Customer Reviews

Marian Conspiracy (Dr Who Big Finish)

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After a very false start with Whispers of Terror (Dr Who Big Finish) Colin Baker FINALLY gets a first rate story to work in The Marian Conspiracy.

Maggie Stables makes an excellent debut as the Doctor Evelyn Smythe professor of history and like any good historian gets a real kick out of the concept and the results of time travel.

If there is one weakness to the story it is her easy acceptance of both the time travel and the alien aspects of the Doctor, presumably her more advanced years compared to most of her companions and her academic nature leads her to where the evidence goes without a boatload of fuss.

The actual story that puts them together a nexus point that seems to revolve toward our history professor and the historical encounters with Queen Mary and crew works on almost every level. Smythe complements the Doctor almost as much as Staples complements Baker.

I had the bad luck to have my first Evelyn story be The Apocalypse Element (Doctor Who) which turned out to be one of the least enjoyable Big Finish productions. I hope that you have the good luck to begin your journey with Dr. Symthe to start with this one.

Tracking a nexus point in time, the Doctor discovers it runs right through Dr Evelyn Smythe. Her past is already disappearing, and she herself will soon vanish. To save Evelyn and set history right, the pair travels back to Tudor England where they are soon caught up in court intrigue and revolutionary plots.

Not content with simply giving us adventures with familiar characters, Big Finish gives us a brand new companion unlike any other. Maggie Stables has a wonderfully distinctive voice that breathes life and personality into Evelyn, a part created especially for her.

Evelyn is a woman of mature years, a history professor with a taste for chocolate and a handbag filled with practical necessities. She is a good match for the Sixth Doctor--she's every bit as crusty and sarcastic and their repartee occasionally takes a rather barbed turn. Yet Evelyn also has the capacity to care deeply about people and causes and is an extremely likeable character.

Scriptwriter Jacqueline Raynor commented that the brief for this story was "to do a 'Hartnell historical' for the Sixth Doctor". She succeeded admirably, penning a straight-forward tale that examines the issue of religious freedom. The last strictly historical set piece was the 1982 television episode "Black Orchid" so we were long overdue for a trip back in time that didn't feature alien influences.

The Marian Conspiracy is a nicely paced and intelligent adventure and Evelyn is a wonderful addition to the catalogue of companions.