Doctor Who Big Finish- Storm Warning

Storm Warning

“You’re a very persuasive fellow- I’d have you on staff… if you weren’t being shot.”

Story 16 Written by Alan Barnes
Released January 2001

The first Big Finish production featuring Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor, Storm Warning is the initial step in constructing an ambitious legacy. As is well-known, McGann’s Doctor was only featured in the pilot TV Movie co-production in 1996. There are many opinions on this film and its success or failure, but what nearly everyone agrees upon is the inspired casting of Paul McGann as the Doctor. The most handsome and romantically inclined version of the character to date, much of the planned direction of the new Doctor was left on the cutting room floor as the pilot failed to attract a strong enough following in the US (scheduled against the final episode of the popular sitcom Rosanne, this was hardly a surprise). The Eighth Doctor had already received copious material in two mediums, the original novels published by BBC Books and the long-running comic strip in Doctor Who Magazine. But neither of these adaptations of the Doctor used the actor Paul McGann who had lent so much personality to the program.

Storm Warning is greatly assisted by Alan Barnes’ script and its understanding of Doctor No. 8. As the writer of the Eighth Doctor’s adventures in Doctor Who Magazine over five years, he had taken what was initially a shell of a character into a fully fleshed-out incarnation of the Time Lord’s latest persona.

Storm Warning finds the Doctor apparently in the same place we left him in the final scene of the TV Movie, puttering about the TARDIS. He is shaken from his reverie as his craft is caught in the wake of another time ship’s explosion in the Vortex. To add to the frenzy of activity, a swarm of flying predators called vortisaurs arrives, forcing the Doctor to land. He soon finds himself on the doomed airship R-101 and in typical Doctor Who fashion, all is not what it seems.

The adventure introduces a new companion, the brave and sassy Charley Pollard who is out in the world looking for danger and excitement only to collide head first with the Doctor. India Fisher makes for a sparkling addition to the long list of companions and matches the Eight Doctor’s enthusiasm for action and his romantic sensitivity as well. Another welcome cast member is Blake’s 7 alum Gareth Thomas as the blustering Lord Tamworth who proves to be far more complicated than the two-dimensional caricature he appears to be at first.

Art by Lee Sullivan

Discovered on the maiden voyage of the R-101, the Doctor is hardly welcome. Thinking quickly, he conjures up a hastily constructed cover story of being a German spy and even attempts a broad accent. This apparently does the trick as nearly everyone buys the story, especially since a mere stow away would have been shot while a political spy would demand more complicated treatment.

The Doctor is mostly concerned with tracking down and taming the rogue vortisor that followed him from the Time Vortex while maintaining the web of time and not getting involved in an historical disaster, but there are far more interesting things afoot aboard the airship, chiefly the mystery surrounding a special passenger restricted to his (?) quarters. Uncovering the identity of the passenger reveals that the Lord Tamworth’s presence isn’t just to provide a loud British presence to the journey, but to represent to the Crown on a special mission.

I won’t dwell too much on the ‘meat’ of the story to save the surprises for anyone who has not listened to this one, but it has so many more levels and provides opportunities for the entire cast to stretch and grow in the four installments (I still can’t figure out why these stories are separated with opening and closing music as I am listening to it at home rather than experiencing it as a transmitted piece, but never mind. I suppose it helps to carry the ‘mystique’ of the program and as this is generally regarded as ‘series 27’ following the McCoy era, it is perfectly sensible.

As I have said before, I had refrained from dipping into the Big Finish audio adventures for some time simply because I thought it a poor substitute for the ‘real thing.’ However, the more that I listen to these productions, the more I am impressed that the Big Finish team have a deeper understanding of the Doctor Who mythos than I at first imagined. All of the magic and intelligence of classic Doctor Who is present in these tales so if you are a fan of the old stuff, dig in!

Doctor Who – Storm Warning can be purchased at local retailers and online from Big Finish.

Read other Big Finish reviews at the Daily P.O.P. here.