The Renaissance Man (Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures) [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

'The Renaissance Man' is the second in Big Finish Productions' new series of Fourth Doctor Adventures, starring Tom Baker as the Doctor with Louise Jameson as Leela. Whereas the first in the series, 'Destination Nerva', seemed to be a deliberate attempt to play up the nostalgia factor for fans of the show's 1970s heyday, this story takes a slightly different approach, and is an altogether less conventional narrative. It sees the TARDIS failing to reach its intended destination (as ever) and landing the Doctor and Leela in a sleepy English village, where they meet the mysterious Harcourt (Ian McNeice). But the village and its inhabitants are not all they seem, and the Doctor and Leela soon find themselves caught in shifting realities, each with their own set of dangers and obstacles.

Like 'Destination Nerva', there are aspects of the story which recall a number of the Fourth Doctor's television escapades - seasoned fans may be reminded of 'The Deadly Assassin' and its matrix sequences, for instance, and the wonderfully named Professor Hilda Lutterthwaite is a character cut from the same cloth as Amelia Ducat from 'The Seeds of Doom' or Professor Rumford from 'The Stones of Blood'. But unlike 'Destination Nerva', this isn't a nostalgia exercise in the slightest - it's a clever, well-told story with an intriguing mystery at its core. Also, writer Justin Richards absolutely nails the Fourth Doctor and Leela, and gives Tom Baker and Louise Jameson some excellent material to work with - this being a story where the importance of language is paramount, it's ideally suited to the audio medium. It's also great to hear Ian McNeice (best known to 'Doctor Who' fans for his portrayal of Winston Churchill opposite Matt Smith's Doctor on TV) as Harcourt, who brings a real sense of gravitas to the role, and heads up an excellent supporting cast, many of whom are required to play numerous variations on the same characters. And at a running time of around 60 minutes (in two half hour episodes) it's a story that doesn't outstay its welcome.

This has to be one of my favourite 'Doctor Who' audios I've heard in quite some time. If you like your 'Who' clever, then 'The Renaissance Man' is undoubtedly for you.

An improvement in quality of script over Destination: Nerva (Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures), but still not the write Doctor dialogue for the period set (pre-Horror of Fang Rock). Leela's character is well observed.

I certainly feel that this story plays to the strengths of audio, but could also have worked well as a television script at the time (feeling a bit like The Android Invasion in style).

Comparing the first two stories of the 4th Doctor relaunch to the equivalent Blake's 7 The Liberator Chronicles Box Set: 1 (Blake's 7), the latter still remains better observed and faithful to the original. I am quite surprised that Big Finish have made this slip because it does draw attention to itself. Setting the era pre-Horror was probably not a good move. For the sake of canonicity at the potential expense of a little fun, the dialogue should have been toned down and more serious.

All in all a good product. It is of course very nice to have 4th Doctor at Big Finish, and had we not had more than ten years of fabulous output of stories that enhanced Doctors 5-8, we may have been more content with what we have here.

A five star story reduced to four stars because of aforementioned "fit" issues. Ignoring the past and as a stand-alone piece it is very enjoyable, and any fan of the Leela character will be well-rewarded.

It might have been a good idea for Big Finish to reserve this tale until later in its season of Fourth Doctor / Leela releases, for a number of reasons. Firstly, four out of the six stories in this arc feature familiar foes or locations, and this adventure could have broken up a run of three old enemies in a row later on in the season.

Secondly, in terms of tone Justin Richards's script takes a witty, intellectual approach that has more in common with the undergraduate humour of Tom Baker's fourth, fifth and sixth seasons produced by Graham Williams than the more overtly serious and physically horrific approach taken by Philip Hinchcliffe during Baker's first three years in the role. As these audio productions take place between the two eras, it would have made sense therefore to place this story towards the end of the run. The reality-bending, knowledge-thieving antics the Doctor encounters here remind me of Douglas Adams's Doctor Who - City of Death [1979] [DVD] [2005] and Dr Who-Shada [VHS]. A scene towards the end of the play is markedly similar to a certain artistic discussion in "City of Death".

The bizarre scenario of "The Renaissance Man" also has much in common with the eccentric approach taken by Paul Magrs for the Fourth Doctor adventures he wrote for AudioGO. Accordingly, Baker's performance veers back towards his lighter AudioGO style. No disrespect to Magrs and AudioGO, whose efforts, I am sure, were instrumental in luring Baker back into the world of full-cast "Doctor Who", but you'd have thought Big Finish would wish to distance itself from that range for now.

Perhaps I am being unfair to criticise this story as being "out of season". The Doctor entered a similarly surreal landscape in the Hinchcliffe-produced Doctor Who - The Deadly Assassin [DVD] [1976]. Richards's idea also bears comparison to Doctor Who: the Celestial Toymaker and Doctor Who - The Mind Robber [1968] [DVD], so it's not just a later Baker type of tale.

The writer also has fun with the character of Leela (Louise Jameson), who keeps mispronouncing "renaissance" as "runny science" and is at one point delighted when she thinks that the Doctor has given her permission to use her knife on someone.

Continuing a trend for hiring guest actors from recent television stories (following Raquel Cassidy as Dr Alison Foster in Destination: Nerva (Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures)), this two-part tale features Ian McNeice, who played Winston Churchill in four Matt Smith episodes. He is less friendly here as the mysterious collector Harcourt, who proves to be a match for the Doctor in terms of verbal sparring.

Unlike many reviewers, I actually prefer "Destination: Nerva". Nevertheless, this adventure continues to prove that Tom Baker is the real renaissance man.