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| The Chimes of Midnight by Robert Shearman |
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"Interesting" is an interesting word. It means nothing and everything. For me, it sums up the appeal of a Doctor Who audio, perhaps even more than a TV story. On audio, the visual tapestry is blank. Everything rests with the story, the characters and the dialogue. The difference between a story that is interesting and one that isn't, is often the difference between enjoyment and not listening at all. It's much harder to sit through boring audio, than it is boring TV. "The Chimes of Midnight", my favourite Big Finish audio, is very interesting indeed. I find professionalism to be tied in to this factor too; without wishing to demean Big Finish's "less renowned" voices, the use of Barnaby's and Helen's in multiple roles (no doubt for perfectly acceptable logistical reasons) robs a play of a little variety and interest. There are simply no such filler roles in "Chimes". From Sue Wallace's familiar but irresistible Mrs Baddely to the Irish lilted menace of Lennox Greaves as Mr Shaughnessy, everyone is eminently listenable and as, well… interesting, as the superbly realised story setting. Edward Grove is full of sinister hurried footsteps, screams and the terrifying chimes of the unseen (even on audio) Grandfather Clock as it marks another death. There's something about a Doctor Who classic that makes itself known within a very short space of time. And something within you cries "yes!" as Paul McGann and India Fisher emerge from the TARDIS in this story to explore the empty, darkened scullery. "Yes!" and "This is it!". We're on our way to something pretty special. And how easy does it seem? The production has three qualities which most other plays struggle to even locate, let alone excel at all three of them. It's simple, it's genuinely funny and it's scary. Just as you know this story is special, you also want to keep on listening to it at any cost. And it is funny when Frederick deduces that he must have run himself over in his "Bentley or Chrysler or whatever it was", and when Edith drowns herself impossibly because she was too stupid to know it wasn't possible. And Edith Thompson's scream is quite the most terrifyingly chilling in Who history. I hadn't heard of "Sapphire and Steel" when I first got "Chimes". When I eventually saw it, I came away (admittedly, it has to be said, a little giddily) proclaiming it the best TV series ever. It probably isn't, but I'm certainly glad Shearman chose the best to be influenced by. However, this lazy comparison sells "Chimes" some way short of it's deserved merit. It isn't actually much like "Sapphire and Steel" at all. But it is intelligent, colourful, frightening, touching and wickedly humorous. And startlingly, delightfully interesting.
CD Facts Part 1 - Tracks 1-9 Part 2 - Tracks 10-16 Part 3 - Tracks 1-8 Part 4 - Tracks 9-18
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