‘ENEMY ALIENS’ (DOTD)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Tribute for Paul McGann – Celebrating 50 Years of ‘Doctor Who’
August 2013. It’s time to celebrate the Eighth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’ with Paul McGann!
This is one of the exciting and most intriguing releases of the ‘Destiny of the Doctor’ series, produced by Big Finish and AudioGo, to celebrate 50 years of ‘Doctor Who’. This is the eighth instalment of the ‘DOTD’ series called ‘Enemy Aliens’ by Alan Barnes. It features the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard.
With previous ‘DOTD’ stories (previously with ‘Shockwave’), this story is narrated and performed by an actor/actress who was in the TV series with a guest star as a supporting character. This time, ‘Enemy Aliens’ is performed by India Fisher as Charley from the Big Finish audios and guest stars Michael Maloney as Hilary Hammond.
The Eighth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’ comprised of one adventure on TV, which was ‘The TV Movie’. It’s a shame that Paul McGann never got the chance to play the Doctor on TV and have his fair share of adventures. He was very good as the Doctor in ‘The TV Movie’ and could have had his own series.
Thankfully the Eighth Doctor has had a life of his own in comics, books and audio adventures of Big Finish. He was chosen to be the Doctor for the Big Finish audio/BBCi webcast of ‘Shada’ back in 2003. He’s also had many ‘Doctor Who’ companions in Charley Pollard and Lucie Miller in Big Finish audio.
My best mate and I have created our series of fan-fiction adventures with the Eighth Doctor. For the 50th anniversary of ‘Doctor Who’, I wrote my personal fan-fiction story with the Eighth Doctor and a ‘Doctor Who’ companion, created by my best mate and me, to celebrate the Eighth Doctor era.
I was keen to find out who was going to read this special ‘DOTD’ tale with the Eighth Doctor. It’s a shame Daphne Ashbrook and Yee Jee Tso (from the ‘TV movie’) weren’t able to read this story. But I’m glad it was decided to feature India Fisher as Charley, a companion from the Big Finish universe.
‘Enemy Aliens’ is a story that takes place during the Eighth Doctor’s earliest audio adventures from Big Finish in the early 2000s when travelling with Charley Pollard. For those unfamiliar to Big Finish, Charley is an Edwardian adventuress who first met the Eighth Doctor in the story ‘Storm Warning’.
Charley has had many adventures with the Eighth Doctor as she faced Cybermen; Daleks and a strange house in ‘The Chimes of Midnight’. She soon left the Eighth Doctor in the story ‘The Girl Who Never Was’ and soon travelled with the Sixth Doctor and had her own spin-off series with Big Finish.
In ‘Enemy Aliens’, the Doctor and Charley receive a message from a future Doctor (guess who if you’ve not paid attention). They’re told of an alien invasion in London 1935 and that William Tell, a operatic piece of music by Rossini is the key to it all. This story has a classic feel of ‘The 39 Steps’ in it.
Alan Barnes knows the Eighth Doctor inside-out, as he wrote for him in the comic adventures and wrote the Eighth Doctor and Charley’s first outing in ‘Storm Warning’. Alan also knows Charley inside-out and does well in providing such wit, energy and love for these characters in ‘Doctor Who’.
India Fisher is superb as Charley. I’ve enjoyed her adventures with Paul McGann’s Doctor in Big Finish. It gave me such a thrill to hear Charley again. Charley is feisty and full of adventure, and India plays her well as she did back in the early days. The mannerisms and gutsy behaviour are still there.
I liked India’s impersonation of the Eighth Doctor in this audio adventure. Having worked with Paul McGann, India is able to inject the tone and elegant energy of the Eighth Doctor from the Big Finish audios. I liked it when the Doctor’s relationship with Charley is touched upon from the audio stories.
Michael Maloney guest stars as Hillary Hammond. Hammond seems to have a bit of a fancy for Charley in this. He’s certainly engaging and intriguing to listen to. I felt sorry for him at the end when he was dangling in a worse position and the Doctor and Charley are chiding him before rescuing him.
The Eleventh Doctor’s appearance in this story is more significant as he sends a message to his eighth self which gets garbled with interference. I’m intrigued now as to what will happen in the last adventure of the ‘DOTD’ series. India also does a good impersonation of the Eleventh Doctor in this.
