Previously … Helicon Prime …

The third story in Big Finish‘s second series of Companion Chronicles is the third to feature one of the Doctor’s male companions, in this case the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney).  The number of male companions on the TV show are in a minority compared to female companions, so it’s great that we’ve had three so far out of the first seven Companion Chronicles.

Old Soldiers is told by an older (and wiser?) Brigadier.  It’s set not long after Doctor Who and the Silurians, told to us by virtue of the Brigadier telling us that the Doctor stormed off after arguing with the Brig about his “blow ’em up!” resolution at the end of that TV adventure, and that Liz Shaw went off after him to calm him down.  This allows the adventure, in the beginning at least, to be a solo-Brigadier adventure.

The Brigadier visits Kriegeskind Castle, a wartime fortress converted into a UNIT outpost, after receiving an emergency message from an old friend, Kolonel Konrad.  When he arrives, Konrad has been overcome by a mental illness and isn’t making much sense.  His second-in-command, Major Schrader, has taken command at this time.

The Brigadier is soon to discover that the castle is periodically overrun by armies of ghosts, each wearing battledress from all over history – from Roman Legionnaires, to Nazi Soldiers.  These may be ghosts, but they solidify when they attack and kill whoever doesn’t kill them first.

Apparently, in his efforts to ensure readiness for alien invaders, Konrad had embarked on a dangerous experiment in which many of his men died.  Only Konrad survived, if his current condition can be called “survival”.  Out of his depth with the ghosts, the Brigadier calls for help from the Doctor, but isn’t too sure if he’ll be all that helpful given their recent angry parting.

The Doctor does arrive, in a typically flamboyant way and making immediate assumptions about what’s going on.  He later has to change his analysis if he wants to find a solution.

Realising they can’t win against the ghosts, Schrader hits the proverbial “panic button” and calls in an air strike to wipe out the castle, and the ghosts.  The Doctor must act fast if they’re to escape the death strike.

Thoughts

As a single-person enhanced audiobook (with a second voice for Schrader/Konrad), it doesn’t matter so much that Nicholas Courtney sounds much older than he did in the 70s TV series.  He sounds like the “old soldier” that he would be by this time.

Courtney does a passable representation of Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor voice.  It won’t win any awards, but you know who’s speaking most of the time.

It’s a good Brigadier adventure, with input from the Doctor, without being too war-torn like some of the UNIT-heavy scenes in the TV series.  He gets to deliver the classic “five rounds rapid” line, almost as a badge of honour, and to command troops in battle.

After the adventure, there’s a trailer for the The Catalyst, the next Companion Chronicles, followed by a short interview with Courtney who was clearly still highly enthusiastic about exploring the character of the Brigadier and reliving the era of the Third Doctor adventures.  So sad that he’s not longer with us.

Although this isn’t the best Nicholas Courtney adventure I’ve listened to so far from Big Finish (that would go to the Unbound stories in which he featured with David Warner), it is still a good way to spend an hour in the company of an old friend.