The Eight Doctors In 'The Light At The End'
If 'Day Of The Doctor' was the big party event, filled with glitz and glam, then this special, produced by Big Finish for the 50th anniversary was the classy champagne reception that preceded it. I admit, I'm a little late to Big Finish. I've listened to Sixth Doctor being surprisingly awesome in 'Davros' and I've caught four Paul McGann stories so far. I was so glad I made 'The Light At The End' party of my 50th anniversary experience. In fact, it should be essential listening for any Doctor Who fan. Because it did something truly special...it gave us all the classic Doctors back together, fighting a common foe with the fate of the universe at stake. It also gave us some wonderful interplay between great characters that we had never seen before. Tom Baker's Fourth and Paul McGann's Eight were a brilliant duo, complimenting each other of their choice of clothing and generally bouncing off each other without being antagonistic or possessive of each other. Seven/Ace and Six/Peri also team up in some style...Colin Baker's Doctor taking a truly starring role in this special and showing that he was far better served here than he ever was on screen. I still found Peri annoying...sorry...but there is a lovely moment where Seven meets her and you can feel that regret in her voice...perhaps undoing the silly 'she married Brian Blessed' ending and suggesting she did in fact meet that darker fate from 'Mindwarp'. There's also some genuine appreciation of Ace from the Sixth, suggesting he would have been quite happy to have her and her 'act now, ask questions later' attitude on board his Tardis. Talking of Ace...I love how she identifies each Doctor (my favourites being Lord Byron and Joseph (and his amazing technicolour dream coat!). But all the companions shine here. Leela is her usual forthright self and Nyssa demonstrates how good a character she could be in her interplay with the Fifth...not being overshadowed here by brash characters such as Adric or Tegan). But in the end, it's all about the Doctors and it's like they never left. (Of course, with all their Big Finish experience, they haven't really). And through clever use of clips it does become an 'Eight Doctor' story. Yes, One Two and Three are here for the party too...working together to help defeat the enemy...though cunningly trapped in a different variance of reality so that they don't interact with our main five returning stars. And the story? Well, while there were shades of 'The Three Doctors' and 'The Five Doctors' in this tale, it is so much more than an excuse to have the Doctors in one room (or Tardis) together. The excellent Geoffrey Beavers is back as the 'Skeletor-like Master' from the Fourth Doctor's era, truly demonstrating why he is probably the series's ultimate villain. The way he attempts to destroy the Doctors, and the effect that it has on his companions and the universe is ingenious and indeed there are shades of modern classics like 'Turn Left' and 'The Big Bang' in the narrative. Overall, 'The Light At The End set the standard for the rest of the anniversary. Did they measure up to Big Finish's attempt? Well let's have a look...