for Nazi scientist/amateur time traveller Klein, that rhetoric holds logic. Tracey Childs brings that fascinating morally grey character to life with great ease, and together with the already-mentioned great turn by McCoy and a genuinely authentic portrayal of Ace by Sophie Aldred, three very strong lead performances lead a well-written, tense audio drama. Sometimes, what more can you want?