Northern Lights

The Ninth Doctor Adventures Series 3 #1.2

Released: 10 May 2023

Listened: 6/19/23

Sometimes Big Finish does a story to satisfy a particular creator’s personal interest. In this case, it’s Christopher Eccleston’s admiration of Fridtjof Nansen of Norway, an explorer who navigated the Arctic and came very close to the North Pole. Moreover, he was a national hero in Norway, and received a Nobel Prize for his work with refugees later in life. Eccleston didn’t ask for this story; it was commissioned based on him mentioning Nansen in the studio, and he knew nothing about it until he saw the script. However, he’s clearly pleased with the results. Basically, the Doctor comes across Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen as they’re trying to return to civilization. Of course, the Doctor has bumped into some alien explorers on the way (as he does), and now they’re a threat to the human explorers. Except the sci-fi stuff is so minor that it’s almost an excuse. The bulk of the story is the Doctor hanging out with, and being impressed by, Nansen and Johansen. Which is nice, and even inspirational if you want to know more about these historical figures, but it’s not a ton of story. It’s clear that everyone involved is pleased with making the story, but I wonder if it wouldn’t have worked better as a true historical.