The Great White Hurricane

First Doctor Adventures #1.2

Released: 25 December 2017

Listened: 1/11/20

The second story of this set is a pure historical, set in New York during the Great Blizzard of 1888, which I had never heard of before this story, much to my embarrassment. As with most historicals, it’s a little on the slow side, and a bit grim, but not bleak as they often are. The pace is sustained by separating Ian and Barbara from the Doctor, and all of them from Susan. Ian and Barbara get involved in a domestic dispute, and then a rescue of some folks from a train, while the Doctor and Susan get caught up in some gang warfare. Ian gets sidelined early, so he can’t go into full Hero Mode until later. The Doctor is particularly cantankerous, but he’s worried about Susan and stuck with a bunch of violent Americans. The American accents are rather good, better than usual for Big Finish, although they tend toward stereotypical “Noo Yawk” accents, and there are still some English phrasings. I’m rather fond of this story; although historicals usually aren’t my favorites, I gravitate toward stories that take place in locations I’m familiar with.