Doctor Who: Short Trips: Time Tunnel by Nigel Fairs (CD review).
‘Time Tunnel’ by Nigel Fairs sees the return of the Third Doctor in a ‘Short Trips’ adventure. The format of a 30 minute download is a growing trend in the output of Big Finish, more normally known for its yield of long form audio adventures of ‘Doctor Who’ and various spin-offs and stand -alone adventures.
Jo Grant (Katy Manning) and the Doctor with the Brigadier are plunged into an adventure shortly after the Doctor has ‘upgraded’ Jo’s transistor radio. That for the young people amongst us is what we used before iPods were invented. It lasted longer on its batteries but generally had a major background hiss when trying to listen to foreign radio stations or pretty much anything. The transistor, of course, will prove to be a key in unlocking the subsequent mystery.
Under a railway tunnel in Sussex, there has been a horrific accident but it’s unexplainable in normal terms. So Doctor and Jo are brought in to bring their particular knowledge to the situation which includes the Doctor putting himself in deadly danger.
Told with warmth and humour, this short story has energy and some wit. Katy Manning does Jo Grant very well, despite the passage of years since the days of the Third Docto, and Fairs has written to her speech cadence with great style. The story chugs along nicely and there are lots of points of reference to the 1970s original stories. It ticks almost every box on the Third Doctor wish list and wraps up neatly tied with a bow in that 30 minutes putting may other stories to shame. In reality, this would have taken three episodes in the old days but who has time to spare these days? Certainly not the Doctor.
Sue Davies
March 2015
(pub: Big Finish. 30 minute story. Download Price: £ 2.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-78178-394-8)
narrator: Katy Manning
check out website: www.bigfinish.com
