Review: Shada

As most Doctor Who fans will know, the six-part adventure Shada never made it to television screens. Filming was disrupted due to industrial action, and the 1979 version starring the Fourth Doctor, Romana II and K-9 remained incomplete. In 2003, however, Big Finish Productions and the BBC website collaborated on a new production of the adventure, starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, and featuring exclusive animation; and an extended version of the story's soundtrack is available on CD from Big Finish.

The story remains the same as the original, with a few tweaks for continuity purposes. Some of the available footage from the original recording of Shada was incorporated into The Five Doctors, and that's acknowledged here; as is Romana's role as President of Gallifrey. The Doctor turns up unexpectedly, excitedly trying to persuade her and K-9 to return to Cambridge and carry out their original plan to unite with retired Time Lord Professor Chronotis.

Douglas Adams' script, despite having been revised for audio, retains the energy, wit and whimsy that he brought to the TV series. It's inventive and engrossing and intelligent, and most listeners should find is massively enjoyable.

Continuity fans will no doubt be satisfied that the events of The Five Doctors have been incorporated into the plot, and for those who are unaware of the Fourth Doctor's attempted visit, the references are subtle and unobtrusive, not interfering with the thrust of the story at all. It's great that Big Finish have managed to weave Shada into the chronology of the series without having to take much out elsewhere, and their efforts to keep continiuity coherent are much appreciated.

The Eighth Doctor and Romana are a surprisingly successful pairing, with Lalla Ward putting in a stellar performance alongside the every-brilliant Paul McGann. Should the opportunity ever arise for her to take more trips in the Doctor's TARDIS, further adventures would be eagerly devoured by listeners - this Doctor/Companion dynamic is arguably more successful than that between the Eighth Doctor and Charley. And despite the changes to both characters since the script was written, the lines sound natural and the pair lead the story well - before too long, you'll forget that the dialogue was originally written for Tom Baker, because McGann is just fantastic.

The supporting actors are an excellent group of people who work well together - with James Fox as Chronotis and Andrew Sachs as Skagra standing out in particular. They handle humour, drama and emotion perfectly well, conveying the spirit and tone of the Fourth Doctor's era whilst retaining the freshness of the Eighth Doctor audios. The casting is fantastic, entirely free of poor performances.

Shada isn't the best Eighth Doctor production, not by a long way - but it's a fantastic side-step from the main range, perfectly-pitched in a way that creates an enjoyable romp of a story whilst respecting the canon of the Classic Series. Good stuff.