Flip-flop (Doctor Who) [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

This is the forty sixth release from Big Finish in their range of full cast audio adventures starring classic Doctor Whos. It stars Sylvester McCoy as Seven and Bonnie Langford as Mel. There are four episodes, roughly 25-30 minutes each, complete with original theme music between each, and cliff hanger endings. Two episodes per disc on 2 discs, and a short booklet with some pictures of the cast and production notes.

This release is an interesting experiment in story telling. It's the story of a planet threatened by the obsequious and downright horrible Slithergee. There is a choice, defend themselves against the alien invader, or parley for peace. Each choice leads to a very different future for the planet. The story sees Mel and the Doctor arrive in one future, and in the `negative' of that story, we see the alternative timeline where they arrive in the other future. It's all rather complicated, as we see the two timelines interweave through the presence of the Doctor and his Tardis, and we see mirror images of the two futures tangle together.

It's a play all about symmetry, and as such it doesn't matter which disc you listen to as each start and end at the same place. Indeed there is no real start and end to the story, you could go round and round forever.

In its attempt to be clever the story does run the danger of vanishing up its own fundament. It is just about saved by the committed performances of McCoy and Langford, and the creation of the Slithergee, a great alien species who could do with another appearance. It's a bit dull by the end of the second disc, as you already know the story, just from another perspective. However, these experiments have to be made, its part of the fun of such a long running science fiction series with time travel that you can create all sorts of interesting paradoxes and story telling devices. There are alsoa few references to Frank Capra's Wonderful Life in some of the character names. It's an interesting idea, reasonably well executed, but its very nature means it drags a little on the second disc. 3 stars.

"Christmas Eve in the year 3060, and the planet Puxatornee is home to a prosperous human colony.

"A space craft has arrived in orbit carrying the Slithergees, a race of obsequious alien slugs. Their home world has been destroyed and they are humbly requesting permission to settle on the first moon.

"And if they don't get permission, then they are humbly threatening to declare all-out war.

"The future hangs in the balance. The decision rests with Bailey, the colony's president - but she has other things on her mind...

"Christmas Eve in the year 3090, and the planet Puxatornee has changed beyond all recognition.

"The Doctor and Mel arrive, on a completely unrelated mission to defeat a race of terrible monsters, and soon discover that something rather confusing has been happening to history..."

The oddly titled "Flip-Flop", by Jonathan Morris, is another experimental outing by Big Finish that turns out to be a great success. By an incredible feat of narrative complexity, Morris has created a four-part story split over two CDs that can be listened to in either order.

The principal conceit of "Flip-Flop" revolves around two parallel versions of history, originating from a single branch point thirty years previously, in both of which the Doctor and Mel arrive and end up becoming embroiled in a plot to change the history of the planet. Without spoiling too much of the plot, the result is a paradox in which the history of Puxatornee changes endlessly from one version back to the other. Neither is correct, and neither is incorrect, and it is entirely down to the listener's choice as to which CD to listen to first (the "black" CD or the "white" CD) to determine which version of history the listener is eventually left with.

Aside from the ingenious plotting that allows the events of both CDs to be reflected in the other, "Flip-Flop" isn't perfect. The human supporting characters are largely one-dimensional and serve only to implement the over-arching plot device. The Slithergees, however, are a great creation, being both sickeningly obsequious but utterly in control of the humans at the same time, and their lugubrious, gurgling voices only add to the effect. "Flip-Flop" is also somewhat depressing: either path through the history of the planet gives rise to utter misery for its inhabitants. However, with a clever conceit at its core, great performances from Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford and a well-crafted downbeat score, "Flip-Flop" is well worth a listen.

For me the best Big Finish Plays are those that keep your concentration from begining to last with a complex plot that needs a couple of relistens to fully get your head round.

Blink is often cited as one of the best ever TV episodes for its intricate plotting and i believe Flip Flop stands as one of the very best Big Finish Plays for this very same reason. Your head is often left boggling with the complexities thrown up by time travel (ie the cast of characters being in more than 1 place at 1 time) but Morris has obviously thought things through exceptionally well as i still cannot see a flaw in his design.

The biggest compliment i can give this play is that whenever i finish listening to it i want to go back to the begining and start all over again: not something i can say for many BF plays whose plots i find too linear.