The Gift

Doom Coalition #2.3

Released: 3 March 2016

Listened: 12/8/21

Trying to chase down Caleera, something goes horribly wrong with the TARDIS, and they end up landing in San Francisco, 1906. The Doctor is dealing with some psychic shock, so he doesn’t recognize the danger. Liv has no way of knowing, and although Helen is a historian, early-20th-century America isn’t her speciality. The main thing going on here seems to be one Mr. McLean attempting to stage a production of King Lear using local talent, but unfortunately Enrico Caruso is in town with the Metropolitan Opera’s tour of Carmen (historically accurate), which leaves McLean destitute and desperate. Marc Platt weaves a historically accurate setting despite having never been to San Francisco, which is pretty cool. The setting dictates that most of the minor characters are American, but they seem to be played by actual Americans this time, so the accents are a good bit better than most Americans in Big Finish. Plot-wise, it’s a little weak with respect to what the Gift actually is, how it’s passed, and how it works. Aside from the setting, it’s just OK.