Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Michael Troughton, Frazer Hines, Daisy Ashford, Barnaby Edwards, Nigel Havers, Mickey Knighton, Pepter Lunkuse, Glen McCready, Alec Newman, Emma Noakes, Gary Turner, Ony Uhiara.
James Robert McCrimmon is a name that brings arguably the vast majority of Doctor Who fans happy memories and fondness for the entire Patrick Troughton era. What though is in that name, and despite only returning once on screen since the character returned to his right place in history, that marks him out as consistently being voted among the finest of companions that the Time traveller ever had by their side.
Much of this is down to the man who has portrayed him on screen and audio, the loyalty of the character is blessed by Frazer Hines, and it is to Big Finish that both the actor and the fictional persona finally receive their epic re-emergence in the Second Doctor Adventures, James Robert McCrimmon.
Long before Donna Noble had her mind wiped by David Tennant’s incarnation of the mad man in the blue box, ‘Jamie’ suffered the inglorious fate by the soulless beings that make up the High Council of Gallifrey, and it was a decree that perhaps left a bitterness in the eyes of the fans; for the definition of friendship between Doctor and companion had never been surpassed, only equalled by the likes of Sarah Jane Smith, and in some respects on screen Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler.
The three-story bonanza, Jamie by Mark Wright, The Green Man penned by Paul F. Verhoeven, and The Shroud by Bob Ayres brings together Frazer Hines with the son of his great pal, Michael Troughton, who steps into his father’s shoes with aplomb and grace.
Jamie is tortured by a past that he cannot remember, and as he slowly rots away in the dungeons of Edinburgh Castle at the behest of the Redcoats, images, dreams, all start to resurface, and as the Doctor is led to another adventure by the devious Time Lord known as Raven, so Jamie, much older, but still a fighting proud man, is reunited with his great friend.
There is always room for sentiment in the world of art, and perhaps never more so when it comes to giving an adored character another turn in the centre of epic storytelling, and Frazer Hines’ quality as an actor has always been one in which the fans acknowledge with sincerity. This is more than sentiment though, this is a dramatic reflection of honesty, for as the three tales show, in terms of male companions, there has never been anyone finer to have the Doctor’s back.
The three writers who came together with Big Finish to make this possible should be immensely proud of what they have created, a new beginning for a soul in torment, robbed of all that made his life explode with adventure, restored to his rightful place as one of Doctor Who’s most formidable allies.
Such a return would be greeted with tremendous cheer if brought to the television viewer, but for now, Time has seen fit to bring James Robert McCrimmon into the public eye once more.
Terrific story telling which captures the decency of Patrick Troughton’s time at the helm of The Tardis.
Ian D. Hall