Coda: The Final Act

Are you satisfied with what you’ve achieved, then? Or are you a pawn just like me?
The War Doctor

Synopsis

The Time War.

Dealing with the repercussions of degeneration, the Doctor has a limited window of time to evade capture, recruit old allies, wage a war, and find out what’s really going on. A warrior is being hunted by a mysterious stranger in a TARDIS. A rogue agent has been assigned a mission to eliminate a dangerous foe. This is a fight between a war criminal and a fugitive. A fight between Doctors.

Review

It has been 13 months since the release of the last part of Once and Future, The Union, was released and now Coda: The Final Act finally concludes this 60th Anniversary set. I have gone back and listened to all of the prior seven installments to the story this week to remind myself of what happened in those stories. Whilst the degeneration crisis has mostly finished, Big Finish now conclude with a meeting between two forgotten incarnations of the Doctor.

Tim Foley concludes this story arc with a story that is a whole lot of fun and is entertaining. He gives us a multi-Doctor story that does something new by pitting two incarnations of the Time Lord against each other, which does feel fresh and interesting. The initial chase reminded me of The Curse of Fatal Death, as each of the Doctors believe that they have got the upper hand over the other before revealing that this is not actually the case. The story avoids lapsing into overt farce by keeping the War and Fugitive Doctors apart for a lot of the first half of the story. Setting this story in the fallout of the degenerative crisis gives the story a sense of stakes and our countdown for the Fugitive Doctor to find and capture her mark, as well as giving a reason as to why the odd bits ate happening in this story. Tim Foley manages to create a very visual story, and I particularly liked the image of the TARDIS pulling a Tudor warship through space and to the planet of Coda to fight the Voord. This introduces a new foe, the Codicil, who put this all in place to try and use the Ouroborous to end the Time War. Foley’s writing is helped by the wonderful sound design and music by Ken Bentley and Howard Carter.

This series of stories has faced criticism for the seemingly random pairings of characters, but I feel like the central trio of the story are perfectly picked, and it does not feel as random as as that in Two’s Company. Benny feels as though she is a logical choice of companion to being back, given her history of involvement with the Doctor through the history of Big Finish. Equally, she feels that she knows who the Doctor is and isn’t afraid to tell the Doctors off for not acting in the way she has come to expect, whether that is holding a gun or having an armoury in their TARDIS. Equally, having the story feature Queen Elizabeth I gives the story a neat nod back to the War Doctor’s debut in The Day of the Doctor. Having Imogen Stubbs play the role of an older Elizabeth works well, and she is less vengeful towards incarnations of the Doctor other than the Tenth Doctor, even if she knows the War Doctor was present at her wedding. We also have Vienna present here, running a venue for reprobates of the universe, but whose time line has been fractured by the Time War to the extent that she is stuck whilst other versions of her are still out bounty hunting in the universe. The Voord might be the biggest issue, but they do work well as an army for the Fugitive Doctor.

We all make mistakes. Just look at that shirt.

Oi, don’t start!

The War Doctor and the Fugitive Doctor

Coda: The Final Act brings the War and Fugitive Doctors together, for what is the latter’s first Big Finish appearance. Jo Martin makes a strong impression on her debut, bringing this mysterious incarnation from television to audio effectively and I am intrigued to see where Big Finish go with her story from here. Already on the run from Division, the Fugitive Doctor is given instructions to hunt down the War Doctor as a consequence of his actions in these stories, like the destruction of the Final Gallery and desecration of the hall of the Time Lord Immemorial. The War Doctor is still suffering from the impact of the degeneration crisis and is impacted by a trap placed by the Fugitive Doctor, which makes him all the more reckless. Carley continues to really embody the role of the War Doctor and I struggle to pick flaws in his performance. His impression of John Hurt is really remarkable. I like the dynamic between these two Doctors, who have been seen as a weak link amongst the incarnations of the Doctor, but do have the same kind of bickering interaction that multi-Doctor stories are known for.

Verdict: Coda: The Final Act is a fun way of wrapping up the Once and Future storyline, as well as introducing the Fugitive Doctor to the Big Finish fold. 8/10

Cast: Jo Martin (The Fugitive Doctor), Jonathon Carley (The War Doctor), Lisa Bowerman (Bernice Summerfield), Nicholas Khan (Shalvar), Chase Masterson (Vienna Salvatori), Richard Reed (Various voices), Imogen Stubbs (Queen Elizabeth)

Writer: Tim Foley

Director: Ken Bentley

Composer: Howard Carter

Release Date: 22 November 2024

Behind the Scenes

The first Big Finish release to feature the Fugitive Doctor, as played by Jo Martin.

Cast List

Nicholas Khan has previously appeared in Thin Time, The Flying Dutchman and The Sinestran Kill.
Richard Reed has also appeared in The Hunting Ground and The Devouring, amongst other stories.

Best Quote