The Bad Penny

Fourth Doctor Adventures #7.6

Released: 16 May 2018

Listened: 4/14/22

This one is written by Dan Starkey, and although it doesn’t have the excessive verbiage that his stories sometimes do, it’s stuffed full of ideas, perhaps more than are needed. It’s a “mysterious hotel” story, of which Doctor Who has had plenty, and a big old time paradox as well. It’s also got a “self-made man” taking advantage of the paradox, various characters out of their time, and also a monster. I’m not sure the monster was strictly necessary, but someone decided that Doctor Who stories should have a monster in them. Leela does fairly well, for a story that takes place entirely inside a hotel, using her skills to read people. The Doctor seems a bit more banter-y than usual, but that’s probably the writing. (K-9 is absent once again.) One element to note is that there are more characters than usual in a Big Finish story, because Dan Starkey is able to voice them all himself, which gives him a bit of leverage in the scope, which is ironic considering the claustrophobic nature of the story.