Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Snare from Big Finish Review

It’s been 20 years since Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper were on our screens as the Ninth Doctor and Rose. And now, we don’t just have a 13-episode television series to enjoy… they’re returning together on audio!

Chris and Billie are no strangers to reprising their roles for Big Finish Productions, but this is the first time they are back together. It is truly a milestone moment, and this is the beginning of a series of 12 full-cast audio dramas coming out over the next two years. What a time to be alive!

The first instalment in this series of ‘The Ninth Doctor Adventures’ is Snare, written by Tim Foley. From the Big Finish website…

Kevin left the Powell Estate a long time ago. He wasn’t going to be trapped there. But all these years later, he’s back and clearing out his dad’s old flat. At least his neighbours, the Tylers, are still here. But Rose has a strange new man in her life. And this Doctor’s going to show Kevin a world he never knew existed. Unfortunately, something ancient is stirring on the Estate. Perhaps Kevin will be trapped here after all…

So how was it… well, it was decent. Not bad, or even average, by any stretch. But I was expecting just a little bit more.

If you’re hoping to be taken right back to the days of Series One, there is some semblance of that era, but not a huge deal. Yes, Eccleston, Piper and Camille Caduri, who also returns as Jackie Tyler, are great to listen to. Billie Piper, I thought, particularly captures Series One Rose so well, I felt like I was listening to a sound bite from a classic 2005 episode (ouch, I’m calling them classic now?).

But story-wise, this feels much like a departure from the series we have rewatched time and time again. The premise is wild – absolutely bonkers. It takes a little bit to wrap your head around. It’s very avant-garde: you certainly wouldn’t have got anything like this for the Ninth Doctor’s TV adventures. Which makes sense – back then, they were playing it safe with Daleks and traditional science fiction.

I’m conflicted slightly because this story had a great central idea, but I think to start with, I’d have liked something a bit more of the ilk of the 2005 series, before going into this new territory. I’d have felt more nostalgic and been eased a little more into this new audio series had we begun with something more familiar. Like another space station orbiting Earth in the far future – that suits the Doctor and Rose really well. Who knows? Maybe we have that still to come…

One familiar thing is the domestic setting. And of course, Jackie brings levity for being so brilliantly ordinary amongst all the sci-fi nonsense, which is why she’s a fan favourite. It didn’t ring true to me that she wasn’t colder with the Doctor in this story – she was more pally with him than in the brittle relationship I felt they had in the TV show before the Tenth Doctor came along. But then again, who wouldn’t smile at the thought of Jackie wanting to feed the Doctor potato smileys and make him watch Titanic?

A bit of a letdown for me is that this audio, unlike much of Big Finish’s body of work, really came across like actors in a room reading lines rather than an episode of Doctor Who without the visuals. I haven’t personally listened to Big Finish and ever thought this, but something stopped me from fully suspending my disbelief here. One example was two characters were meant to be laughing on a seesaw, but you could tell from their vocal performances that they were standing still – that kind of thing.

Although I had a few gripes, I still enjoyed it. There is a lot of vivid imagery conjured up in this, and honestly – without giving anything away – it’s the ingenuity of bamboozling science fiction concepts such as this that we need more of in Doctor Who-related media.

Thoughts from the Team

Matt Steele

When Big Finish announced that Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper would be back behind the microphone for more time-travelling adventures, I was ecstatic. Joining the trip of a lifetime myself in the middle of series 1, I was dying to hear what Big Finish could do, to what, in my opinion, is a near-perfect series, with the benefit of the extra time and depth that comes with the audio drama format. Kicking off this new 12-part series from Big Finish is Snare, and here are my thoughts on it:

Tim Foley perfectly captures that RTD1-era blend of ordinary life and quiet menace. The action never leaves the estate, but the contained feel for Snare seems perfectly set in the family-oriented, cosy setting of series 1. Sometimes it’s not always about saving the universe; it’s about saving the people right in front of you.

Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor feels distinctively different from the solo adventurer we’ve been hearing of late, mixing his classic no-nonsense wit with moments of true tenderness; it really gives Eccleston’s acting chops the spotlight they deserve. Billie Piper’s Rose sounds timeless, her spark with the 9th Doctor is perfectly recaptured and a joy to listen to. And Camille Coduri is just a delight – Jackie’s signature blend of humour, nosiness, and fierce love gives this whole story its heart.

It’s a great switch up from the last three seasons of The Ninth Doctor Adventures, set right after the events of series 1’s ‘Father’s Day’ Rose needs to take some time to heal and recover, and instead of running from place-to-place and never looking back, Eccleston’s Doctor is trying his best to be grounded and even embracing the everyday life of watching telly and eating waffles with Jackie on the Powell Estate. It’s a testament to just how much of a healing effect and emotional growth travelling with Rose has on him.

Whilst the plot hasn’t got the most meat to sink your teeth into, Snare shines as an emotional, character-driven story. With a great direction from Helen Goldwyn, the alien threat is there and consistently present but it’s not overshadowing what is, at its heart, a story about family, love and understanding.

In closing, Snare delivers exactly the job it’s designed to do; it reintroduces the listener to the 2005 Doctor, Rose & Jackie team, without being weighed down too much by a plot-heavy story. I felt full of nostalgia listening to this, but also a real sense of excitement of what’s to come from this new 12-part series. A truly great start – 9/10

In Closing…

A flawed but solid start to the Ninth Doctor and Rose’s audio adventures, I look forward to experiencing more of their unmatched chemistry in brand new stories. The trip of a lifetime continues!

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Snare is available to buy now from the Big Finish Website; £9.99 for the download and £11.99 with a CD, while stocks last.