The Turn of the Screw

Short Trips #8.3

Released: 27 March 2018

Listened: 1/09/22

This short trip is narrated by Yee Jee Tso, in character as Charlie Sato from the handful of UNIT stories where he’s appeared. There’s also a tiny cameo from Daphne Askbrook as Ruth Matheson. Charlie is in San Juan, trying to track down some alien tech, which turns out to be the broken sonic screwdriver that the Eleventh Doctor lost in “The Eleventh Hour.” Paradoxically, the Eighth Doctor comes to retrieve it, saving Charlie’s life from the various aliens who are also after it. Because the story takes place in North America, Yee Jee Tso’s American accent is very appropriate, especially in-character. He’s never suffered from the over-enunciation that Americans in Big Finish often have, even when they’re played by actual Americans, so it sounds very authentic. Unlike most narrators, he doesn’t attempt to mimic the Doctor’s voice or cadence, which makes the story a bit flat, but it’s probably best he didn’t try. It’s a nice little story with good continuity references.