Fright Motif

The Ninth Doctor Adventures Series 1 #2.2

Released: 11 August 2021

Listened: 9/21/22

This story takes place in Paris, post WWII, and features that Big Finish classic, the monster made of sound. Artie Berger is an American pianist who’s come to Paris to make his fortune and escape racism back home. (Played by Damian Lynch, doing quite a decent American accent.) Unfortunately, he’s lost his ability to play, for some reason. The Doctor turns up looking for…something extradimensional, and gets involved. The monstrosity is never really explained, which is fine, really; it’s just a threat to be dealt with. There’s a scene in Notre Dame that probably would’ve been quite difficult to do on TV, so it comes across well on audio. Artie’s boss Maurice starts out as rather a harsh employer, but turns quite sympathetic once his secret is discovered. The post-war setting is perfect for this post-war Doctor, who’s clearly being affected by the whole situation. There’s less sarcasm in this story, and the quickness with which he leaves indicates how much pain he’s still in.