Doctor Who: The Wrong Doctors
Written by Matt Fitton
Published by Big Finish
The first in a new trilogy for the Sixth Doctor and Mel Bush plays havoc with the timelines and memories of Who fans.
The Doctor sets off to pick up Mel for her first adventure. When he arrives, he quickly runs into his younger self dropping off Mel after her testimony in The Trial of a Time Lord. The appearance of a dinosaur in Pease Pottage quickly alerts the Doctor, and the listener, to the fact that some even more extreme time meddling is afoot.
As someone not too familiar with Colin Baker’s time on the TV show (there, I’ve outed myself now), I sped to the Tardis wiki for background on Mel’s fractured timeline. In fact, I needn’t have worried, for the main story can be readily enjoyed without this knowledge, and writer Matt Fitton uses the confusion for comic effect, making this the funniest audio for Sixie since The Fourth Wall, Spice Girls jokes and all.
Both Baker and Bonnie Langford give great performances here, subtly distinguishing between their younger and older selves. They are well supported by the other actors, most notably James Joyce as an 18th century farmhand taken out of time and revelling in the ’emancipated women’ of the 80’s. At times the plot twists do take some serious concentration, but as Fitton pointed out to me over Twitter, a plot diagram would have to be created in five dimensions.
Amid the action and comedy, there are some touching moments too, particularly when a resetting of the wayward timelines leaves everyone facing up to their originally intended fates. In all, this is most enjoyable two hours, and the stage is left set for the older Doctor and Mel to continue their new adventures in February and March.