Doctor Who - The Auntie Matter

By: Jonathan Morris

Narrated by: Tom Baker, Mary Tamm, Julia McKenzie

England in the 1920s. Whilst K9 is off in the TARDIS leading the Black Guardian on a wild goose chase, the Doctor and Romana are enjoying a leisurely lifestyle as the Lord and Lady of a London townhouse. But trouble never stays away from them for long, and before they know it a chance discovery of alien technology leads them deep into the heart of the English countryside, where a malign presence lurks. As the Doctor dodges deadly butlers and ferocious gamekeepers, Romana is faced with a malevolent aunt and an even deadlier peril - marriage.

Directed By: Ken Bentley

©2013 Big Finish Productions (P)2013 Big Finish Productions

Mary we shall miss you.

Another great Doctor Who story. Woodhouse meets Doctor Who. TomBaker and Mary Tamm what a great team. It's sad that Mary Tamm is dead, she was one of the most beautiful women to play a companion. It was to bad she was only on Doctor Who for one season. But she will live forever in the hearts of her fans.

the crossover I didn't know I needed!

What a joy this was from start to finish! The Doctor and Romana meet Bertie Wooster (well, a close appreciation, right down to controlling aunts, mention of the Drones, and a gift for language unlike any other). Perfect if you want a quick, lighthearted, low stakes adventure with the Fourth Doctor.

A Fun, Witty, and Engaging, Adventure

I've recently fell back down the rabbit hole of Doctor Who over Christmas, revisiting Tenant's run and some of Smith's (Only the Clara season) and having tried and failed in my younger years to get into Classic Doctor Who, I didn't give much thought to any of the other Doctors before Russell T.'s revival.

However, as of late, on a whim, my imagination was captured by both the stumbling on the fact that there is an entire series of Doctor Who Audio Dramas ... and a vague memory that one of the doctor's older companions was a Time-Lord herself. It was then, after an entire night on the internet reading up and researching Romana that I found myself smitten by her character - especially her original incarnation as played by Mary Tamm. And while reading Romana I's entry in the fan wiki I saw footnotes of continuity toward these Audio Dramas.

And now I'm here.

I chose my first exposure to be "The Auntie Problem" because I'm a period drama fan and even bigger "Downton Abbey" fan. And the idea of the Doctor and his Companion/Assistant running around an Aristocrat's Country Estate was too good to miss. And I wasn't disappointed.

I've listened to this one at least three times already and it's replaced "The Fellowship of the Ring" as my comfort audio when I'm feeling anxious or can't sleep.

Tom Baker's aloof and dry sense of humor and wit was a refreshing change than the hyperactive and a thousand words a minute Doctors from 2005 onward. The jokes are very understated but are sold brilliantly and woven so well in the dialogue that the humor is effortlessly true to life and without the need for a gag.

I really enjoyed Mary Tamm as the beautiful, prim, proper, and logical, Great Lady Adventurer that doesn't understand and is, at times, miffed by the Doctor's sloppy, distracted, and Laissez faire style. The humor and chemistry leaps off the sound waves in their back forth and banter. I like that their equals in intellect, but that the Doctor's experience sets him apart from Romana who is still learning how to be out in the world and can be easily hoodwinked on this alien world of Earth, though not because she's stupid ... but due to her - ironically - aristocratic arrogance that under estimates humans. I enjoy a strong female character that has faults and flaws, which is not only missing in today's media but for quite awhile in Doctor Who since Russell T. Davies left.

All in all, I loved this first outing as both a listener of Doctor Who audio drama's and my introduction to Tom Baker and Mary Tamm as the Doctor and Romana. I've bought a few more of their audio adventures and I hope they live up to this one.