Her Final Flight [AUDIO/2004.12.?]

★★★★☆

  You just have to love an adventure written by someone who only did this Dr. Who gig once and dipped. Julian Shortman's a mystery to me to this day, and I'm rather sad that they never got to write for it again... because Her Final Flight's quite fantastic. Yes, it's a rather tried-and-true trope of a simulation world with significant character exploration done just so the writer doesn't have to care about consequences or continuity, but I have a fondness for simulation worlds designed to ramp up character angst between two leads (especially if one of them's had a less-than-desirable exit from the show). Colin Baker sounds so incredibly distraught and tired that it sells the audio drama so well; it's rather scary at times how devoid of hope he sounds in some scenes, and how utterly distraught he sounds as he finds himself losing Peri once again. Baker is simply one of the best actors to ever have played the Dcotor, and it's this audio drama that proves that notion to be true.

  It's not just Baker that excels, though; Nicola Bryant gives a great performance as well, and Gary Russell's direction never ceases to amaze. For an adventure with cult-like worshipping of a dying TARDIS, there's a really haunting and lovely choir chant reminiscent of medieval monk tunes (performed by a real choir as well, St James's Singers!), and the dying environmental rhythms of a sickly planet. Then there's the reverberant, claustrophobic interior sounds of the spaceship the Doctor's actually trapped in, and that setting towards the end of the story is where we get some really grisly moments -- such as the Doctor's assailant thinking she's killing him by some very violent methods... except it's all in her heads, of course, and the Doctor himself is projecting these graphic images into her head. Her Final Flight is a sweet, almost-forgotten hour-long Big Finish audio drama that's right up my alley. I'm very proud to own a physical copy of this one, two if we're counting the mint-condition one I accidentally got as part of a delivering mishap (thank you, Big Finish). Genuinely riveting stuff, and just the right sort of fix you're looking for angst, doom and gloom sci-fi and a Doctor in peril.