In last year’s Sullivan and Cross – AWOL (review here), old friends joined a new Doctor for more adventures through time and space. Their adventures continue in Far From Home, which sees the Doctor, Harry and Naomi travel to the London Blitz, and then to a distant supernova, as they begin to think about returning home…
Alfie Shaw‘s Operation Dusk begins right in the thick of the action, with the TARDIS trio having been enlisted by none other than Winston Churchill to investigate the suspicious death of a British agent. The Doctor immediately deduces that the flesh-eating Vashta Nerada are involved and, alongside Harry and Naomi, sets out to discover just what they are doing on Earth.
This TARDIS team is undeniably a very competent one, comprising one of the most efficient and cunning Doctors and two seasoned UNIT agents, meaning that this story wastes no time on getting right into the thick of the action. Because Harry and Naomi work so well on their own, they get split off into their own little subplots almost immediately, allowing us to cut between lots of different locations in quick succession, lending the story a real sense of pace and energy.
This is mostly to the story’s benefit, though some of the reveals and revelations happen so quickly that they might go over the listener’s head. And there are a lot of big reveals here, Shaw absolutely packing the script with twists and turns which make sure that things constantly feel dynamic. The three-part structure also helps this, cutting out padding and making this a script that practically hurtles from start to finish.
Add to this a host of well-drawn guest characters, each with their own unique motivations and storylines, and a really fresh take on the Vashta Nerada, and you get one of the most solid stories released by Big Finish this year, and certainly the best showing for the team of the Seventh Doctor, Harry and Naomi so far. Very strong stuff.
Similarly strong is Naomi’s Ark, by Alison Winter which, as its title suggests, gives us our first Naomi-focused story in this new Seventh Doctor Adventures storyline. Winter makes the wise choice of splitting Naomi off from the Doctor and Harry so that we really get to know how she works in a crisis, and does a great job at giving her lots of scenes where she’s in command and taking charge.
This isn’t to say the Doctor and Harry are neglected, however, with Winters giving them some similarly effective material. Sylvester McCoy is particularly impressive here, his scenes with Indra Ové‘s Queen Maylee having a really interesting dynamic to them as they butt heads over what to do about locating Naomi.
This is, overall, the perfect kind of story for a three-parter, with just the right amount of ideas and characters to sustain the 90 minute runtime. A brilliant showcase for Eleanor Crooks and Naomi with some great worldbuilding and compelling performances from the guest cast.
Included with the download of this release is an hour long Interlude by Katharine Armitage: Frozen Worlds. This is the sixth such Interlude released by Big Finish thus far, and is undoubtedly the best: a creative, beautifully written tale brought to life by Sophie Aldred‘s gorgeous narration.
Not only is Armitage’s prose unique and evocative, but the level of new and exciting ideas she introduces here is phenomenal. The imagery here is so strong that it’s something I’d have loved to have seen on TV, though I suppose letting the mind conjure up its own images is a worthy substitute too. Enchanting stuff, and quite possibly the highlight of this boxset.
Overall, then, Far from Home is one of the strongest Doctor Who releases of 2023 thus far, with all three stories contained within being highly entertaining. After this, I’m looking forward to hearing more of Harry and Naomi as their adventures with the Fourth Doctor begin in 2024. Highly recommended.
Far From Home is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com
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