Doctor Who: Time Tunnel

Writer: Nigel Fairs
Director: Lisa Bowerman
Script Editor: Michael Stevens
Cover Illustration: Mark Plastow
Music & Sound Design: Toby Hrycek-Robinson
Producer: Michael Stevens

Read by Katy Manning
Released March 2015

The third of the monthly Doctor Who Short Trips from Big Finish Productions, Time Tunnel is a cosy offering set in the Jon Pertwee era.

The early seventies saw the third Doctor, marooned without use of his TARDIS, working alongside the 'secret' military organisation UNIT to defend the Earth from alien invasions. This encompassed almost every setup imaginable (some several times) from peace conferences under attack and replacing politicians with duplicates to underwater adventures and forays into space. About the only thing producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks didn't try was travel by rail, something that Nigel Fairs sets about putting right.

It seems unfortunate that the plot of this story is so transparent, but in hindsight that's not the point. As soon as the Brigadier enters the Doctor's lab, interrupting yet another of his experiments, and reels off the pertinent details of the latest mystery to land on his desk, the truth seems obvious in light of this story's title. A train has emerged from a tunnel in Sussex, all its passengers and crew having died of malnutrition despite having been fine just a few minutes earlier. The joy of this story, and there is a lot of it to be found, is in the execution as the Doctor and Jo head off in pursuit of answers.

There is perhaps some mileage in contrasting Time Tunnel with The Blue Tooth, the first in the Companion Chronicles series to feature the third Doctor, just as this is his first Short Trip. Both were written by Nigel Fairs, and released eight years apart. Although the content of each is partially a consequence of which series it is supposed to herald from (the envelope-pushing Season 7 versus the comfy Season 10), they are also a neat reflection of Big Finish's development. At around the time of The Blue Tooth's release, it was not unusual to get stories like Night Thoughts, Time Works or Son of the Dragon. In contrast, 2015 offered Mistfall, The Defectors and Last of the Cybermen. Purchasing a Doctor Who story from Big Finish these days is much more of a known quantity, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but can at times make the company's creative growth feel a little stunted. The Blue Tooth is ambitious and unprecedented. Time Tunnel could not be further in the opposite direction if it had Mike Yates laying on a Jeep. But of the two, Time Tunnel is probably the stronger, so what do I know?

Katy Manning is a real asset to these audio adventures, particularly in single-voice productions, such as here. She brings her signature warmth, yet to be matched, to her reading and completes the snug impression of a story that takes in the Home Counties, UNIT setting up in a school (much better than in Primord), a buried spaceship and an alien that's not evil after all. The sound design and music don't put a foot wrong in complementing the script and performance; what a find Toby Hrycek-Robinson is.

All in all, Time Tunnel is a very enjoyable trip down the train tracks of history and another enjoyable Short Trip. The only thing I'd say is that I wish they weren't in such a blimmin rush: 7 seconds into Time Tunnel, we've had the theme tune, Katy Manning's voiceover introduction and we're into the story itself. That aside, this is turning into a great series that could easily fly under the radar. Don't miss out.