Customer Reviews

Doctor Who: Shada

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of Douglas Adams' (yes, THAT Douglas Adams) few Doctor Who stories, "Shada" was supposed to be filmed in the late 70s, but labor disputes stopped filming before it was completed.

Now a six-part story for the Eighth Doctor and Romana II, "Shada" has been given loving treatment by Big Finish, and it's terrific. The supporting cast--which includes Sean Biggerstaff (Oliver Wood in the "Harry Potter" movies)--is uniformly excellent, with dramatic chops as well as sparkling comic timing.

Fans of Douglas Adams' other works may enjoy spotting the plot elements that Adams recycled into "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency".

This story was originally written by Douglas Adams and was planned to end season 17 with Tom Baker as the Doctor. But due to a BBC strike, this story was sadly never completed. Now Lalla Ward returns as Romana and John Leason returns as the voice of K9 to complete this story at long last with Paul McGann as the Doctor (who originally played the Doctor in the 1996 TV movie). It's still a shame that "Shada" wasn't completed for season 17, but this is the next best thing. This is a great story about a mad man named Skagra who wants to make the universe his own by stealing people's minds and implanting his own mind in their bodies. But to do this he needs the power of great Time Lord criminal Saliavin who is suppose to be imprisoned on the Time Lord prison planet Shada, and to get to Shada he needs an ancient book dating back to Rassilon himself. Now it's up to the Doctor, his old companions Romana and K9, and his old friend Professor Cronotis to stop him. The story is packed with action and filled with excitement that keeps you on the edge of your seet. It's nice that Douglas Adams' great story can finally be enjoyed - even if it's just on audio. Highly recommeded!

A tweak here and there, and poof! A fun, witty romp gets an update. The Doctor is still up to his old tricks. The supporting cast is excellent, especially the villain! This isn't Hitch-hiker silliness, but it is classic Douglas Adams, out on a limb and inviting us along!

To use a phrase associated with books "I couldn't put it down". This story is a brilliant tale brought to you by the late great Douglas Adams of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame. Big Finish has out done themselves adapting it for an 8th Doctor audio play, the "pre title" opening sequence to explain why suddenly this is an 8th doctor story is absolute genius, using the events of The Five Doctors story to explain what happened to the fourth doctor and Romana. When in reality a strike in the 70's at the BBC caused production of Shada to halt and thus left this a incomplete story.
Having seen the vhs release of the original Shada with linking narration from Tom Baker it was a little jarring at first to hear Paul McGann speaking these lines, which were obvously written with Tom Baker's over the top attitude in mind, considering it was written during his tenure. But right away Paul McGann slips into the comedy, with a few newer bits of dialouge made for his boyish charm when he tells Romana how much he missed her for example.
If you can get a copy even used this is well worth the purchase, an over all fantastic listen for a long trip or a commute to work. I've been picking and choosing Big Finish Doctor Who stories at more or less random, begining with the amazing 5th Doctor story "Spare Parts" and I have yet to be dissapointed with the product.

What do the 8th doctor, President Romana, K-9, a Time Lord called "the Professor" living for decades on Earth, a criminal trapped on the Time Lord Prison planet, an artifact from ancient Gallifrey, and a 1979 story by Douglas Adams all have in common?

This very enjoyable 2003 audio play.