The Miniaturist

We did it, Dodo. Together.

The Miniaturist

Synopsis

Coulton Salt Mine: a rare environment for geological exploration on the North Yorkshire coast. The Doctor is fascinated by the experiments of Professor Medra on the Zechstein seabed, but Dodo is distracted. Didn’t her family settle in this part of Yorkshire?

As the Doctor delves deeper into the work of Professor Medra, Dodo is helped by security guard Mick Huff, who is concerned about the strange happenings in recent weeks. Who are the children that keep appearing around the mine workings? Why are local landmarks vanishing? And how can the bedrock of a geological ‘quiet place’ be screaming?

Review

Whilst The Outlaws is a pure historical, The Miniaturist acts as the science fiction counterpart, giving us a story of an immense power that is almost inconceivable making miniatures out of objects and people in order to try and make sense of the universe. It allows Stephen Noonan and Lauren Cornelius a chance to flex their chops in a different type of story in their debut box set.

The Miniaturist is an atmospheric and, at times, creepy story, especially in the first part as the Doctor and Dodo explore in the lead-up to the reveal of the Miniaturist. It’s a story that works really well on audio, using ideas like the quiet area in the Zechstein sea to create a sense of eeriness. We also get a soundscape of voices, including those of Carol Ann Ford and Maureen O’Brien briefly as Susan and Vicki respectively as the Miniaturist tries to appeal to the First Doctor. Lizzie Hopley combines this with a tale that has an emotional heart to it, with the Miniaturist using forms of missing and significant people from their past, some of whom are dead, to manipulate certain characters.

The science fiction concepts at the heart of this story culminate in the Miniaturist, an interdimensional being from an alternate dimension, who is played by Annette Badland. Badland plays the character with sufficient malevolence, but also with a sense of innocence and childishness that works for a creature playing with organic and inorganic objects alike. Hopley certainly wants to try and misdirect the audience as to the true nature of the Miniaturist. We have a mention of the fact that this creature is using tissue compression, a favourite fate for the Master to use, whilst the use of the miniatures did put me in mind of the Toymaker. That might be because Badland has played the Toymaker on audio as well. It’s a superb performance aided by sound design for a creature who feels just that little bit different.

Whilst the Miniaturist brings the science fiction, Paul Copley’s Mick Huff grounds the story with human tragedy. Mick is haunted by the spectre of his son, Simon, who died young. Copley does a great job in this story, essentially becoming a companion to Dodo in the first part. He also played Clem in Torchwood: Children of Earth, so he clearly has an affinity for playing characters with deep-seated trauma.

It’s easy to see why the team at Big Finish would choose Dodo of all the First Doctor’s companions. She is the blank slate companion, the one with the most potential for Big Finish to develop. Here, we return to the north, where Dodo is from, and there is a bit of exploration of her family. Whilst down in the Zechstein Mine, she sees Maureen, also known as Mole, but actual development is rather limited. Dodo is the one who allows the Miniaturist to manipulate her, pretending to be an older version of her who couldn’t not remember her travels with the Doctor. This leads to the Miniaturist learning about the TARDIS, shrinking it and endangering the universe as a result. That possibly does Dodo a disservice, and the story does try to give her more depth, but that’s not all together successful. That’s not Lauren Cornelius’ fault, and it is a good performance from her.

Having the First Doctor encounter this kind of threat early in Stephen Noonan’s run of playing him does allow us to see a different side to The Outlaws. Noonan does acquit this role of cosmic negotiator with applomb. I like Noonan’s interpretation of the First Doctor and it does continue to develop well here. He commands the scenes that he is, and has a paternal relationship with Dodo and a spiky one with Professor Medra. It’s nice to see the First Doctor in the twenty first century. It almost feels like a contradiction with him being in that time period, but I did really enjoy it.

Verdict: The Miniaturist is a gripping science fiction tale, which does not feel out of place with the experimental story telling taking place in Season 3. 8/10

Cast: Stephen Noonan (The Doctor), Lauren Cornelius (Dodo Chaplet), Annette Badland (The Miniaturist), Yasmin Mwanza (Professor Medra), Paul Copley (Mick Huff), Benedict Briggs (Child Voice) & Caroline Hrycek-Robinson (Child Voice).

Writer: Lizzie Hopley

Director: Nicholas Briggs

Music and Sound: Toby Hyrcek-Robinson

Parts: 2

Release Date: 12 April 2022

Behind the Scenes

• Clips of Carol Ann Ford and Maureen O’Brien feature when the Miniaturist is trying to persuade the Doctor.

Cast Notes

• Annette Badland played Margaret Blaine in Boom Town. She has also played multiple roles for Big Finish. More recently, she has appeared in Matryoshka, Mind of the Hodiac and Blood of the Time Lords.
• Yasmin Mwanza has also appeared in Intelligence for War, The Seas of Titan and The Slaying of the Writhing Mass.
• Paul Copley has also appeared in the Third Doctor Big Finish story The Conservitors and Spare Parts.
• Benedict Briggs is the son of Big Finish executive producer and director of this story, Nicholas Briggs. He has also played Kevin Dovie in The Light at the End and Jonathan Forster in The Emerald Tiger.

Best Quote

Dodo! We’re not chasing after phantoms in the dark!

The First Doctor

Previous First Doctor review: The Outlaws

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