‘Doctor Who: Buried Threats’ Review – The Ninth Doctor Returns In A Trilogy Of Emotional, Bombastic, and Introspective Tales

Christopher Eccleston returns to the role of the Ninth Doctor, once again, in Big Finish Productions’ Doctor Who: Buried Threats, the latest in its ongoing series of Ninth Doctor audio box sets. This time around, the Ninth Doctor comes to the aid of a French playwright, investigates an otherworldly murder, and reunites with an old friend to stop a group of war-hungry aliens. On the surface, Buried Threats feels like a pretty standard Ninth Doctor audio box set; a collection of three mostly enjoyable, disappointingly standalone stories bouncing back and forth between time and space with little character development. But this time around, the Doctor’s role in the Time War finally catches up with him in a tantalizing, electrifying way. It’s not enough to make the set feel particularly special. But any excuse to hear Eccleston sink his teeth in such dramatic material is worth a listen.

A Theatre of Cruelty by Lisa McMullin

French playwright Antonin Artaud (Alexander Vlahos) has been having bad dreams. Dreams that draw him to the life and death of Beatrice Cenci (Elisabeth Yorke-Bolognini). But when Antonin and Beatrice appear outside the TARDIS in the Time Vortex, the Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) sets out to investigate. He quickly discovers that something – or someone – is manipulating Artaud’s latest play. But can he figure out who’s behind Artaud’s latest theatrical invention before it’s too late? Or is Artaud’s experimental theatre of cruelty destined to live up to its name? At its heart, Lisa McMullin’s A Theatre of Cruelty tells a deeply moving story about a troubled mind. It’s a tightly-paced story, led by Eccleston’s commanding presence and Vlahos’ gripping vulnerability.

In the same vein as The Unquiet Dead or The Haunting of Villa Diodati, McMullin takes a familiar historical event and gives it a very Doctor Who twist. Here, she takes Artaud’s adaptation of Percy Shelley’s The Cenci and suggests that the Doctor played a role in its creation. Or, more specifically, that something alien influenced Artaud. Again, it’s all very standard for a Doctor Who historical story. But what makes A Theatre of Cruelty stand out is how McMullin weaves the specifics of Artaud’s life into the story’s sci-fi elements. Artaud is known for championing the idea of the “theatre of cruelty” – a branch of theatre that emphasizes cruelty and violence. So, wrapping a story around Artaud’s struggles with mental health makes for quite a compelling listen.

At the end of the day, A Theatre of Cruelty offers a quiet, introspective start to this box set. It’s a very quintessential Ninth Doctor story in the best way possible, giving Eccleston a chance to show off his humor and emotion in equal spades. It’s charming, well-paced, and surprisingly emotional. (8.5/10)

The Running Men by Mark Wright

When the TARDIS lands in 21st-century Halifax, the Doctor finds himself embroiled in an otherworldly murder mystery. But can he and Sergeant Ambika Desai (Fiona Wade) unravel the layers of this strange crime? And how does Annalise Avenley (Pooky Quesnel) and her ongoing development of Hebble Plaza factor into things? As the Doctor digs into the town’s past, the Running Men appear to be returning once more. Mark Wright’s The Running Men feels like a cross between the Third and Ninth Doctor’s eras. You’ve got the untrustworthy businessperson, the mysterious extraterrestrial foe, and the small-town history that ties it all together. Unfortunately, The Running Men doesn’t work anywhere near as well as the Third Doctor’s did.

On the surface, The Running Men has all of the pieces a good Doctor Who mystery needs. But what ultimately ends up hurting The Running Men is just how chaotic it is. It’s one of those stories where a lot happens while, at the same time, nothing much happens. The first third of the story is pretty solid, to be fair. Eccleston and Wade play off of each other quite well, the pair emphasizing their characters’ buddy-cop dynamics. And Wright sets up the mystery quite well. But once things get moving, it all just becomes a bit difficult to follow. Wright’s script moves at such a break-neck speed that it’s challenging to follow exactly what’s happening and why. But as a mystery, it just never fully clicks into place.

Overall, The Running Men has a lot going for it. Its cast does an admirable job, and the sound effects do a lot of heavy lifting. But, in the end, its unfocused script never quite coalesces into a satisfying whole. (6.5/10)

Ancient History by Matt Fitton

When the Doctor crashes her archeological expedition, Professor Bernice Summerfield (Lisa Bowerman) enlists his help in unlocking the mysteries of the Korravin. But when faced with a friend from his past and a war-hungry alien race, the Doctor finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place. Can he overcome his lingering trauma and save the universe before it’s too late? Or is history destined to repeat itself? Matt Fitton’s Ancient History does what Big Finish’s ongoing Ninth Doctor audios have mostly shied away from doing: digging deep into the Doctor’s trauma regarding the Time War. Here, that trauma takes center stage in an electrifying, dramatic way.

The Doctor reunites with an old friend, a friend he had long before the Daleks and the Time Lords went to war. And he’s scared to get close to her again, to let her see the man he’s become. But, much like in series one’s The Parting of the Ways, the Doctor has to stop a warrior race from waging war against the universe itself. And doing so will require him to tap into that darkness that lies underneath the surface. It’s in that clash between who the Doctor wants to be and who he fears he is that the episode comes alive. Eccleston digs into that dilemma remarkably well, perfectly balancing the Doctor’s facade of whimsy with his underlying grief and delivering one of his best performances as the Doctor to date. As for the story itself, it’s kind of an afterthought – but in the best way possible.

Ancient History excels based solely on its character work and on Eccleston and Bowerman’s superb performances. While Wright’s script glosses over the finer details of its plot, it brilliantly delves into the Doctor’s ongoing trauma in a truly engaging way. (9/10)

Final Thoughts

Overall, Doctor Who: Buried Threats offers a solid showcase of the Ninth Doctor’s character. He wanders the universe, helping out where he can. But right there, close behind him, is that fear of who he’s been, of the atrocities he’s been a part of. When the boxset gives Eccleston the room to truly dig into those deeper emotions and trauma, it really comes to life. But, as has been the case for Big Finish’s Ninth Doctor series as a whole, it seems scared to fully open that box. And that’s a shame, as the thing that’s always made the Ninth Doctor so interesting is seeing him come to terms with his role in the Time War. Sure, his TV run covered that nicely, but Eccleston is so good at sinking his teeth in that kind of drama that he ought to be given more chances to do so.

As it is, Buried Threats delivers an enjoyable trilogy of standalone stories. You’ve got your emotional historical, your off-the-walls modern-day murder mystery, and your character-driven, introspective exploration of the Doctor. It’s all very standard fare for these box sets at this point, but Buried Threats executes those standards quite well.

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Buried Threats is available now from Big Finish Productions.