The Edge

Companion Chronicles #10.4

Released: 23 June 2016

Listened: 10/23/20

This story focuses squarely on Jamie, to a greater degree than other stories. That’s nice, because this is the last time Frazer Hines gets to play a younger Jamie, and the Second Doctor. Frazer's other appearances feature an older Jamie, and the Doctor was played by Michael Troughton from this point on. The TARDIS crew lands on an asteroid devoted to academic research, which excites the Doctor and Zoe, but bores Jamie, and brings out feelings of inferiority, although he tries to hide it. It’s also a perfect setup for a base under siege, but that doesn’t happen. The Doctor and Zoe get sidelined fairly early in the story, which leaves Jamie to rescue them. He does so in his usual action-hero style, but he displays several instances of cleverness that indicate how much he’s learned about advanced scientific concepts since traveling with the Doctor. He’s no scholar, but he’s bright, and picks things up quickly, as almost all companions do. And he gets to display his steadfastness, loyalty, and even mercy. It’s a straight-up win for Jamie, which makes this a very nice story with which to end his official part in the project. This isn’t the last thing Frazer recorded for Big Finish, and I hope he gets to continue for a while yet.