Written by Lizbeth Myles and directed by Nicholas Briggs.
Spoiler-free verdict: A detailed historical elevated by exceptional characterization a fresh voice.
Recommended pre-listening: None.
***
Big Finish built so much of their reputation on redefining eras long gone. As a result, it’s always interesting to see them do the opposite, to take the open door from the current show and immediately walk through it. The Astrea Conspiracy is the swiftest Big Finish have ever gone from a Doctor departing the show to that same Doctor appearing on audio. And as a result, the final production feels a lot more immediate.
It’s not that this is a particularly world-changing story in of its contents. There are a number of historical dramas the Doctor has been dropped into from as far back as the 60s. But there is nonetheless a vivid life to this story that makes it engrossing. A significant part of that is the characterization. Neve McIntosh puts in a marvelous Capaldi imitation, but more than that, Lizbeth Myles writes a genuinely marvelous Twelfth Doctor. He’s impish and silly, and merges an alien detachment with a deep sense of care. For anyone already missing his Doctor, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that, this story perfectly captures what’s so wonderful about him.
In terms of values, it also feels like a true extension of the era into new directions. Steven Moffat’s later years with the Twelfth Doctor were accompanied by bigger and bigger steps into overt feminism for the show, both in front of and behind the camera; this is an era which not only advanced the possibility of a woman as the Doctor with characters like Clara and Missy, but has tied itself for most women to ever write a run of Doctor Who, and whose defining director is none other than Rachel Talalay. Myles fits into that tradition nicely. It’s not just that she’s a woman in a Big Finish landscape overwhelmingly defined by men, but it’s that she comes from a distinctly feminist critical tradition of fandom, one which makes itself felt in the story. This also accounts for the fantastic choice of building the story around Aphra Behn. I have to confess, she is not a historical figure I’d heard of before, but from what a cursory Google search has told me, she has been undergoing feminist re-evaluation for several decades now. She’s exactly the sort of perspective that feminist scholarly fandom can offer, and the story’s successes prove that that is a worthwhile exercise.
It’s also bolstered by the fact that, while the story is true to the Twelfth Doctor’s era, it’s nothing like what this Doctor had on TV. It’s one of those “pure historicals”, in which the Doctor himself is the sole source of sci-fi drama. This helpfully avoids the sense of repition and empty nostalgia recreation, which it’s far too soon after Capaldi’s era to be entirely in need of. If anything, it’s more in-tune with what Capaldi’s run on Doctor Who has been followed by, under Chris Chibnall, sharing an approach to history to the lightly sci-fi-flavored Rosa and Demons of the Punjab, modern stories which have revitalized the genre and served as highlights of Jodie Whittaker’s era. Thus, seeing the Twelfth Doctor in such a story feels less like a throwback and more like a leap forward into new territory—the new territory he helped pave the way for.
The Astrea Conspiracy isn’t perfect. At times, I found myself lost in the historical details as someone who hasn’t researched the period, and the actual plot is fairly slender, mostly coming down to the old Who standby of capture and escape. But the way it is breathed into life with sharp detail makes it feel like so much more. This is a simple tale told well, sparkling in the small moments, the research, and the wit. It’s definitely worth $2.99 and forty minutes of your time.
8/10
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