Doctor Who – The Butcher of Brisbane

‘The Butcher of Brisbane’

Written by Marc Platt, directed by Ken Bentley
Released: June 2012
Story 161

The TARDIS is drawn off  course by time travel experiments in the 53rd Century. Facing an evil that he had thought forever in his past, the Doctor enters the bloody world of Magnus Greel, a villain whom he had defeated in his previous life in Victorian London. However, the Doctor must be careful to insure that history plays through its proper course while protecting his companions at the same time.

One of the most celebrated of the classic Doctor Who televised stories, Talons of Weng Chiang is a classic of immense proportions. The plot of Robert Holmes’s script was rather thin but the atmosphere and character was boundless. A time travelling war criminal trapped in Victorian London, Magnus Greel poses as a deity Weng Ching. Protected by a devilish gnome Mr. Sin, he draws wayward women of the night to the sewers in order to draw their life from them using future technology.

There were a few scattered hints at the world that Greel had escaped which Marc Platt drew from, developing a lush nightmarish realm. Nyssa and Turlough are separated by the Zigma energy and disappear three years in the past, lost in the tundra as bodies fall from the sky, sent there by Greel’s scientific adviser and resident madman, Findecker. Turlough and Nyssa manage to get involved with the underground, a group of journalists determined to expose Greel for the power-mad dictator that he is.

Three years later, the Doctor and Tegan arrive to find their lost traveling companions deeply entrenched in Greel’s inner circle with Nyssa lined up to marry him! The Doctor must carefully extract his friends from their situation, but before he can act he is captured by cybernetically enhanced dingoes with a basic intelligence and brought before Findecker who seems to know far more about the Doctor than he lets on. Facing gut-wrenching torture,  the Doctor resorts to his wits and escapes his capture by plying the dingo named Chopper with sweets.

For me, the Butcher of Brisbane is one of the most enjoyable Doctor Who stories by Big Finish to date. I had very low expectations (a prequel to one of the finest classic Who’s?), but the finished product is so polished and clever that it is a classic in its own right. The Doctor shines in this story, acting witty, clever, reserved and cannily wise all at once. It could be one of Peter Davison’s strongest outings as the Doctor. His interactions with Chopper the cyborg dingo are touching (I’m a big dog-lover) and side-splitting.

The supporting cast also comes out strong as Turlough and Nyssa play the espionage game in a not dissimilar fashion to Jamie and Victoria in the classic The Enemy of the World. There are some stark parallels to that story, I found, as Greel has put himself up as the best hope the world has for peace while secretly building his own private army for a massive war, one which the Doctor has already witnessed.

Actor Angus Wright is captivating as Greel, a charismatic madman who thinks that a doll using the brain of a pig is a good gift for a child.  There are so many solid gold moments in this adventure, but when Mr. Sin made his entrance as a bizarre birthday present, my mind leaped out the window.

The final part of a 5th Doctor trilogy (with The Emerald Tiger and The Jupiter Conjunction before it), The Butcher of Brisbane is a thrilling story that draws from the rich history of classic Doctor Who to tell a new adventure that is so unique yet nostalgic at the same time.

The Butcher of Brisbane can be ordered from The Book Depository with free shipping worldwide by clicking on the link below:

Doctor Who BBV – ‘The Barnacled Baby’

‘The Barnacled Baby’

Written by Anthony Keetch, directed by Paul Griggs
Released July 2001

Stranded in Victorian London, a Zygon becomes the centerpiece of a seedy freak show. Weak and confused, the creature becomes coddled by showman Jethro’s daughter, in a state of deranged grief over the loss of her stillborn child. Nick-named Bobby, the Zygon is seen only as an opportunity for monetary gain. A member of high society attempts to purchase the oddity from Jethro with no luck.

Greatly influenced by the plight of Joseph Merrick (aka the Elephant Man), the Zygon named Demeris survives the indignities heaped upon him by the dregs of humanity. Unlike Merrick, however, the Zygon vainly attempts to contact his people via a damaged communication device. Needing lactic fluid from a Sarasen, ‘Bobby’ is breast-fed by Doris in one of the weirdest and most disturbing moments I have ever encountered.

Doris’ beau Toby (played by author Anthony Keetch), is horrified to find that his love has fallen so far into madness. He also discovered that his stillborn child has been reshaped into another attraction, the cadaver sewn to the bottom half of a fish. Toby also sees an opportunity to gain substantial revenue from stealing both Doris and the Barnacled Baby from Jethro and hitting the road. Unknown to everyone, Demeris’ strength is returning, but he realizes that he must choose his moment of liberation carefully. A visit from Queen Victoria produces the ideal moment… but not in a way that anyone could predict.

