The One Doctor (Doctor Who) [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

While the concept of dodgy characters impersonating the hero(es) of a show for personal gain certainly isn't new, The One Doctor brings the idea to Doctor Who with a fresh and often cheeky spin.

Colin Baker proves that he really did have the mettle to take on the role of the Doctor and was wasted during his all-too-brief stint as the Doctor on the TV series. Bonnie Langford is also a pleasure to listen to, retaining the bubbliness of of Mel from the TV series without any of the grating qualities the fans despised. The interplay between Chistopher Biggins and Clare Buckfield as the phony Doctor and his companion Sally-Anne is also great fun.

The play avoids most of the pitfalls that the audios can suffer ("Look Doctor, what's that slimy-looking creature hiding behind that enormous grey rock over there?") and often has some subtle (and affectionate) digs at the TV series, even Big Finish does not escape unscathed. Watch out for the hilarious robotic double act in part three.

Purists may take offence at the irreverent tone toward the series, but there's something here for just about everybody else to enjoy. If you're new to the Big Finish audio plays, this is a great place to start.

"When the evil Skelloids launch an attack upon the seventeen worlds of the Generios system, its peace-loving inhabitants face total destruction.

"So it's lucky that the Doctor, that famous traveller in time and space, is in the area, and that he, along with his pretty young assistant, Sally-Anne, manages to defeat the deadly creatures and save the day.

"But now it looks as though the Doctor's luck has run out...

"Who is the mysterious, curly-haired stranger, intent on causing trouble? What role does the feisty redheaded Melanie play in his scheme? And what have they to do with the sinister alien cylinder approaching Generios?

One thing is certain: for the Doctor and Sally-Anne, there's deadly danger ahead..."

With Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman's The One Doctor, Big Finish Productions do their first true out-and-out comedy. Although Robert Shearman's The Holy Terror started out with a comedic edge, it plunged into darkness as the story neared its end; by contrast, The One Doctor gets ever sillier, to the point that by episode three, the story is using infamous Delaware version of the theme tune, and Bonnie Langford (who continues to impress in the audio format, by the way) and guest star Christopher Biggins spend much of the episode putting up a set of never-ending flat-pack shelves. Believe me - it's true.

The key conceit of the story, revolving around a cheap con-artist capitalising on the legend of the Doctor to extract vast sums of money from grateful civilisations he's just "saved", is a novel one, and Biggins plays the role of amoral cad with great aplomb. His companion, Sally-Anne (played by Clare Buckfield), is good for a laugh too. The bogus Doctor's plans begin to unravel, however, when his fake alien invasion is immediately followed by a genuine, bona fide alien attack, and ultimately only the real Doctor can save the day - by travelling to another planet with Sally-Anne and trying to interupt a never-ending game of The Weakest Link.

The One Doctor is bizarre, silly and great fun. And if you want to hear Colin Baker, Bonnie Langford, Clare Buckfield and Christopher Biggins travelling through time and space in a portaloo, this is the story for you.

This is the twenty seventh release from Big Finish in their range of full cast audio adventures starring classic Doctor Whos. It stars Colin Baker as Six 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.

Over the years Doctor Who has proven to be a highly malleable concept, delivering adventures with gothic horror, hard core science fiction, abstract surrealism, history, suspense, high adventure and lots and lot of other stuff in between. It has occasionally tried humour (especially in the Tom Baker/ Douglas Adams years) which hasn't always worked out too well. So it is with a little trepidation that I approached this audio, written essentially as a Christmas pantomime.

I needn't have worried. The basic idea, script and delivery are all uniformly excellent. Six and Mel drift in to the unfashionable end of time, where they encounter someone claiming to be... The Doctor! Needless to say, chaos soon ensues as an alien invader enters the solar system and the people of Generios look to the person they think is the Doctor to save them. Six, the fake, Mel and the fake companion then set off on a classic quest story as they try to gather up the objects that will help save the Generios system.

There is much to enjoy here. Christopher Biggins is simply superb as the other Doctor. He had me in stitches. Colin Baker plays the part superbly, melding the humour with his Doctor's personality perfectly. Bonnie Langford delivers a much better Mel than the TV allowed her to do, and even makes a knowing reference to her most famous characteristic, that infamous scream. There are some great concepts in place as well, with digs at quite a few elements of our modern society (I suspect the script writers have at some time been frustrated by couriers, infuriated by Ikea and bored by the Weakest Link!) Targets are set up and shot down perfectly, while never losing sight of the plot, which has a twist in the tail that is unexpected and quite clever.

A perfect Christmas panto. One of Big Finish's more entertaining releases and definitely worth 5 stars.