Review by Cavan Gilbey

Once and Future continues, or rather plods along, with Two’s Company and return to a Sixth Doctor driven story, the second in this very series. However even Colin Baker can’t save this one as Two’s Company strikes out as the weakest of the stories we’ve had so far, which is saying something given the overall response to Once and Future so far can be summed up with the phrase ‘meh.’ The phrase ‘Dartboard Plotting’ has been coined recently to describe elements of Big Finish’s current output, and I feel it was this story which catalysed the recent surge of that phrase’s use. When looking at this story, which contains two companions from the modern era paired with the Sixth Doctor and an older Harry who team up to fight a fan favourite Big Finish original baddie, it is hard to not simply say this is epitome of randomised idea generation.

One of the main criticisms I’ve levelled against Once and Future is that there isn’t a sense of cohesion coming through. I think this episode has been the straw that has broken the camel’s back for me, because we are four episodes in and we still barely know anything about the degeneration weapon, its creator or user, or why it was used on the Doctor or if it was accidental. Admittedly, Two’s Company gives you a sliver of extra information but I’m going to compare this to the superior Legacy of Time (which was also an anniversary anthology) for a second. In that series we got a hint towards the wider threat in each episode, which also told its own self contained story, but Once and Future gives us our most significant hint here in episode four of eight and even then the hint is just ‘Doctor I’ve heard planet/species/person may be of use to you, perhaps you should head there.’ 

That is hardly the story’s main narrative problem. Those come in the form of the episode simply not being very interesting. There’s a very generic heist sequence somewhere in the back end where Lady Christina does acrobatics which are about as interesting an audio as you can imagine and with no shame levelled at Michelle Ryan, because she actually gives a strong vocal performance, I cannot in any way see how this character is worthy of appearing in an episode celebrating the history of the series. I’m aware that she has a pair of boxsets plus one off appearances in other rangers, but she was in a single TV episode that isn’t particularly popular or really all that good. Unnecessary is the key word here, everything in this episode doesn’t feel like its organically written. The two central plot threads barely link up in the end and when they do it feels so excessively contrived, not that it mattered because the old ‘oh because of time stuff you won’t remember this’ card is played. By far the biggest anomaly is the inclusion of Harry Sullivan, I can’t help but think he should have appeared in Past Lives in place of Osgood because he feels so bafflingly out of place and under used here. He’s almost too much of an idiot, which he never really was in screen outside of the first couple of serials where he was adjusting to the Doctor’s travels. 

The cast all do their best with this script, but there really isn’t any meat to the bone of this one. Colin Baker and Camille Coduri have a really effortless chemistry that really took me by surprise, I honestly think that McMullin really nailed the pairing and how they bicker and work off each other. Christopher Naylor didn’t feel quite as good as Harry in this one compared to the other stories I’ve heard him in, despite being an older version of the character no real attempt to bring that age has been made and so he just vaguely sounds like the Harry we are most familiar with. The real scene stealer is Michael Maloney as The Two. He’s a fun campy villain who is pitched just right for the tone of the story, I just wished he was given a bit more to do with The Doctor since I think Baker and Maloney do work great in the few scenes they share.

I can’t recommend this. At a price of £10.99 you could get so many better stories from sales or at their regular price, I can’t see anyone buying this unless they’ve bought the bundle for the whole series. 

It went in one ear and straight out the other.

4/10

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Review: Doctor Who – Once and Future – A Genius For War

Review: Doctor Who – Once and Future – The Artist At The End Of Time

Review: Doctor Who – Once and Future – Past Lives

Check out the rest of our Big Finish reviews!