Here’s a sample!

The Barnacled Baby is a dark and twisted story of human depravity and the horror of everyday suffering and desperation. The Zygon himself is surrounded by such spine-tingling characters that when he finally shows his hand, it’s the pinnacle of the gory tale.

On screen, the Zygons remain one of the spookiest and most striking of Doctor Who monsters, despite having only appeared once. One may think that their ability to shape-shift would form the backbone of this story, but it is rather their monstrous appearance and dedication to dominate all others that marks the Zygons here.

Barnacled Baby is one of several audio releases by BBV, a production company headed by Bill Baggs that followed the Doctor Who legacy after Survival aired in 1989. From video production as grand as the Zero Imperative that starred almost every living actor and actress to ever work in Who to small audio projects such as this, BBV was an innovative and bold company that paved the way to the future. By taking public domain monsters such as the Autons, Krynoid and Wirrn, BBV was able to further develop the mythology of Doctor Who without stepping on any very prominent legal toes.

Author Anthony Keetch has some lovely behind the scenes images at his personal site along with samples.

The cast and crew are top notch and the script is polished. Alongside the regular cast members is Deborah Watling (one time companion Victoria) playing the Queen and other character parts and she’s a real treasure.

Obtaining a copy of this story is not easy by any stretch, but Bill Baggs has been selling reference copies of the deleted audio catalog on ebay here. If you have a strong stomach and are interested in a more horrific and grim adaptation of the Doctor Who universe, it’s worth listening to.

It can also be ordered from Mike’s Comics.

Doctor Who BBC Audio- Hornet’s Nest Part 1

The Stuff of Nightmares

By Paul Magrs
Released 3 September 2009
“This was how the dead came stealing in. Pad-pad-pad on stuffing-filled limbs.”

Mike Yates had retired and thought that his days of adventure were behind him. His time as a Captain in U.N.I.T. were exciting, but so long ago. When a job posting surfaced for a man with experience with giant maggots and other strange phenomena, he let his curiosity get the better of him and investigated.

Mike finds his old friend the Doctor not looking a day older than the last moment they had met, living in a cottage in the country. Somewhat strange and distracted, the Doctor is anxious for company and has a tale to tell. He pleads for Yates to stay with him as a companion as he fears that he is losing a battle with forces too horrible to imagine.

That night, Mike is awakened by a beast in his bedroom. The Doctor arrives and hypnotizes it to sleep. Only then does Mike realize that the creature is actually long dead and stuffed. The Doctor has filled his cottage with stuffed animals, all of which are controlled by an alien intelligence, kept in check by the Doctor’s force of will.

What follows is an extensive narrative in which the Doctor unravels a yarn of high adventure, strange characters and creatures with origami brains driven by alien hornets. It’s a marvelously inventive script and caters to the elderly Baker’s colorful and witty personality. Far more bubbly and charismatic than he was on television, this is a very different, somewhat deranged version of the Doctor than we are used to (even by Baker’s extraordinary standards!).

Though unrelated to Big Finish, Tom Baker’s return to Doctor Who through this BBC Audio project was a major turning point for fans and pointed the way toward the actor’s eventual return to the scarf that still fits so well. The format is entirely different and relies entirely on the storytelling ability of Tom Baker, Richard Franklin and the superb Susan Jameson who voices the shrewd housemaid Mrs Wibbsey. However, Daniel Hill does fly into the camp stratosphere with his characterization of the villainous Percy Noggins, but to be honest I can’t see any other way he could have been played.

I must admit that I was quite put off by Hornet’s Nest on first listen. I had grown familiar with the Big Finish style of drama and a straight narrative held no interest for me, even when it was Tom Baker’s deep tones. But after that initial shock passed, it grew on me. It’s very different, of a far lighter material than most Who, and certainly cut from a different cloth than the Big Finish Productions.

Hornet’s Nest is told over several parts (five in all) and consists of a lot of chatting over tea or spirits in the Doctor’s cottage. It’s an odd way to tell an adventure, but very British as well, I suppose. For what it is, I really do enjoy these stories and their absurd comedic quality is appreciated.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

Available from Amazon and Mike’s Comics.

Read other Big Finish/BBC Audio reviews at the Daily P.O.P.