A Mother's Love

The War Doctor Begins #5.1

Released: 16 May 2023

Listened: 5/28/23

A lot of Big Finish spin-off stories last four boxed sets, and that’s it. Looks like the War Doctor is going beyond that, though, because there’s a new set called “Comrades in Arms.” Judging by the tone of this first one, the War Doctor gets to have some actual friends, and maybe behave a bit more like the Doctor. Because this story sees the return of Case, the Dalek-built cyborg from series 2, “Warbringer.” She’s been working with Veklin as an agent, but just now Veklin is badly hurt, so they make for an advanced Time Lord hospital called Haven. The Doctor ends up there as well, answering a distress call, but there’s no sign of distress. In fact, there’s no sign of anybody, except for Runa, the daughter of the caretakers, and “MOM,” the station A.I. You know it’s never a good idea to let an A.I. run a hospital, and the Doctor is suspicious right away. However, he’s also a lot kinder and friendlier than we’ve seen him before, very nearly Doctor-ish. That’s possibly because he’s interacting with a child, and with Case, whom he feels concern for. Still, he doesn’t object very strongly when the A.I. addresses him as “Doctor.” Ajjaz Awad is back as Case, and it’s always nice to hear Beth Chalmers in anything, but especially as Veklin. There’s an auto-tuned quality to the vocal effect on the A.I. this time which is unusual, but also very effective. It’s also fun to hear all the British actors trying to pronounce “mom” instead of “mum.” The story itself you can kinda predict, including the resolution, but the characterizations are great.