Big Finish: The Companion Chronicles - The Blue Tooth Review
The Third Doctor meets the Cybermen for the first time in this Companion Chronicles release, while Liz has an important decision to make...
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| The CD cover for "The Blue Tooth", designed by Simon Holub. |
Starring Caroline John & Nicholas Briggs.
Written by Nigel Fairs.
Directed by Mark J Thompson.
The very first Third Doctor release from Big Finish immediately set about correcting a major injustice from this Doctor's TV era. On screen, Jon Pertwee's version of the Time Lord faced off against Daleks, Sontarans, Ogrons, Silurians and even Chronovores, but never did he come up against the Cybermen. So, Big Finish's first Third Doctor story, 2007's "The Blue Tooth" set about rectifying that. Recounted by Liz, this story takes the aesthetic of Season 7, and really runs with it, creating a story that could easily fit with the tone and style of that season's hard-edged, gritty storytelling. At the same time, however, it takes the emotional heart of the new series, and, together with its focus upon the companion character that The Companion Chronicles does so well, it makes for a very engaging and satisfying story that gives the Third Doctor the face off with the metal monsters that he deserved.
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| Nicholas Briggs (the Cybermen) and Caroline John (Liz Shaw), pictured at the recording of "The Blue Tooth". |
The basic story sees Liz going to visit a close friend back in Cambridge, only to find that she has gone missing. Soon, Liz discovers that her friend's disappearance may not be the only one, and that an invasion of the planet is underway. However, the Doctor and Liz will soon find that something even more sinister than that is going on... Due to this being a part of the Companion Chronicles range, "The Blue Tooth" naturally is heavily focused on Liz, and examines some areas of the character which weren't explored on screen for whatever reason. The character of Liz was always interesting: despite having only four stories in the TV show, Liz really made her mark. Unlike most previous companions, she was a confident, competent character, who could handle a lot of the situations she and the Doctor found herself in more than the long line of screaming damsels or young girls the Doctor had been associated with previously. And, while the writers found it difficult to find stuff for her to do, she shined in her episodes, and it was a shame she was written out so soon and so abruptly. "The Blue Tooth", however, gives the character plenty to do, by making Liz the central focus of the story. While Jean herself only directly appears at the end, her and Liz's connection is what drives the story, and Jean brings out a side of Liz we've never seen before. I love how this story really brings Liz's past at Cambridge to life, and we get to see a life for her beyond the science that her character was famed for. This story adds so much depth to the character, as well as telling a compelling Cyberman story. Now, as we all know (and I feel like I have driven this point into the ground if you follow me on Twitter), it is incredibly difficult to get the Cybermen right. Often, they end up just feeling part of a story they don't really belong in, and they are never given the respect they deserve. Here, however, the Cybermen are amazingly treated, as their conversion powers are given a horrifying boost. This story leans towards the horror aspect of the Cybermen much more than something like "Silver Nemesis" or "Nightmare in Silver", and the Cyber transformations are suitably horrific as a result. The episode 2 cliffhanger is probably the story's scariest moment, as the Cybermats hatch out from the shoulder of an already-deceased victim to attack Liz and Sergeant Benton. This kind of grotesque imagery is easier to get across in the part-narrated format of the Companion Chronicles than in a full cast audio drama, and it makes for a horrifying cliffhanger. The idea of Cybermats leaping at their victims, and burrowing themselves into people's flesh is also pretty grotesque, and shows a willing to go beyond what was seen on screen with regards to the Cybermen. The story also doesn't just do the whole body horror with the monsters either: the psychological terror is just as palpable. The scene where Liz sees the effects of the Cyber-conversion send chills down the spine, in a scene that is, I imagine, a deliberate echo of a similar scene in "The Age of Steel". The presentation of the Cybermen here is, to me, one of the finest in Big Finish's history, and shows a deep understanding on the part of writer Nigel Fairs as to what makes them so utterly terrifying.
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| The TARDIS team of Season 7: the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney), the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Liz Shaw (Caroline John). |
The production on this story is also incredibly strong, even if it is a little more spartan than Big Finish's regular fare. The use of sound and music does help place us in the environment, although, unlike a lot of the later Companion Chronicles, it feels more like an audiobook than the kind of hybrid-style Big Finish is best known for. That being said, what is there is very impressive, especially the music, which transplants us back into Season 7 incredibly quickly. It has a sophisticated, almost groovy style that sounds like its been pulled from "The Ambassadors of Death", and is a marked contrast with the heavy synthesizers composer Dudley Simpson would use in the next season. It's very period, in all the right ways, and helps build the atmosphere and mood. This is helped by a pitch perfect performance from Caroline John, who brings Liz Shaw back to life like she'd never been away. Honestly, Liz is probably one of the most underrated Doctor Who assistants, and here that is proved, especially by John, who gives a wonderful performance. It was such a shame that she passed away so young, as I think she still had so much more to give, especially now Big Finish have brought in Tim Treloar to play the Third Doctor. She does a perfectly credible Third Doctor and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, even if she doesn't quite capture them completely. What doesn't help this story is that, for long stretches, John is the only voice in the soundscape; it's only towards the end of the story that Nicholas Briggs brings his all as the Cybermen, as they step out of the shadows. While she can carry the story, it would have been nice if Liz could have had someone to bounce off a bit more, be that either Richard Franklin as Captain Yates (who appears quite a lot in this story), or even casting Jean herself, in order to lend Liz's reminisces a little more weight. Nick is wonderful, but the nature of the Cybermen's presence in the story means that there's not really a lot of Cyber action, so to speak of, and it means that some of the emotional beats don't quite work as intended. If this had been a multi-voice release (John, Briggs and another voice), as I mentioned above, it would help this story follow through on that emotional pay-off. I did also find the ending a little abrupt, and didn't really pay off the question pitted in the framing sequence. I appreciated the call-back to "Doctor Who and the Silurians" in the ending, but I think the focus was too much on the Doctor, and not enough on Liz. After all, this is her Companion Chronicle. What I will say, though, is that these are ultimately minor nitpicks that don't take away from the story being told. They're just things I would have done differently in order to make the story even better.
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| A piece of artwork designed by Tom Webster for the official Doctor Who website, depicting Liz Shaw and a Silurian. |
Overall, though, "The Blue Tooth" is a fantastic story that manages to fill in some gaps in the Season 7 story, and gives the Third Doctor a fantastic encounter with Doctor Who's second most-notable adversaries. The focus upon the character of Liz is incredibly welcome, and it shows how much the character was under-uterlised in the TV series at the time. There are a couple of small issues I could raise, and I think that, if this had been made as part of the Companion Chronicles range later in its lifetime, these issues would have been ironed out. However, it is impossible to deny that this is an excellent story if you're a fan of Liz Shaw, Season 7 or the Cybermen, and is, therefore, an essential purchase. But even if you aren't, this is a damn fine story that may change your mind about all three.
You can get "The Blue Tooth" from Big Finish Productions' website:
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