Companion Piece [AUDIO/2019.4.9]

★★★☆☆

  I'd be lying if this didn't scratch the very fan-brainy itch I always had up my back with its impressive list of companions, even though a vast majority of them are merely cameos. I suppose the audio drama would've been quite long -- as long as John Dorney's writing process would've been, most certainly -- had they given all the companions featured here a key role. Oh well, I'll settle with Bliss and Charley leading an episode with Liv and Chenka for one sweet little audio drama, while River is out there inhabiting the Doctor role for the day. Alex Kingston has already proven time and time again that she's an excellent lead, so there was never any doubt there. The biggest question for me was whether four different Eighth Doctor companions could carry an entire Ravenous installment on their own... and I'm delighted to report that the answer is a clear yes.

  India Fisher and Rekhee Thakrar develop an instant chemistry both between themselves and amongst the other two Eighth Doctor mainstays, and their involvement seems to give Nicola Walker and Hattie Morahan the energy boost they need to be even better than usual. Maybe it's that there's no silly Doctor to hog most of the audio runtime, eh? I mean, sure, River's practically taking over that role as I mentioned earlier, but she's less all-encompassing as she's tied up by the Nine. The Nine, by the way -- still one of my favourite Big Finish original recurring villains (and yes, I'm counting all the incarnations of this Collective as separate characters), and John Heffernan is such a charmer. He's lapping up the scene wherever he goes, and it's pretty self-evident that Big Finish has struck gold with his casting when he's more than a match for Alex Kingston being all larger-than-life! The central narrative is pretty darn simple, but the meat around the bone is where the sauce is at, and lemme tell you, Companion Piece has got some serious sauce if you're in the mood for it. Charley, Bliss, Liv, Helen and River? Plus mentions of Frobisher and short appearances from Katarina? Someone, somewhere, has Companion Piece as their all-time favourite Big Finish audio drama, and their reasons would be valid. This was tailor made to thrill companion nuts, and it's something of a wet dream for me as well. Good stuff.