Doctor Who: Once and Future: The Artist At The End of Time Review

Now I wasn’t a big fan of the previous entry into Big Finish’s sixtieth-anniversary celebrations, Past Lives, it felt like they were trying to cram anything and everything they could into an hour-long story that didn’t fit the story they were trying to tell. Luckily though their second entry into the celebratory range, The Artist At The End of Time, feels much more cohesive and thought out, with much better character exploration and an actual reason as to why the Fifth Doctor, the Doctor’s daughter Jenny and the Curator would be drawn together.

When the Doctor, whose body has now stabilised into their Fifth incarnation arrives at The Final Gallery, a collection of artwork from dying or extinct civilisations, he is intent on finding out more about the weapon which is currently causing him to cycle through his previous incarnations. Instead, he bumps into his daughter Jenny and the pair quickly discover that the pieces are all painted by the same person, none other than The Curator, played by Colin Baker.

When the Doctor, whose body has now stabilised into their Fifth incarnation arrives at The Final Gallery, a collection of artwork from dying or extinct civilisations, he is intent on finding out more about the weapon which is currently causing him to cycle through his previous incarnations. Instead, he bumps into his daughter Jenny and the pair quickly discover that the pieces are all painted by the same person, none other than The Curator, played by Colin Baker.

Author James Goss rightly doesn’t go down the bombastic route that the opening story took, instead taking things at a quieter and more sedate pace, looking at the meaning of legacy and how the value of something like artwork can skyrocket in price after the painter has died. This takes a decidedly darker turn as the story goes on, quickly shifting from the fun we have, hearing these three actors together to finding out what is going on and how the Doctor may or may not, depending on who you think the Curator is, had a hand in the destruction of numerous worlds.

While it was a lot of fun hearing the Fifth Doctor and Jenny, played by real-life father and daughter Peter Davison and Georgia Tennant sparring with one another, the Doctor trying to be the cool dad, Goss gives much of the stories pathos to Jenny and the Curator. Gone is the Sixth Doctor’s bombast, and Baker gives a much more sedate performance, relishing in the quieter and more reflective moments, while becoming the Doctor (?) we all know when dealing with the alien threat at the end.

Unfortunately beyond the themes of legacy, there isn’t much in the way of plot, the hour-long runtime not giving enough space for story exploration and character exploration at the same time. And although this is only the second story, things still seem a little confused on the de-regeneration plot, almost like all the writers weren’t allowed to actually know where this series was going and just had to guess.

There are some continuity issues too, if the Fifth Doctor had already met Jenny a few years ago in The Legacy of Time and knows how they are related to one another, then how come it takes him so long to remember her, one would think you’d remember your own daughter?! Maybe we could put that down to post-regenerative stress, but continuity issues aside, James Goss keeps things moving just fast enough that during the story’s runtime, these aren’t questions you’ll ask, just things you’ll register afterwards.

However, none of that takes away from the fact that The Artist At The End of Time is certainly a much more intelligent celebration of the last sixty years than Past Lives was. The combination of characters which seems to be something that is carrying on with this range feels more suited to the plot here, if you are looking for a way to enjoy an hour of Doctor Who goodness, then you could certainly do a lot worse than this entry.

You can pick up Doctor Who: Once and Future: The Artist At The End of Time on CD (including digital) for £10.99 and on digital for £8.99 now from Big Finish.