The Story of Extinction

Companion Chronicles #10.2

Released: 23 June 2016

Listened: 9/27/20

This story is from the first Companion Chronicles boxed set with the Second Doctor, so it would be odd not to have a story with Victoria in it. However, this is the final Big Finish appearance of Deborah Watling before her death in 2017. Unfortunately, the thing that stands out most is that she doesn’t really sound like Victoria at all here. If you can get past that, it’s a fairly straightforward sci-fi story. It’s one of those where a new piece of technology is introduced to the main characters and the listener, and sure enough, that particular technology (and the way it’s abused) ends up being the core of the story. It looks like Ian Atkins had some things to say about Internet culture and social media, but it’s not terribly subtle. From a character perspective, there’s an emphasis on Jamie and Victoria’s relationship, as he asks her to teach him to read, which is a pretty vulnerable thing for him to do. Victoria also has a bit of internal dialog, in which it’s made clear that she’s not exactly companion material, and the Doctor isn’t really keeping her safe, despite his best efforts. It’s a fine story, but not one that stands out.