Fond Farewell

I want to know what you’ve been doing to my friend’s memories. So start talking.

The Ninth Doctor

Synopsis

Fond Farewell is the intergalactic funeral parlour with a difference: the deceased attend their own wake! Invited by celebrated naturalist Flynn Beckett to his memorial, the Doctor finds that he’s not quite the man he was. But who would steal the memories of the dead?

Review

With Old Friends bringing a close to the first series of the Ninth Doctor’s, and indeed Christopher Eccleston’s, audio adventures, it would be easy for Fond Farewell to fall by the wayside of the concluding two-parter, which reunites the Doctor with the Brigadier, and pitches them up against the Cybermen. It is to this story’s immense credit that it feels like a strong opener to the set rather than an also-ran.

I’d do anything for even one more day of being with you, but I wanted the Flynn who’d spent his whole life loving me, not the one who drifted away.

Idara Beckett

David K Barnes writes a really touching story which has its basis in time, specifically that feeling that we all want to have more time with a friend or relation once they pass away, even if that is just for one more conversation. Fond Farewell takes that idea one step forward, taking a copy of the deceased’s brain after death and putting that brain print into an artificial body able to attend their own wake. It’s the kind of idea that doesn’t seem too far-fetched, which certainly works to its credit, and Barnes certainly runs with it. I think that the story is helped by the fact that the deceased at this funeral is adulterous and has had an affair with Sasha, amongst others, however, the image being presented at his wake is one of a man utterly besotted with his wife, Idara. This idea certainly ties into ideas of how people are perceived and how their friends and family may want to present them. Flynn states that it was Idara’s insistance that his funeral was held at Fond Farewell, and that it would not have been his choice. If I had to pick a small flaw with this story, I would have to say that I would have liked to have had a bit more of the expedition flashback as some bits of this didn’t feel completely coherent, but that is being particularly picky and there are obvious limitations to ensure that the story is around the hour mark. I’m not sure whether or not there are any scenes that I feel that should have been cut to make way for this, but would have deepened the relationship between both the Doctor and Flynn and Flynn and Sasha, but I think the story does manage to do this well regardless.

Ultimately, one of the reasons why Fond Farewell works so well is that the characters all feel so lived in and their actions and reactions therefore create a feeling of empathy. One of the strongest points of this story is that it does not end neatly; we never get closure on whether Idara forgives her husband for his infidelity in their final few hours together, when it would be easy for Barnes to let them happy ending. This feels like a mature choice, knowing that there is not a neat bow tied at the end of this story in that respect. As stated above, Flynn and Idara are both flawed people, and these flaws are brought to light by the fact that the copy of Flynn does not remember meeting the Doctor or Sasha Yan on his last expedition, nor inviting the Doctor to his funeral. This is ultimately what brings this situation crashing down around the characters as we all know the Doctor won’t let this lie. When the truth is brought to light and the solution for solving it is put forward by the Doctor, Idara does not immediately rush to completely restore the memories of her husband, wanting to cling to her last hours with her perfect husband. There are particularly good performances put in by the trio of guest actors playing Idara, Flynn and Sasha, Sienna Guillory, James Doherty and Emily Taaffe respectively.

Fond Farewell is run by an Artificial Intelligence known as Thomas, and staffed by robots. Ultimately, these robots are driven mad by the remnant of Flynn’s memories left in the system, leading them to kill the attendees at his funeral. Killer robots are a well worn trope of science fiction in general, and Doctor Who, both in the original run and the revived series, and stories like The Robots of Death and Voyage of the Damned immediately leapt to mind when listening to this story. They’re a trope for a reason though and that is because, when well-written, they are effective and creepy, which they certainly are here. The use of the repeated phrase “I’m still here” echoed by the robots works really well to create a feeling of dread and is a simple but effectice way of fear in the listener and this is in no small part due to the performance of Charlie Hamblett. The company is run by Winifred Whitby, who is implored by the Doctor at the end of this story to close the operation down, and it’s a great performance from Stevenson as a character who is simply looking for someone to blame, and doesn’t need too much convincing to believe that it is the Doctor and Sasha.

Sometimes I never think I have the answers, I only seem to keep pointing out the problems.

The Ninth Doctor

As we start the final box set in the first run of Ninth Doctor Adventures, it continues to be a joy to have Eccleston back in the role and I think the novelty of having new audio adventures with him in them will never really wear off. He continues to slot back into the role as if no time at all has elapsed, and seems to be enjoying exploring more facets of the character here. He is equally charming and sometimes a little scary in this story, but shines in the moments of humour and, when he is talking to himself when inside the AI Thomas trying to find the source of the problem.

Verdict: Fond Farewell is a really strong story and enjoyable. It may feel overshadowed by the finale that follows, but stands strong in its own right. 9/10

Cast: Christopher Eccleston (The Doctor), James Doherty (Professor Flynn Beckett/Other Flynn), Sienna Guillory (Idara Beckett), Charlie Hamblett (Thomas/Attendants), Juliet Stevenson (Winifred Whitby) & Emily Taaffe (Sasha Yan).

Writer: David K Barnes

Director: Helen Goldwyn

Producer: David Richardson

Composer: Howard Carter

Release Date: 16th February 2022

Cast Notes

• Charlie Hamblett has also played Vetch in Flight to Calandra and The Weight of History (The Twelfth Doctor Chronicles).

Best Quote

What? No attempt to talk me out of it? I’m used to a “But Doctor, there must be another way!”

Well, you seem pretty set, so…

I don’t know what the Professor saw in you!

The Ninth Doctor and Sasha Yan

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