A Perfect Send Off.
Warning: I try to stay as spoiler free as possible, but spoilers may follow.
God, aren't we Doctor Who fans lucky that not only do we have the amazing show itself but we also have Big Finish, a company who constantly provides top-tier audio dramas in the worlds of Doctor Who and its Spin Offs; The Universe of Gerry Anderson; Sherlock Holmes and so much more. This review is no different with an INCREDIBLE box set in the finale of ‘The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles: Victory of the Doctor’.
Now if you have read our previous review for ‘The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles Volume 5 - Everywhere and Anywhere’ you will know that we absolutely adored it and gave it five stars. Before we get into this box set, let's have a quick recap on The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles.
These sets take place shortly after the events of Series 7’s The Snowmen (A personal favorite episode of mine), The Doctor is off looking for Clara Oswald where he encounters the fierce Valarie Lockwood. Valarie is fierce, determined, brave and above all. Kind. Valarie is also now one of my favorite companions. Soon enough they decide to travel the universe to find Clara together. So far the boxsets we have been treated too are:
The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles: Geronimo
The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles: All of Time and Space
The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles: Broken Hearts (Single Story set)
The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles: Everywhere and Anywhere
After the tragedy and revelations of the last boxset (I’ll try not to Spoil as I really want you to go and listen!). The Doctor and Valarie have returned in the final boxset of the series and their adventures together in: The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles: Victory of the Doctor!
We are treated too four outstanding episodes:
Episode 1 - Didn’t You Kill My Mother? By John Dorney
Episode 2 - Daleks Victorious By Felicia Barker
Episode 3 - The Last Stand of Miss Valarie Lockwood By Alfie Shaw
Episode 4 - Victory of the Doctor By Alfie Shaw
Now, I'm finding it hard to find the words to describe my thoughts for this set, but I shall try with one word.
Outstanding.
These four episodes truly showcase the strongest talents from all areas of Big Finish, from its writers, to its incredible music in Borna Matosic to its truly, truly incredible cast lead by Jacob Dudman as The Doctor and Safiyya Ingar as Valarie Lockwood, not to mention Mia Tomlinson as Roanna and Nicholas Briggs as The Daleks.
We Start with Didn’t You Kill My Mother? By John Dorney. This opening episode is a little experimental and more of a character piece compared to the rest of the boxset. Featuring four Characters: The Doctor; Tim (Played by Homer Todiwala); Valarie and the Return of Mrs Lockwood (Lara Lemon). The Doctor; Valarie and Mrs Lockwood are missing parts of their memory. We get to see two sides of the story, The Doctor with his new ‘colleague’ Tim and Valarie and Mrs Lockwood. We get to see The Doctor slowly trying to solve the puzzle of his memory whilst we see Valarie deal with her mothers death which was caused by Mrs Lockwood. It really is a great episode and we are able to have one last quiet moment with these characters before the big events of the finale. Yet by the end of the episode it perfectly sets up our three part final act. 5/5 easily.
Moving onto Daleks Victorious, this is a big episode. The Daleks have always been loved by fans but its safe to say in recent years (At least on TV) they started to appear less threatening due to the amount of times we saw them. This episode changes that. This episode by Felicia Barker showcases why the Daleks are as deadly and threatening as they are and they are ruthless. We see the lengths the daleks will go too in order to conquer the universe and take down their enemy The Doctor. It also has to be said that Nicholas Briggs is amazing. He is able to make each and every dalek unique with their own characteristics and its a joy to listen too. Reintroducing the Dalek Paradigm from Series 5, Barker is able to weave them into the story perfectly whilst raising the stakes and keeping audiences hooked throughout. The ending will leave you anxiously wanting to click play on the next episode immediately, especially with the genius that is Borna Matosic behind the music. Another 5/5 episode.
We then get our penultimate episode The Last Stand of Miss Valarie Lockwood By Alfie Shaw. Now this episode is alot but in all the best ways. It's going to be very hard to speak about without revealing spoilers. The main aspect i want to speak about is our leads in Jacob Dudman; Safiyya Ingar and Mia Tomlinson as The Doctor; Valarie and Roanna Respectively. For me, each actor gives the performance of a lifetime. Jacob Dudman in particular is truly exceptional in this episode. He shows The Doctor at his most vulnerable, doing his utmost best to save those he loves yet doesn't know how and it's so captivating. We also see quite a darker side of The Doctor too, one we don’t often see in the show and it’s fantastic to see this character arc over the episode.
Jacob has portrayed The Doctor so brilliantly in this box set it's such a shame to see him depart but boy we are so lucky. As for Safiyya and Mia as Valarie and Roanna, they have been such an emotional core of the entire series. We have rooted for them through thick and thin and both Safiyya and Mia have shined both together and separately but especially in this episode. Valarie Lockwood has been the companion that we have truly fallen in love with over four box sets and this episode shows why we have been so lucky to have her/Safiyya in the TARDIS.
5/5
Lastly, we have Victory of the Doctor also by Alfie Shaw. I’m going to keep this short and sweet, purely because it truly needs to be experienced yourself and I don’t want to take away from that, but it was the perfect ending to the most perfect boxset and series. This episode struck me right in the heart. It was explosive, poignant and beautiful. A beautiful, exemplary ending that had me crying my eyes out at St Pancras Station on a Wednesday Night.
5/5.
The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles Volume 6 - Victory of the Doctor - 5/5
Now there’s a line in this box set, featured in the last episode, between The Doctor and Valarie that i have to mention:
‘Hope Valarie, that’s what we were to all those people and all those planets we went too. We were hope’
I think that quote there by Alfie Shaw perfectly captures both the show as a whole and this series with The Doctor and Valarie . They have been the embodiment of hope, this series of adventures have been such a comfort and joy in times that have truly been dark for a lot of us, and having these new episodes, seeing the duo soar and become such fan favorite duo has just been incredible. As a Fan of Big Finish, as a Fan of Doctor Who (a show that saved my life) and a fan whose favorite Doctor is 11, these have meant everything. So if anyone involved in these sets are reading, thank you from the bottom of this fan's heart. It’s meant everything and i cant put into words how grateful i am to have these sets to go back too when times are a little dark.
Overall, this final box set is a perfect ending to a truly exceptional series of adventures, I cannot wait to see what big finish does next and I really hope we see Valarie again. I also hope Big Finish gives us more 11th Doctor but if not, we have been very lucky to have talents like Jacob Dudman and Safiyya Ingar as The Doctor and Valarie Lockwood, i wish we could have them travel in the TARDIS forever.
The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles - Victory of the Doctor is out now.
Also, not an Ad, this hasn’t been sponsored or gifted, this is truly my thoughts and reactions.
Have you listened to this box set? If so, what did you think? Let us know in the comments.
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Thanks so much for reading, we will be back very soon,
Until then, Stay Safe, Look After Each Other,
Harry x
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