DOCTOR WHO: THE NINTH DOCTOR CHRONICLES

released OUT NOW! 260 minutes | Cd/download

Publisher Big Finish

With the chances of a Christopher Eccleston return to Doctor Who having shrunk to zero, this new collection of “enhanced” audiobooks is probably the closest we’ll get to re-living the early days of the Russell T Davies era.

It presents four one-hour stories narrated by Nicholas Briggs, who pulls off an eerily effective Eccleston impersonation. Each adventure also features a separate guest performer. Two of these are returning actors – Bruno Langley as Adam Mitchell in “The Other Side”, and Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler in “Retail Therapy”.

All four do their best to recapture the tone of new Who’s opening season. The strongest is “The Bleeding Heart”, where a solo Ninth Doctor investigates a suspiciously peaceful planet. But while these adventures are entertaining, they’ve carried across a lot of the weaknesses of the Ninth Doctor episodes as well as their strengths.

There’s an over-earnest and cartoony tone to much of the drama here, while the Ninth Doctor in these stories often feels like a collection of character tics rather than a person in his own right. Ninth Doctor fans will find lots to enjoy in Chronicles, but ultimately this is a nostalgic exercise rather than an essential listen. Saxon Bullock