REVIEW | Once and Future: The Artist at the End of Time

Big Finish‘s eight-part celebration of Doctor Who‘s sixtieth anniversary continues with The Artist at the End of Time by James Goss. This is immediately a stronger story than the series opener, Past Lives (review here), with stronger themes, better character interactions and more exploration of the Doctor’s degeneration, which here sees him settle in his fifth incarnation (Peter Davison).

Goss’s script sees the Doctor arrive at the Final Gallery, where the art from dying civilisations has been collected, a creative and well-crafted setting which ties well into this story’s themes of legacy. There, Davison’s Doctor bumps into his daughter Jenny (Georgia Tennant), with whom he shares a sparky rapport, which is no surprise given the real life relation between the two actors. Later, the two encounter the Curator, played here by Colin Baker, who is given some of the most interesting material in the episode, which is slightly odd given this is Davison’s story, but works well anyway.

This is definitely a quieter, more contemplative celebration of Doctor Who than the more action-packed Past Lives, but it’s a strong story whose mashup of characters feels more planned and cohesive than the slightly forced combinations in the previous tale. Good stuff.

The Artist and the End of Time is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com

Once and Future continues in July with A Genius for War