STORY PLACEMENT THIS STORY TAKES PLACE AFTER THE BIG FINISH AUDIO DRAMA "THICKER THAN WATER" AND IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE BIG FINISH AUDIO DRAMA "THE VANITY BOX."
PRODUCTION CODE 7C/V
WRITTEN BY PAUL MAGRS
DIRECTED BY JOHN AINSWORTH
RECOMMENDED PURCHASE BIG FINISH CD#97 (ISBN 1-84435-284-5) RELEASED IN JULY 2007.
BLURB What can it mean when the Doctor and Mel are drawn to an asteroid by a message from the strange, elderly Applewhite sisters? The travellers are promised that they will receive their dearest wishes when they enter the frozen forests of this benighted shard of a world. But the ghosts that haunt this place are desperate to warn the Doctor about the sisters' promises. Only the ghosts know the true nature of the legendary Wishing Beast. |
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The Wishing Beast JULY 2007 (3 EPISODES)
Paul Magrs unquestionably has a flair for crafting Doctor Who stories that have a decidedly unusual feel. More so than most writers, Magrs inimitable stamp can be felt in almost every line of every script that he writes. Unfortunately, Magrs stamp is not necessarily one of quality – his ‘bonkers’ efforts range from the abysmal to the sublime… and, in my book at least, “The Wishing Beast” falls into the former category.
“A forest, an old creaking house, a few spirits drifting about in the shadows…”
Magrs story sees the Doctor and Mel visit a desolate world and find two old crones – the Applewhite sisters – living in isolation. In the CD Extras, Bonnie Langford compares these two sisters to the Rezzies in “Paradise Towers”, and she is bang on the mark. Superficially harmless, Eliza and Maria harbour dark secrets and wicked intentions that would not be out of place in one of Aesop’s fables. Geraldine Newman and Doctor Who veteran Jean Marsh clearly relish playing the two old witches, but despite their spirited performances and the evocative near-fairytale setting, the sister’s element of the story did not grip me in the slightest.
The Wishing Beast itself was a little bit more interesting as Magrs explored the boy inside the monster – Daniel. At ten years old, young Daniel had wished to be a monster so that he could scare his two sisters. Simon Holub’s astonishing cover design shows Daniel in all his monstrous glory clutching The Wishing Beast box – the box that granted Daniel’s wish and then consumed him.
On the CD Extras front, the content was just as insightful as usual – I am salivating for a ‘Big Finish lunch’ as I write this – and Bonnie Langford’s interview about the new series was especially interesting. However, I get the distinct impression that Nicholas Briggs did not have much to do with these extras… and it shows. Some common sense stuff – like announcing the name of the person who is about to speak – is conspicuously absent. Fair dues, you do not need to announce Baker, Langford, or even Jean Marsh but even the most devoted of Who fans are going to have a hard time recognising the voice of the sound designer (no offence, Gareth!) Nevertheless, no matter how pretty the covers are and how crammed with extras the CDs are, if the stories are not great people are not going to subscribe.
On the whole, I found Big Finish’s ninety-seventh release to be intensely disappointing.
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Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2007
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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