I want to say this before I possibly insult any actors, but if you are in your 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond, having somehow added a bit of weight, you deserve it. After a lifetime of work, you deserve to feast on any wealth you’ve made. With that said, Tom Baker was once a bit of a larger man a few years ago. Now at 87, he’s a little thinner, and looking a little more fragile, as if time has caught up with the 4th incarnation of our favorite Time Lord. Yet for all the white hair on his head, the lines that are drawn across his features, and all the physical changes of age showing itself, he’s still the Doctor.

Could I say the same of Louise Jameson and her portrayal of the Savateem “savage” Leelandredloomsagwinaechegesima, or Leela for short? I’m hesitant to say, no. From my short experience watching the 4th Doctor and Leela, she’s a typical 70s damsel but with a bit of Emma Peel of The Avengers-style “I’m a woman that can and will kill you.” She could from time to time play both the captive and the action heroine, with her first time boarding the T.A.R.D.I.S being an entirely emotion-driven reasoning. However, with The Primeval Design, Leela just seems rather stiff, playing up to the “primitive” Savateem nature of her character. She seems to be a complete opposite of Baker’s performance that’s full of as much life as it would have been in the 70s.

Set in the pre-historic lands of Lyme Regis, the two of them continue the adventures in time and space. Looking for a shopkeeper that deals in things of the primeval vintage, a paleontologist with a problem, she’s a woman in 1830s England. Doctor Who has never been one to shy away from using sexism, sometimes to highlight a specific time period’s problems. Mary Anning isn’t one to take overly gracious compliments well. She knows full well the scores of men who use her and her work to claim themselves the greats in paleontological societies.

As her first experience in the 4th Doctor Adventures range, Helen Goldwyn was in one of the previous Big Finish stories we’ve covered, The Spectre of Lanyon Moor. She lended her voice to a couple of characters. Goldwyn, if the title and handful of references so far don’t give it away, pens a story with fun-sized dinosaurs and a hidden bit of paleontology history. I don’t care if the spoil-sports in science want to say “Well, actually… a T-rex is no bigger than a chicken”, dinosaurs are cool because we think of them as monsters roaming the same lands we do now. Oh boy, does Goldwyn deliver on some wonderfully roaring dino-based fun.

Given the story released in February, I don’t think it is worth going into great detail on it. I may think nothing of more or less spoiling a story from 2000-07 (and probably a little beyond), but something far more recent requires that cool-off period. That said, the twist of the third episode of the story comes as one you could only do with Who. It is magnificently sci-fi and tinged with a little fantasy all at the same time, making for little moments that I don’t hate. However, it doesn’t really excite me either, and feels more like something just happening, something you can let pass by with little to no thought being given to it.

That said, the only “issue” I have is the division between Baker and Jameson’s performances. If anything it is simply the fact Leela feels so fresh and new to the whole time-travel and adventure business, never really getting great big moments to show character, just little logical thoughts. Everything makes her sound rather timid while her actions, effectively say “to hell with this skirt” in moments of frustration, giving her solid little moments. It is possibly overshadowed by Lucy Briggs-Owen’s Mary Anning taking up a more companionable role throughout the episode.

Though Mary does have her moments of just playing the “also starring” role, she’s much like Romana from The Apocalypse Element. She is always a part of the plan of action, but hardly ever takes up the small bits of the plot. At times Leela and Mary end up doing the same thing at different times, but the latter is hardly too far away from the Doctor. Meanwhile, Leela is more or less left to her own devices, doing anything secondary that needs to be done to move forward with the next plot point. Don’t get me wrong, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though I may be conditioned to think of companions more in the New-Who Rose and Martha-mold of being his equal and often doing as he does.

I’ll never complain about the west country accents, “alright me lover!” bringing warm feelings of good-hearted folk with their worlds turned upside down by a simple Doctor’s visit. As I’ve said several times now, i love the ability to just close your eyes while listening. There is something about that painting on the back of your eyes of 1830 Dorset with all the foley (sound effects) bringing that painting to life. All in the name of following a curious old man that some grew up with into a fun adventure with scale, bone, treachery, and some good people caught up in the middle of it all.

Press Access to The Primeval Design was provided by Big Finish for the purposes of this review.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!

Big Finish Dr Who "The Primeval Design"

£12.99

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Tom Baker never left his youthful energy.
• A fun pseudo-historical sci-fi adventure.
• Not a straight-forward dinosaur story.
• That "batt-er-ies" line had me on the floor.
• Good-hearted people, people you want to be around.

Cons

• Leela's stiffness is a little jarring.