The Doctor's Case
The TARDIS being on trial is a novel idea and arguably the main draw of this box set, aside from seeing original Big Finish stories with Chris and Roz. After all, how can a box be put on trial? The answer is that the people of Thrantas believe that, given that the ship has some sentience, it's responsible for its actions. Unlike in Trial of a Time Lord and Trial of the Valeyard, the actual hearing itself isn't the main nor the most interesting part of the story.
What the trial does allow for is some understated exploration of the Doctor's relationship with the TARDIS. It's something we've seen a lot more of in the modern series (especially Eleventh with The Doctor's Wife) but very little with the classic Doctors beyond Sixth and Eighth referring to it as "Old Girl". Here we get a fascinating idea - given that the TARDIS has sentience, has the Doctor enslaved it by stealing it from Gallifrey and flying away? It's something that he worries about in a particularly poignant moment at the end of the story. You'd be forgiven for thinking that Big Finish had run out of new ideas and facets to show of the "old" Doctors but this isn't the case. This might be one of my favourite Seventh moments despite how subtle and short it is. His pained reaction to the TARDIS's sentence is another standout moment.
The cancelled novel adaptations range was cancelled for lack of an adequate number of sales, so it seems a number of listeners might not be too aware of companions Chris Cwej and Roz Forrester. My only exposure to them so far has been Cold Fusion. The story wisely gives them a reintroduction, letting us know their background as law enforcers through natural and believable dialogue rather than espousing exposition. They clearly haven't been travelling with the Doctor for long given that he's almost training them, getting them to assess where they've landed based on what they can see.
The story begins with an intelligent but uncomplicated discussion on the nature of law and universal truths, which I (a third year law student with an interest in legal theory) wasn't expecting and thoroughly enjoyed. We also get criticism of black letter law that doesn't account for different circumstances or how harmful an act actually is to society in the short- and long-term. In fact, acts on Thrantas may or may not be a crime depending on the impact it has on the public.
Again, you might think that we'd run out of things to learn about the Doctor but clearly that isn't the case - he believes that what is right and what is wrong is dependent on where you are and what the norms are there. It would have been easy (and dull) for the Doctor to say that there is inherent black-and-white morality but instead Lane goes for something arguably more controversial. Perhaps I'm reading into this too much.
The Valeyard's Case
The nature of law and ethics was my favourite part of this story and I was looking forward to seeing what was going to happen to Thrantas after the Magistrum was released... but we didn't get any of that. Has the Doctor destroyed justice on Thrantas? We have no idea, which is a huge shame and an unfortunate consequence of this being a fifty minute story rather than a Main Range release. For that matter, perhaps I missed something but I have no idea what the TARDIS was trying to teach the crew.
Chris and Roz might be given a soft reintroduction but the scenes with them off on their own are easily the weakest of the story. The plot just isn't all that interesting and, if this is to present Chris and Roz for a wider audience after the unfortunate failure of the novel adaptations, we could have done with them taking a larger role that shows them in a more dynamic light. This is nitpicking, though.
Not a gripe with this story per se but what was wrong with Seventh's TV theme? Why did they make a new one for the novel adaptations?
I'll Explain Later
- The Doctor says that the TARDIS is incapable of communication. However, not only have we seen it communicate through beeps and boops in Clara and the TARDIS, but it's used a voice interface in Zagreus (as the Brigadier), Let's Kill Hitler (as Amy) and Hide (as Clara).
A weird idea plus interesting things to say is a perfect recipe for Doctor Who and a decent start to this volume. The discussion of legal theory and the Doctor's worry that he's enslaved the TARDIS are standout themes, but the fifty minute format means that the ending feels somewhat rushed and the question of whether or not the Doctor was right to free the Magistrum is never brought up. Still, this is a good story and earns itself a B.
The Seventh Doctor: The New Adventures - Volume 1
The Trial of a Time Machine | Vanguard | The Jabari Countdown | The Dread of Night
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