- The Sirens of Time (Doctor Who—Main Range #1)
- Directed by: Nicholas Briggs
- Written by: Nicholas Briggs
- Starring: Peter Davison (Fifth Doctor); Colin Baker (Sixth Doctor); Sylvester McCoy (Seventh Doctor); Andrew Fettes (Commander Raldeth / Schmidt); Anthony Keetch (Coordinator Vansell); Michael Wade (The President); Sarah Mowat (Knight Commander Lyena); Maggie Stables (Ruthley); Colin McIntyre (Sancroff); John Wadmore (Commandant / Lt Zentener / Pilot Azimendah / Sub-Commander Solanec); Mark Gatiss (Captain Schwieger / Captain / Knight 2); Nicholas Briggs (The Temperon / Drudgers); Nicholas Pegg (Delegate)
You’re never your best on your first date.
But if it’s your first date in three years, you’ll never wipe that grin off your face.
Doctor Who (1996) was the one, bright moment in the wilderness years stretching between Doctor Who’s cancelation in 1989 and revival in 2005. All else was silence, broken only by Virgin New Adventures (VNAs) and Eighth Doctor Adventures (EDAs). As anyone can tell you, however, those were rarely more than a poor imitation of what Doctor Who could be, would be, or should be.
But those numbers require some adjustment. Doctor Who may have returned to television on the 26th of March, 2005, but Doctor Who made its triumphant return six years earlier, on audio cassette, however little notice the world paid.
Perhaps “triumphant” should be shielded by scare quotes. Of all of Big Finish Productions’ early efforts, The Sirens of Time has aged the worst. One can name as many problems with it in as many sentences: the story is disjointed; the plot, even by Who standards, is inexplicable; the seventh Doctor is barely in character; Gallifrey’s appearance, the first since 1983’s The Five Doctors, is as brief; the reason for Earth’s fall doesn’t quite work; the sound design wasn’t quite there yet; the meat of the story doesn’t even start until three-quarters through; and…
And yet, The Sirens of Time has a certain core of likability. Pairing Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy is more than a canny marketing move, it’s the move that saves the story. Davison, Baker, and McCoy have an easy comradery—a charming chemistry. Once the story finally gets up to speed and the fifth, sixth, and seventh Doctors are together, it nearly works as a prequel to The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. Equal parts serious adventure (Gallifrey’s fate is chilling) and burlesque (when the Doctors tumble down a vent, Seven lands on Six. Seven is perfectly fine, saved without a bruise because Six is fat).
The episode goes so far as to play like a prelude to Big Finish’s greatest hits. Baby steps are made toward establishing the Gallifrey spin-off. Paring Davison, Baker, and McCoy teases the best parts of Zagreus, as well as Light at the End in general.
Colin Baker has already begun tinkering with the sixth Doctor’s characterization, and has nearly perfected the changes that will soon transform his doctor from the most hated to beloved. The fifth Doctor has been slightly rejigged to be more active, a welcome change.
The only Doctor who comes off the worse is Sylvester McCoy, whose Doctor doesn’t get a very good outing. But what the seventh Doctor lacks in the script, he gains in the pure joy of McCoy’s performance. He plays an iffy characterization off as a very young Doctor, when he was a clown in vein of Patrick Troughton, and is simply a delight. But an underwhelming part is hardly a problem, if we look ahead—he and Sophie Aldred would soon be starring in The Fearmonger (#5), one of Big Finish’s all-time greats.
Should The Sirens of Time be your first Big Finish? No.
Should The Sirens of Time be one of your first ten Big Finish? No.
Should The Sirens of Time be one of your first fifty Big Finish? Yes, if you know what you’re in for.
Because The Sirens of Time, in the end, isn’t bad. It’s merely one of Big Finish’s weakest episodes—and even Big Finish at its weakest tends to be quite good. There’s still quite a lot to like, and there’s something special in listening to it once you’re familiar with Big Finish Productions.
The Sirens of Time is a microcosm of everything that Big Finish would one day become.
Whatever problems it may have, that is well worth celebrating.
You can purchase The Sirens of Time for $2.99 at BigFinish.com.
James Bojaciuk
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