On a personal note, I’m very pleased the original David Arnold theme music is used for the beginning and the end of ‘Enemy Aliens’. It feels right and is definitely Eighth Doctor theme music for the era.
There aren’t any CD extras, apart from the Eighth Doctor and Charley’s biographies in the CD sleeve notes. If you purchase the complete ‘DOTD’ series as a bundle from Big Finish, there’s a behind-the-scenes making-of documentary on the series called ‘Meeting with Destiny’ with ‘The Time Machine’.
‘Enemy Aliens’ is a good contribution to an era of ‘Doctor Who’ that has been greatly expanded upon in various forms. This is a testament to the Eighth Doctor and has a lovely performance from India Fisher. I highly recommend that you listen to the Eighth Doctor audios adventures from Big Finish!
‘Enemy Aliens’ (DOTD) rating – 8/10
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Bradley's Basement 
Hi Tim
I really liked reading your review of Enemy Aliens.
Just so you know, the William Tell piece of music is written by Rossini, not Ruccini.
I personally found this story rather dull and disappointing. The acting is very good in it, and there were parts of the story which were very good.
India Fisher does a great job at the narration, and at her impression of the Eighth Doctor. And Michael Maloney does really well as Hillary Hammond.
But I thought the story itself got a bit silly and over-complicated for what it really was.
A really interesting review, Tim, thanks for putting it up to be read.
Leigh
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Hi Leigh.
I’m glad you enjoyed my review on ‘Enemy Aliens’.
Thanks for letting me know about William Tell and that it’s Rossini, not Ruccini. There goes to show my history knowledge isn’t all that perfect 😀 You’re the historian after all, Leigh. I’ve corrected the error in my review, thanks. I’ve just checked it again and realised that William Tell is an opera in four acts by Rossini.
That’s interesting you found this story rather dull and disappointing. I’m glad you liked the acting and some parts of the story though.
I liked India Fisher’s narration in the story and she clearly has got a good grasp of Paul McGann’s Doctor from working with him on the Big Finish audios. Yes, Michael Maloney was great to hear as a guest star in this audio story.
Yes I suppose the story got a bit silly on occasions and some aspects of the story weren’t clear as they should have been. I’ll have to re-listen to this adventure again, I think. But then again, the TV movie was like that wasn’t it and I suppose Alan Barnes was trying to aim for that when writing this tale.
I liked that the references were made to Charley’s history in the Big Finish audios and it seems that the BBC are confirming Big Finish’s existence through AudioGo. It was certainly confirmed when the Eighth Doctor mentioned his companions’ names from Big Finish in ‘The Night of the Doctor’ by Steven Moffat.
Thanks very much for sharing your thoughts with me on this story, Leigh. I’m pleased you enjoyed my review and the other various things I put on my blog. I do try my best with the variety.
Tim. 🙂
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Hi Tim
You’re welcome. Ha, yes I suppose history is my thing, isn’t it! Yes, Rossini wrote an opera about William Tell, the famous Swiss nationalist who we now remember having shot the apple from his son’s head. All very stirring patriotic stuff in the nineteenth century for the Italians.
Yes, I quite agree, I liked India Fisher’s work in the story, and Michael Maloney. I think the story itself was a bit silly for my liking, and rather unlikely. It went from being slightly macabre and gruesome in parts, to being a bit too ‘comic’, and didn’t really work. Mind you, I’d be happy to listen to it again, and I will get round to listening to all the Destiny of the Doctor audios again at some stage.
It is good that the BBC and Big Finish are able to work together on what is ‘canon’ for the Doctor, even if fans don’t always agree.
I think your blog is great, Tim, and if you’re happy to keep putting things up there, I’m sure there are many people who appreciate the opportunity to share them with you.
Leigh
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Brilliant review of this excellent Eighth Doctor DOTD audio, i heard some slate this a dull but i think it’s a cracking little adventure.
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Hi Simon. Glad you enjoyed my review of ‘Enemy Aliens’ and found it excellent. Yes I gathered that this story got criticism, but I personally enjoyed it when I heard it back in August 2013. Thanks. Tim. 🙂
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