Start to Finish: 6.06 - Beyond the Ultimate Adventure

Image (c) Big Finish Productions Ltd

One of Big Finish's more off the wall projects was the production of audio versions of three Doctor Who stage plays of times past. Curse of the Daleks was a Doctorless outing, loaded with unthinking chauvinism even as it tried to be progressive and Seven Keys to Doomsday was a pretty standard planet-crawl with Daleks and rebels and ancient super weapons. And then there was The Ultimate Adventure, a rollercoaster musical extravaganza featuring Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor.

And yes, I said musical. Some years later, the characters from the play return in Terrence 'The War Games' Dicks' Beyond the Ultimate Adventure.

Barely recovered from saving the world, the Doctor and his companions, Jason and Crystal, are plunged into a nightmare realm where fear is given form. Accompanying mercenary Karl on a good will search for hidden treasure and the peril of the universe, they find themselves in an otherworldly dimension, faced by an ancient and monstrous foe.

The framing device for this Chronicle is pretty straightforward, as Jason and Crystal (Noel Sullivan and Claire Huckle) record an account of the adventure for submission to a non-specific Time Lord oversight committee. The main narrative has shades of The Five Doctors, as the Doctor and his companions negotiate a parade of old enemies to reach a castle which holds a false reward, although this time it is explicitly a realm of the mind. It is also notable for transitioning between the two episodes of the play, not on a cliffhanger, but on a theatrical act break.

Sadly, or perhaps thankfully, there are no songs, despite the return of Sullivan (from Hear'Say) and his incredible French accent as Jason.

Beyond the Ultimate Adventure is a lighthearted romp, even when faced with deadly, ancient evil, and serves as a good palate cleanser between The First Wave and our next installment, The Anachronauts.