Audio Drama Review: ‘Doctor Who – The Third Doctor Adventures: The Quintessence‘

The Third Doctor Adventures: The Quintessence

Directed by Nicholas Briggs

Written by Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle

Starring Tim Treloar (The Doctor) and Katy Manning (Jo Jones)

When following the coordinates she was told in a dream land Jo and the Doctor on a miserable planet, it’s only at Jo’s prodding that they decide to investigate. 

Jo might not remember much about her dream, but — in further proof that it always helps to have a Tardis around – when she wakes up reciting a string of letters and numbers, Jo is in the unique position to test those coordinates out. The Doctor is convinced they won’t work and it’s all nonsense – you don’t get real coordinates from a dream – but what room he has to be a skeptic is anyone’s guess because, of course, they do work, which raises two questions: where are they, and why is there a Victorian mansion in the middle of a desolate, stormy planet?

Like many of the serials during Jon Pertwee‘s run, instead of telling multiple stories in this box set, Big Finish have opted to tell one over six parts. This means which details are important only becomes clear over time, like the creepy paintings at the mansion which have a payoff but don’t get much play after part 2.

While Jo can’t quite recall the rest of her dream, listeners know that Emmeline (Felicity Cant) – the daughter of the couple they find living at the mansion – is the same young girl who was talking to Jo in her dream, except she wasn’t sick there and, unlike Jo, it seems like she does recognize her but then why not come out and say that? Why the mystery?

Then Emmeline and her parents (Chris Larkin and Emily Joyce) mention “angels” and it’s the first strong hint of the monsters at play in this story. While their identity is revealed early on, it’s enough for this review to say they’re definitely a classic Who villain. Calling them “angels” was smart on Mooney and Pringle’s part, though, because while there’s never really anything to suggest weeping angels, that’s the first Who villain that comes to mind. As for what “the quintessence” is, listeners will have to wait until part 5 to figure that out.

Jo gets some meaty stuff at the beginning and end of this serial, but The Quintessence might be most worth listening to as a Doctor story. “Uncurious” isn’t a word that’s used to describe the Doctor too often but it certainly describes his behavior in this serial. In fact, during the interviews Briggs brings up that Treolar voiced some concerns about the Doctor coming across as cowardly. While “cowardly” might be harsh (and Treolar says that, too), there’s no denying how prepared he is to leave and desert the family before anything’s been resolved and after he’s likely made things worse for them by angering the angels (and doing so without their permission, but then leaving them to face the consequences).

If this serial is missing one thing it’s a moment for Jo to really confront the Doctor on this, because they’re the kind of Doctor-companion team who would have a long conversation (given the time) and call each other out on stuff. Probably my favorite moment is when Jo wants to throw herself into danger and the Doctor insists they use the Tardis instead, because it’s safer, but also the Doctor knows how bad the Tardis can be when it comes to arriving places on time, and yet he won’t acknowledge that until much later. When he does actually admit he put their safety first, the damage is already done.

It all makes for quite an interesting tale and while the Classic Who monster in question isn’t one of my personal favorites, it should please a lot of Doctor Who fans.

Doctor Who – The Third Doctor Adventures: The Quintessence is available to purchase now from Big Finish.