Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #256691 in Books
• Published on: 2001-12
• Format: Audiobook
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Audio CD

Customer Reviews

An enjoyable, well-written romp
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.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a portaloo!
"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.

You're the one for me, Doctor
With this latest Sixth Doctor and Mel audio, Big Finish may just have pulled off something special. This is as self-referential as you can imagine but in a cheekily humourous way, and everyone comes out of the experience looking good.

The Sixth Doctor and Mel arrive in the nick of time as usual, responding to a distress call from a planet invaded by a malevolent alien force. But this time, the Doctor is too late - one of his other selves has apparently beaten him to the punch and saved the day. There's just one problem, The Doctor can't remember ever being here before, and what's more, this other `Doctor' is nothing of the sort. In fact, he's a sleazy con artist who's hit upon the ultimate scam. Now he's met his match in the genuine Doctor, but as they all soon discover, there is a legitimate threat facing them all, and when all seems darkest, only one man in the universe can save them, and that's The Doctor. But which one?

Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor has met his perfect foil in Christopher Biggins' larger-than-life con artist, Banto Zame, and Clare Buckfield's Sally-Anne, while a sleazy criminal sort, seems like the kind of girl who could have been rehabilitated if she'd only travelled with the real Doctor and not the insidious Banto.

In many ways this is reminiscent of Douglas Adams' scripts for Season 17 of the classic Doctor Who series. Broad humour verging on farce, campery (well it's got that big camp bear Biggins in it after all!), wackiness and pomposity, all combine to create a brilliant slice of audio Who. They'd never have got away with this on TV, even in JNT's pantomime days, but it works here, and the awareness that it's all a big piss take works in the story's favour. Only Gareth Roberts could get away with this, but get away with it he certainly does.

To think that Biggins was once in the running to play The Doctor makes me shudder - come back Sylv, all is forgiven!