Doctor Who: Absolution

This is the first of two audio plays that tie off the dangling plot threads from the 8th Doctor's long run in the main series of Big Finish plays - leaving the slate clean for a re-launch in his own series. (The latter had, in fact, launched well before this was made).

Here, the focus is on C'rizz, who is, to be honest, not one of the most interesting companions to grace the show or its “expanded universe”. The story concerns him being, by somewhat implausible means, lured to a planet that looks suspiciously like Hell, and then working out his own personal demons in the process.

There is some good back-story here, in terms of how the planet got to be the way it is, which is largely left to the Doctor and Charley to solve. But, in the end, the story doesn't go anywhere particularly interesting, and that's largely down to the fact that we don't (or, at least, I didn't) care that much about C'rizz or what happens to him.

The final absolution itself doesn't feel as dramatic as it should, either, and for much the same reason - it's also unclear why there wasn't a better solution. The semi-cliffhanger ending is rather better than anything in the story proper, enhanced by the fact that, with only one remaining 8th Doctor play left in the regular series, anything really could happen.