The Colourful Adventures of the 6th Doctor. [SPOILERS]

So, I did a quick calculation and, after almost twenty years (2019 is going to be a Big year), we're at over eighty releases of ol' Sixie in the Main Range alone. The mind doesn't so much boggle as it does wheeze like an accordion. It's beyond startling how much has been accomplished with the character over the two decades. Always something new, always something that hasn't yet been poked or prodded. New friends, old friends... Tudors, goblins, diplomats, exiles, reptiles, royals, pirates(!), geneticists, polymorphs, hunters, zombies, rogues, cyborgs, samurai, vampires, prosecutors, viruses... The new lease of life both actor and character were given is nothing short of breathtaking.

And to think, all of that started out as tame and cosy as a mild anomaly in a lecture theatre...

Hello again.

It is worth me pointing out that due to lack of funds, I have not been able to listen to all eighty of the Sixth Doctor adventures. I have heard a good representation of each era.

So, it's Saturday afternoon, the interminable Roland Rat has finished "and now on BBC1 the first of a new series of Doctor Who. What happens when Doctor helps a college history lecturer experience history in a completely new way..."

Of course, we had to wait until March 2000 to hear earth her than see the Doctor working with a new, older companion. Colin Baker did say back in the eighties that he wanted a more mature companion as a change.

Evelyn was a good fit for Colin's prickly more bombastic and verbose Doctor. The late Maggie Stables was perfect casting and showed she was quite willing to confront the Doctor when she felt he was wrong.

Next time I'll look at the first set of stories where we travel through adventures in history, meet old friends and struggle with monsters and land in my adopted home, Cornwall.

It is incredible to think that 20 years ago (or 19 if we are being pedantic!) that the Doctor we would most *enjoy* or look forward to hearing on audio would be Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor. If anything, Big Finish, and Colin himself, should be commended for the sterling job they've done with his adventures and characterisation. Just proves (as many will agree) that the problem wasn't Baker - it was the awful script editing and production team that was the problem. Had Big Finish done the stories in the 1980s, then Baker may have got his wish about 'tilting at windmills' and outstripping the 4th Doctor's run.

I also find it ironic that Baker's stories stabilised the Main Range in the early days. The Sirens of Time was rather hit and miss, Phantasmagoria was ok but nothing special, Whispers of Terror was pretty good, the less said about Land of the Dead the better and the Fearmonger seemed very cliched and dated. After release 6 - The Marian Conspiracy - we are all set for a series of inventive and imaginative adventures that have continued to this day.

The remarkable consistency of Baker's stories is also impressive. Davison had a fallow patch (Tombship, Moonflesh) and McCoy is rather hit and miss. Baker has always been great and even some of the less good stories are still rescued by his performance!

Bravo!!

Colins been able to progress his acting range on audio & phase out the arrogant patronizing egotistical incarnation we mostly seen on tv & show a more likeable, kinder, caring incarnation who wears his heart on his sleeve, casting Maggie Stables as Evelyn was the key factor in mellowing ole Sixey & his adventures during the last 20 years at Big Finish have been a joy to listen too.

Hello again.

Well now, back to the first four Doctor and Evelyn stories.

The first story the Marian Conspiracy is a good introduction to the new Tardis team. The exploration of the terror caused by religious intolerance reminded me of The Massacre.

For me the Lanyon Moor story was when I really got into this new exciting journey for Sixie. A great cast, a creepy alien, and the Brigadier. It would have made a great series opener.

The final two stories have two returning monsters. The Daleks in the Apocalypse Element are back to their conniving best and in numbers and the Doctor meets another friend. The Silurians return in another historical. Bloodtide is an enjoyable tale with some dark moments and twists and turns.

These stories are well worth a listen. Next time we look at probably the darkest and most original quartet of Sixie stories. Starting with a sinister project...

Hello again.

The next four Evelyn stories I heard were some of the darkest stories I've heard on Big Finish.

Project Destiny could have easily fitted into Eric Sawards grim and violent Season 22. There are scary moments a plenty and Nimrod is truly sinister.

The Sandman turns the Doctor into the evil one who's intervention has turned him into a figure of fear. Poor Evelyn is really worried about who the Doctor really is.

Jubilee just a tour de force. The regulars really have an awful time. Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres give unhinged and powerful performances and the story is very unsettling. Best listened to in the dark.

The Pirates is a personal favourite even with the controversial episode three, though I'm not spoiling that one! However, although humourous, there is the nasty underlying brutality of the pirates. Bill Oddie plays the pirate captain as playfully vicious. It is Doctor Who meets Treasure Island,ahaa...

Next time, we meet the mysterious Dr. Knox.