Review by Daniel Mansfield

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Taking over the role originated by Peter Capaldi on television, Jon Culshaw stars as the Twelfth Doctor in a brand-new series of audio adventures from Big Finish Productions. Set in the gap between The Husbands of River Song and The Return of Doctor Mysterio, this run of six stories has been billed as the Doctor Who series 2016 never had, and is being released weekly

The new series begins with The Second Death by Alfie Shaw, which introduces us to new companion Ash Wilton, a travelling bard from the planet Kersarin. While the plot – the Doctor and Ash teaming up to rescue one of Ash’s friends – is simple and effective, with some strong worldbuilding, where The Second Death really shines is in establishing the emotional core of the series: two broken people helping each other to heal. The Doctor has just lost River Song and, without going into too many spoilers, Ash is also grieving, leading to some touching scenes between the two as Shaw begins to explore their differing ways of coping with loss.

Ash breaks the companion mould by not being from 21st-century Earth, but from the end of the universe. What’s striking about Ash is just how Doctor-y he is before he even meets the Doctor. Travelling from place to place, bringing hope in dark times, he immediately proves a fascinating foil for this incarnation of the Time Lord.

Gwithian Evans perfectly captures Ash’s seething frustration at losing those he cares about, while Jon Culshaw excels at portraying both the Twelfth Doctor’s acerbic wit and the heartbreak that lies beneath his prickly exterior. All of this culminates in a tearjerking two-hander at the end of the episode as the Doctor bares his heart to Ash, both Shaw’s writing and Culshaw’s performance tapping into the core of who the Twelfth Doctor is: someone who wants nothing more than to help, even when he can’t quite heal himself.

With a simple plot and two deeply compelling central characters, The Second Death is a very strong start indeed to the series, and I couldn’t be more excited to hear what happens next. After all, in the absence of any Who on telly this year, this new run of Twelfth Doctor Adventures isn’t just the series 2016 never had, it’s the series 2026 never had too.

The Second Death is available as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com

The Twelfth Doctor Adventures continue on July 22nd with The Broken Man