Doctor Who: The Roundheads Audio CD

2 reviews for Doctor Who: The Roundheads Audio CD

1. Rated 4 out of 5

   Timelord-007 – April 20, 2015

   Historical Shenanigans Await The Doctor & Co.
   

   Doctor Who: The Roundheads (Audio).

   Product Info.
   8xCD’s
   Running Time: 558 Minutes
   Author: Mark Gatiss
   Read By: Anneke Wills

   What’s Up Doc?
   With the Civil War won, the Parliamentarians are struggling to hang on to power. But plans are being made to rescue the defeated King Charles from his prison…

   With Ben press-ganged & put on board a mysterious ship bound for Amsterdam, Polly becomes an unwitting accomplice in the plot to rescue the King, The Doctor can’t help because he & Jamie have been arrested & sent to the Tower of London, charged with conspiracy.

   Can the Doctor & Jamie escape, find Ben & rescue Polly – while making sure that history remains on its proper course?

   Timelord Thoughts.
   Mark Gatiss proves great versatility as a writer as he’s written for most if not all incarnations of the Doctor & here its the Second Doctor’s turn to get in on the Gatiss bandwagon, who along with companions Jamie, Polly & Ben.

   The time travellers become unwittingly entangled in a historical adventure that features swashbuckling swordfights on ships, a brief hint of romance for on of the Tardis crew & dailies with cavaliers, roundheads & female pirates.

   The story features some great character moments for all the regulars as they are spilt up & each given there own mini arc, Polly gets embroiled with the Cavaliers, Ben Jackson rides shotgun with the sailors, while the Doctor & Jamie encounter the Roundheads.

   The pace of this audio drama flows quite fluently thanks to a very clear & concise read by Anneke Wills (Polly) who injects a charming warm & friendly narrative over 8 hours of audio drama, there’s no aliens, ancient mythical powers or Daleks in this Second Doctor adventure, here it’s focus is on Oliver Cromwell who has also featured in the Seventh Doctor audio drama ‘The Settling’ by Big Finish Productions.

   The Roundheads is a pure historical adventure but the story works so well on so many different levels as the Doctor & his companions unintentionally alter the course of history & then try desperately to restore the timeline even if it means siding with forces that aren’t necessarily for the greater good, Cromwell is characterized superbly in Gatiss story who’s becoming more & more frustrated by the smallest of issues which quickly seem to annoy him & yet Gatiss writes the character as mysteriously enigmatic that keeps the listener guessing to Cromwells true intentions & were never quite sure if he’s in fact a hero or villain.

   Criticisms? Only a couple in that the Doctor seems to have very little to do throughout this story & is written more as a supporting character instead of taking centre stage in the adventures key moments & loses sone of his alien quirkiness by coming across as far more human than cosmic hobo, Pollys possible romance with Whyte doesn’t lead anywhere & is padded out while the subplot involving some pirates adds far too many characters into the mix & overcrowds the story, in fact at times I lost track of who was actually who?

   Overall, ‘The Roundheads’ gets more right than it does wrong & is a solid enjoyable Second Doctor audio drama that’s worthy of a listen thanks to Anneke Wills warm narration & a tightly written story which showcases Mark Gatiss exceptional talent for writing good Doctor Who historical dramatic adventures who effortlessly continues to write excellent stories for both the classic era & the new series.

   Timelord Rating.
   8/10

2. Rated 5 out of 5

   Scott Fuller – April 20, 2015

   Finally on cd!