Doctor Who - The One Doctor

STORY PLACEMENT

THIS STORY TAKES

PLACE BETWEEN THE

NOVEL "INSTRUMENTS

OF DARKNESS" AND

THE BIG FINISH AUDIO

"THE JUGGERNAUTS."

PRODUCTION CODE

7C/R

WRITTEN BY

GARETH ROBERTS &

CLAYTON HICKMAN

DIRECTED BY

GARY RUSSELL

RECOMMENDED

PURCHASE

BIG FINISH CD#27

(ISBN 1-903654-56-4)

RELEASED IN DECEMBER

2001.

BLURB

it looks as though the

Doctor's luck has run

out. Who is the

mysterious, curly-

haired stranger who

insists on causing

trouble? What role

does the feisty

redhead Melanie play

in his scheme? And

what have they to do

with the sinister

alien cylinder

approaching

Generios?

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The One Doctor

DECEMBER 2001

(4 EPISODES)

As the title suggests, “The One Doctor” is a light-hearted celebratory romp very much in the spirit of the anniversary specials “The Three Doctors” and “The Five Doctors.” Thankfully, it does not go as far as parodies like Comic Relief’s “The Curse of Fatal Death” and

Children In Need’s “Dimensions In Time,” but nevertheless it is still littered with in-jokes and obscure nods to the past. Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman’s script gently pokes fun at some of the weaker elements of Doctor Who, in doing so ironically showing off the show’s strongest asset – its versatility.

The plot is based on a lovely idea. At “the vulgar end of time” intergalactic conman Banto Zame masquerades as the legendary Doctor, using hoax threats such as the amusingly-named ‘Skelloids’ to endanger a planet, only to arrive in the nick of time, save the world and be rewarded handsomely. Christopher Biggins is superb as Zame; brash, arrogant, and cowardly, though it is his ‘assistant,’ the hopelessly unlucky in love Sally-Anne (Claire Buckfield) who provides the bulk of the comedy throughout, especially in her scenes with Colin Baker where she makes her attraction to the real Doctor clear!

Matt Lucas - now familiar to millions along with his cohort, Big Finish veteran David Walliams, thanks to their wonderful Little Britain series – is given a chance to prove his versatility as both the Jelloid and the Cylinder; his song as the Jelloid is amusing, but is nothing compared the hilarity of the whole ‘missed delivery’ saga. He waits in for millions of years, than pops out for two minutes and misses it! I really can sympathise.

Colin Baker’s sixth Doctor and Bonnie Langford’s Mel are both at ease in their more comic roles, Mel not actually grating quite as much in this pantomimic story. Jelloids, Skelloids, the Weakest Link, the dusting off of the time-space visualiser and even Baker’s “…and a

Merry Christmas to all of you at home…” are just a few of wonderful little touches that breathe life into “The One Doctor” - an audio play that lovingly celebrates nearly forty years

of Doctor Who.

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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