Doctor Who - I.D. and Urgent Calls (Big Finish Adventures)

This is the ninety fourth release from Big Finish in their range of full cast audio adventures starring classic Doctor Whos. It stars Colin Baker as a companionless Six and a very welcome Gyles Brandreth as a main character in I.D. There are two stories here, the first three episodes are an adventure called I.D, the fourth episode a one part story called Urgent Calls. Episodes are roughly 25-30 minutes each, complete with original theme music between each, and cliff hanger endings within the three parter. Two episodes per disc on 2 discs, and a short booklet with some pictures of the cast and production notes. There are also some interviews with cast and crew at the end of the both the first and second discs.In the first story Six arrives in a giant rubbish dump, and of course there are some unpleasant shenanigans going on involving mad brain surgeons, rogue robots and mass murder. With some comments on our throwaway culture and data protection, this is a cracking little story. Being a three parter means that the pace is kept up and it never has time to sag. Baker is excellent in this type of story, all manic energy as he is constantly reacting to the situation and trying to get it under control. Gyles Brandreth is a perfect accompaniment for Six, with his loquacious style and well rounded tones. He has a sense of fun and gets right into the spirit of the production.In complete contrast, the single episode story is a slower, more intriguing piece, in which the Doctor interacts with someone through the medium of a series of wrong number telephone calls. With Circular Time, the Big Finish crew showed just what they were capable of with single episode sotries that break the mould, and here they do it again for Six. It's a great story, carried by Baker's performance as you hear him on the other end of a telephone line trying to puzzle things out.Two great stories of a very contrasting nature for the price of one. I like this 3:1 format that Big Finish have developed, and this is an excellent example of just how good the format can be.There are some interviews with cast and crew at the end of discs one and two. These are a bit more interesting than on previous releases as Brandreth and Baker are more interesting interviewees.All in all 5 stars from me for this entertaining yet contrasting release.

good cd,good service

This is the 94th cd set in the Big Finish Main Release range. This is a relatively unusual release, in that it contains a 3-part story on the first cd and the first half of the second cd. The remaining half of the second cd contains a 1-part story, which is itself part of an overall story thread.The first story, I.D. starts with groups of people who seem to be on the same planet, yet are antagonistic to each other. There are androids trawling through discarded piles of debris and uploading information to their human handlers, and in other parts, there are those who work the piles for their own purposes. As two of these data pirates watch, the Doctor arrives. Can they make some money by selling him back to the Lonway Clinic, from where they presume he has come?This is a most intriguing story, set in the 32nd Century, a time when people are able to make of themselves what they will, for a price. And for those who don’t fit in a digital world, or who don’t have the money to make the most of it, choices are more limited, and they must make opportunities where they find them. The Doctor finds himself in a society where he disapproves of many of the choices they make, but where he must face the choice of putting aside his own morality to stop a greater danger.Colin Baker is fantastic as the Doctor in this story. Travelling without a companion, he is abrupt and forthright as he takes charge of the dangerous situation in which he finds himself, and in which others have been placed. The supporting cast, including Helen Atkinson Wood, Joe Thompson, David Dobson, Sara Griffiths and Gyles Brandreth are very good, although perhaps none of the characters they play are particularly memorable or stand out. But they are part of the societies in which they have lived their lives, and perhaps that’s a large part of the point of the whole story. The Doctor, by his very contrast, is able to decide to make some sort of difference.The second, one-part story is Urgent Calls, where a young woman on Earth in 1974 makes a phone call and connects to a wrong number. But when she finds the person on the other end of the phone calls himself ‘the Doctor’ she tells him that she hasn’t been feeling well. When he hears her symptoms, he gives her some immediate advice. What happens after that is the whole story, and it’s a real delight. Kate Brown and Colin Baker carry this whole story, and they do it brilliantly. There is a real human and emotional impact in the story, which in essence is so simple, and yet to be as successful as it is, is incredibly clever. The story stands delightfully well on its own, but does sit as the first part of a four-part ongoing thread of four one-part stories (continued on the BF Main Release numbers 95 (Exotrons / Urban Myths), 97 (The Wishing Beast / The Vanity Box) and 102 (The Mind’s Eye / Mission of the Viryans).A really great release, and one which will definitely be listened to again.

Urgent calls really makes this package. It is such a cleverly written one episode gem, it should be made into a television story. Considering theres only two main stars its a great yarn. Doctor Who never seems to be lagging or lacking anything. Always new writers come on board and add onto the many adventures the good Doctor has had. And here is a prime example of a great mini adventure.Im not saying ID isnt good, in part two and three it is, its just the first part of this story thats a little too long, and doesnt have an over abundance of great moments or interest. But from the end of episode 1, things get far better. Colin Baker is excellent of course, and those who say this seems to be a slide back to his catty edgetv days need to think that maybe this story is set before his vastly humanised other big finish audios you know. Dont take it all out on him for goodness sake. and another good thing in id is the return of the great Sara griffiths, shes so good in her role on Delta and the bannerman, and shes great here too, its just a shame she couldnt have had her delta accent on this play, but she plays too serious a role i suppose...still a pity though. The scandroids do have good voices too, this just would have been better if it was a two part story, But it is still far more interesting than nearly all rubbish on tv these days, but then again thats not hard. Doctor who is never totally rubbish! Never...