Start to Finish: The Revenants

Image (c) Big Finish Productions Ltd

Remember Start to Finish? After a long break, I return to my epic review of the Big Finish spin-off series The Companion Chronicles, and another special release that I'd forgotten about in my initial summary: Ian Potter's The Revenants, which was released through Dr Who Magazine and then again as part of the 50th Anniversary package The Light at the End.

The Doctor believes that he can get his companions, Ian and Barbara, back to their own place and time at last, but something goes awry leaving the two teachers stranded on the island of Hoy. Mist and bog prove almost as deadly as any Dalek, but there is something else at work on the island. Marsh Wains stalk the night, and only the ancient spirit called the Wissfornjarl can stop them.

The Revenants is a bit of a throwback by the standards of the later Chronicles I've been reviewing, with a full framing narrative in addition to the main action. Guest actor Sharon Small plays both Jeannie, the woman to whom Ian is telling his story, and the spaywife Janet, who plays a major role in the main narrative. it is another reflective piece, although less melancholy than some.

Notably, it is a story in which the TARDIS crew essentially seem to have caused problems that they are then only incidental in solving. It also suffers a little from the fact that, confronted with anyone's religious beliefs, Ian tends to be a bit of a dick, although the framing narrative suggests some mellowing.

It's a slow story, and not a stand out in the series, but quite listenable.

Next, we crack on with series 7, beginning with more Ian Chesterton - indeed, more than you can shake a stick at - in The Time Museum.