What do you get when you take the Daleks, the Master, and a dose of Cornish mythology and throw them into a blender? You get Big Finish Productions’ latest Eighth Doctor adventure, The Stuff of Legend. Celebrating 25 years of Doctor Who audio dramas, The Stuff of Legend plays out like a greatest hits compilation of Doctor Who audio dramas. You’ve got two of the Doctor’s greatest villains teaming up, the fan-favorite reunion of the Eighth Doctor and his first audio companion, Charley Pollard, and a story that slots in perfectly alongside those early Eighth Doctor audio adventures. In short, The Stuff of Legend offers a mythological romp that celebrates the Eighth Doctor’s past, present, and future. It’s a simple story, but a deeply enjoyable one nonetheless.
A Mythological Romp
When the TARDIS crash lands in a Cornish village, the Doctor (Paul McGann) and Charley (India Fisher) uncover a town beset by strange disappearances and tales of haunted mines. But what mysteries lie beneath the surface of Merrymaid Bay? Does the legendary Bucca really haunt the town’s mines? Or is there something more unusual afoot? It’s up to the Doctor and Charley to unravel this unusual mystery before it’s too late. But in the shadows, some of the Doctor’s greatest enemies lie in wait, eager to strike. Robert Valentine’s The Stuff of Legend is a love letter to Big Finish Productions’ Eighth Doctor adventures of yesteryear. A true Doctor Who romp in the best way – action-packed, thrilling, and filled with strange, mystical ideas.
In truth, The Stuff of Legend isn’t one of those Doctor Who stories where the plot matters all that much. At its heart, Valentine’s script seems content merely celebrating 25 years of Doctor Who audio dramas. This is a very simple story; sometimes a bit too simple. Without venturing too far into spoilers, you’ve got the Daleks and the Master (Alex Macqueen) doing exactly what they always do – mischief, murder, and planet-ending shenanigans. And ultimately, neither of their plans ends up making a ton of sense or really factoring all that much into the overarching story. Really, The Stuff of Legend offers a showcase for McGann, Fisher, and Macqueen to vibe and interact with each other, with the plot being an excuse to make that happen. But even so, The Stuff of Legend proves utterly delightful in its simplicity.
A Crowd-Pleasing Journey through Doctor Who‘s Greatest Hits
The Stuff of Legend was originally devised as a live production – a staged reading of a Doctor Who audio drama to celebrate 25 years of Big Finish Productions’ series of Doctor Who adventures. As a result, Valentine’s script plays out exactly like a big, celebratory live production might. It’s two hours of crowd-pleasing moments, held together by a plot that exists solely to allow these characters the chance to interact. In all honesty, The Stuff of Legend feels like the auditory equivalent of a theme park ride – a roller coaster trek through all of the biggest Doctor Who audio drama tropes. But there’s a real enjoyment to that approach. Sometimes it’s nice to just sit back, kick your feet up, and listen to a good old-fashioned romp. The Doctor Who version of a mindless action movie. And that’s exactly what The Stuff of Legend is.
It’s not reinventing the wheel or throwing its characters into some shocking, never-before-seen situation. It’s meant to be a celebration; the kind of story you sit in a room with a thousand other people and watch play out on the stage. And in that regard, the studio version of the story doesn’t quite capture the excitement of Valentine’s script. It’s not a bad production or anything; far from it. But it’s the kind of story that’s clearly meant to be heard live. The kind of adventure that thrives off of audience interaction. And, in that sense, it feels a bit unfair to judge The Stuff of Legend‘s studio recording as it’s clearly a story that’s meant to be experienced live. But even so, The Stuff of Legend manages to deliver a celebratory Doctor Who tale for the ages – even if it’s clearly the inferior way to experience this adventure.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, Robert Valentine’s Doctor Who: The Stuff of Legend delivers a celebratory look back at the last 25 years of Doctor Who audio dramas. Featuring a story that marries the chaos of two of the Doctor’s greatest villains with the mysteries of Cornish mythology, The Stuff of Legend is a romp in the truest sense. McGann, Fisher, and Macqueen shine as the Doctor, Charley, and the Master, and Valentine’s script offers them a host of playful moments together. But really, The Stuff of Legend‘s strength lies in its crowd-pleasing celebratory nature. This is Doctor Who at its simplest form – a joyous adventure through time and space. And while the studio version of the story proves quite enjoyable, The Stuff of Legend opens the door to all the possibilities of live Doctor Who adventures.
The studio version of Doctor Who: The Stuff of Legend is available now from Big Finish Productions, with a live recording set to follow in the coming months.
While Robert Valentine's "Doctor Who: The Stuff of Legend" delivers a very safe Doctor Who romp, it never fails to feel like a love letter to 25 years of Doctor Who audio dramas. Featuring crowd pleasing performances from Paul McGann and Alex Macqueen and a romp of a story that slots in perfectly alongside the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard's early audio adventures, Doctor Who: The Stuff of Legend is a perfect celebration of the Eighth Doctor's past, present, and future.
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GVN Rating 8
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