THE SELACHIAN GAMBIT

I finally found the time to start listening to some Big Finish audios, and chose The Selachian Gambit last night.  This was offered for £2.99 recently in recognition of the similarly themed bank job TV episode Time Heist.

The audio and the TV episode have a lot in common.  Neither are particularly deep, neither are particularly dark, and both are about 45 minutes long.  Both feature a pretty gruesome “death” (or gruesome non-dead brain-wipe in the TV episode), and both require the Doctor to break into an impenetrable vault only for us to be surprised by what he finds (although The Selachian Gambit uses a tried-and-tested plot that’s As old as the hills and that won’t challenge anyone).

The Selachian Gambit is from Big Finish’s Companion Chronicles range.  This range doesn’t feature the actor that originally played the Doctor and is told from the perspective of the companion (usually because the actor playing the Doctor is no longer with us).  Typically, these stories are one-handers (like a more vibrant take on an audiobook).  The Selachian Gambit isn’t unique in using two companions, but it’s not the norm.

It sounds like I’m describing an audiobook with bells and whistles doesn’t it?  Fortunately, The Selachian Gambit doesn’t come across like that at all.  For the most part, the story is told from the perspective of Jamie (Frazer Hines describes what’s going on in first person – so it’s only what he sees and is thinking).  However, Frazer Hines also “performs” all the other voices in that are required from Jamie’s perspective (including the 2nd Doctor, Ben, the Selachians, and the other hostages).  This mostly works and gives an uncanny sense of it being “full-cast” even though it isn’t.  Frazer’s interpretation of Patrick Troughton, while not completely perfect, is more than adequate.  If you allow yourself a modicum sense of disbelief, you can convince yourself that the 2nd Doctor is there.  I’m not completely familiar with Michael Craze’s voice, but Frazer’s “cockney Ben” feels right enough to work.

Being a two-hander, this story can contain scenes without Jamie and these are told in much the same way by Anneke Wills giving Polly’s perspective.  Wills has more trouble capturing the voices and even Polly requires getting used to.  It’s not just that Wills’ voice seems to have aged more than Hines, it’s more that it sounds like she has more difficulty capturing her 60s air of flighty innocence.  It’s just a little thing, though, that you can convince yourself to get used to.

The story itself is fairly straight-forward.  Some reviews say that it captures the spirit of the 60s, but I’m not sure I could agree.  Admittedly, I’ve only seen the 60s adventures in more modern times but, to me, The Selachian Gambit seems to have more in common with modern adventures.  I know humour was a part of classic WHO, but “clamping the TARDIS” is a very nooWHO “gag” – fortunately, the rest of the story doesn’t come across quite so “slapstick”, and it does feel as though the start of the story is half-way into the adventure (no mention is made of what they’re doing there in the first place).

There are many 60s elements there, including the “rubber faced monsters with menacing voices”, and Polly being sent to make some tea (for a plot-necessary reason, of course!), but you shouldn’t go into this expecting to be transported back into the 60s era of the second Doctor.  It’s a lightweight piece of fluff that’ll occupy you with entertainment for 45 minutes, and it is nice to hear more from the 2nd Doctor, but that’s all it is.

After the story there’s a trailer for another Companion Chronicles adventure, and that’s followed by a three-way “talk” interview between the producer, the director, and Frazer Hines.  This talk comes across a little like a “big up” Big Finish back-slapping exercise, but it’s still nice to hear Frazer Hines talking about his audio experiences with doing Jamie and the 2nd Doctor.

In short, for £2.99 this is a no-brainer and is well worth the money.  For the usual price of £7.99?  Maybe not.  It’s still worth a listen, but £7.99 for a 45 minute audio adventure doesn’t really sound like value for money unless you’re really into audio adventures, Doctor Who, and Jamie/2nd Doctor.