The Butcher of Brisbane

Main Range #161

Released: June 2012

Listened: 12/6/19

This one is fairly dark and grim, especially for 2012 Big Finish. It’s also a prequel to “The Talons of Weng-Chiang,” and while not required, it helps a lot if you’re familiar with that story. It’s an odd choice for the Fifth Doctor, though. It looks like Mark Platt was intrigued by throwaway lines from “Talons” regarding the Filippino army at Reykjavik, and Brisbane, which gives Tegan a connection to the plot. There’s a bit of timey-wimey involved, which results in Nyssa and Turlough being on their own for a couple of years. Normally I hate it when stories resort to the “stuck for years” trope, but this time it works out fairly effectively. For a prequel, meaning you know how it has to end, there’s a lot going on here.