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Big Finish: Monthly Range #145
Doctor Who: Industrial Evolution
19th century Lancashire: where the white heat of the Industrial Revolution burns hottest at Samuel Belfrage's brass mill, a mill plagued by more than its fair share of work-related injuries.
While Thomas Brewster struggles to secure a fair deal for Belfrage's overworked hands, fellow travellers the Doctor and Evelyn follow the Copper King to Liverpool, there to discover the unexpected truth about Belfrage's business.
Back in Ackleton, the local MP voices the fears of many when he says that the machines are taking over. He's more right than he knows…
While Thomas Brewster struggles to secure a fair deal for Belfrage's overworked hands, fellow travellers the Doctor and Evelyn follow the Copper King to Liverpool, there to discover the unexpected truth about Belfrage's business.
Back in Ackleton, the local MP voices the fears of many when he says that the machines are taking over. He's more right than he knows…
Audio CD
First published March 1, 2011
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About the author
Eddie Robson
158 books111 followersEddie Robson is a comedy and science fiction writer best known for his sitcom Welcome To Our Village, Please Invade Carefully and his work on a variety of spin-offs from the BBC Television series Doctor Who. He has written books, comics and short stories, and has worked as a freelance journalist for various science fiction magazines. He is married to a female academic and lives in Lancaster.
Robson's comedy writing career began in 2008 with material for Look Away Now. Since then his work has featured on That Mitchell and Webb Sound, Tilt, Play and Record, Newsjack, Recorded For Training Purposes and The Headset Set. The pilot episode of his sitcom Welcome To Our Village, Please Invade Carefully was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 5th July 2012. It starred Katherine Parkinson and Julian Rhind-Tutt.
His Doctor Who work includes the BBC 7 radio plays Phobos, Human Resources and Grand Theft Cosmos, the CD releases Memory Lane, The Condemned, The Raincloud Man and The Eight Truths, and several short stories for Big Finish's Doctor Who anthologies, Short Trips. He has contributed comic strips to Doctor Who Adventures.
Between 2007 and 2009, Robson was the producer of Big Finish's Bernice Summerfield range of products, and has contributed four audio plays to the series. He has also written books on film noir and the Coen Brothers for Virgin Publishing, the Doctor Who episode guide Who's Next with co-authors Mark Clapham and Jim Smith, and an illustrated adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Robson's comedy writing career began in 2008 with material for Look Away Now. Since then his work has featured on That Mitchell and Webb Sound, Tilt, Play and Record, Newsjack, Recorded For Training Purposes and The Headset Set. The pilot episode of his sitcom Welcome To Our Village, Please Invade Carefully was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 5th July 2012. It starred Katherine Parkinson and Julian Rhind-Tutt.
His Doctor Who work includes the BBC 7 radio plays Phobos, Human Resources and Grand Theft Cosmos, the CD releases Memory Lane, The Condemned, The Raincloud Man and The Eight Truths, and several short stories for Big Finish's Doctor Who anthologies, Short Trips. He has contributed comic strips to Doctor Who Adventures.
Between 2007 and 2009, Robson was the producer of Big Finish's Bernice Summerfield range of products, and has contributed four audio plays to the series. He has also written books on film noir and the Coen Brothers for Virgin Publishing, the Doctor Who episode guide Who's Next with co-authors Mark Clapham and Jim Smith, and an illustrated adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 24, 2019
I couldn't get into this one as much as some of the other Sixth Doctor audio adventures I've listened to so far, but the first half was better for me than the second.
June 27, 2017
With this story, we reach, rather thankfully, the final departure of Thomas Brewster, the untrustworthy companion who has appeared in both Fifth and Sixth Doctor stories. It's also, more sadly, the last published story to feature long-running BF Sixth Doctor companion Evelyn Smythe, although not the last in her internal chronology. (Actress Maggie Stables retired due to ill-health not long after this was released, and died in 2014).
The story is set in 19th century Lancashire - one internal clue hints at the 1860s, but it's never stated explicitly, and the author seems to have been aiming for 'generic Victorian'. The theme is the growing march of industrialisation, shown both in the relatively mundane scenes with the factory workers and their employers, and in the nature of the villain's scheme. The latter is, at least to my mind, somewhat let down by the fact that the villain itself is somewhat obscure; it's not entirely clear what it is, or why it thinks what it does.
Brewster has been written somewhat inconsistently throughout the course of his stories, which have veered from the excellent (his first appearance) to the rather dire (Time Reef), but have generally been on the weak end of the spectrum. Here, he is more sympathetic than usual for much of the story, which, unfortunately, has the effect of making it seem like he isn't really the same character we've been seeing up until now. Yes, it makes him more bearable, which is good, but at the cost of making the arc less cohesive, which isn't.
Evelyn, of course, is excellent, and there are some good supporting characters, too. At times, it's a little hard to visualise what's going on, although the Victorian industrial atmosphere is well-evoked. Overall, I'd have to rate this 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.
The story is set in 19th century Lancashire - one internal clue hints at the 1860s, but it's never stated explicitly, and the author seems to have been aiming for 'generic Victorian'. The theme is the growing march of industrialisation, shown both in the relatively mundane scenes with the factory workers and their employers, and in the nature of the villain's scheme. The latter is, at least to my mind, somewhat let down by the fact that the villain itself is somewhat obscure; it's not entirely clear what it is, or why it thinks what it does.
Brewster has been written somewhat inconsistently throughout the course of his stories, which have veered from the excellent (his first appearance) to the rather dire (Time Reef), but have generally been on the weak end of the spectrum. Here, he is more sympathetic than usual for much of the story, which, unfortunately, has the effect of making it seem like he isn't really the same character we've been seeing up until now. Yes, it makes him more bearable, which is good, but at the cost of making the arc less cohesive, which isn't.
Evelyn, of course, is excellent, and there are some good supporting characters, too. At times, it's a little hard to visualise what's going on, although the Victorian industrial atmosphere is well-evoked. Overall, I'd have to rate this 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.
August 25, 2020
At first, I thought this was going to be one of those preachy "Factories are TEH EBIL!!!" stories about the terrible conditions that factory workers endured back in the day, without taking into account WHY people went to work in the factories (and, no, it wasn't really because they were forced to be or that they had no other choice. But that's another rant for another day).
But then it turns out that the factory owner is an alien criminal guy who is up to Shenanigans. And not just Shenanigans, but hilarious Shenanigans. And then everything becomes funny again. Even Thomas Brewster, as annoying as he has been, was tolerable. Probably because he seemed to be back in his element - and he even had someone working with him, rather than just lecturing him for being a dork all the time.
So, yeah - I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Though I am ready to move on to the next thing.
But then it turns out that the factory owner is an alien criminal guy who is up to Shenanigans. And not just Shenanigans, but hilarious Shenanigans. And then everything becomes funny again. Even Thomas Brewster, as annoying as he has been, was tolerable. Probably because he seemed to be back in his element - and he even had someone working with him, rather than just lecturing him for being a dork all the time.
So, yeah - I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Though I am ready to move on to the next thing.
November 6, 2024
And we’ve come to the last (at least so far as I know) adventure with that thieving scoundrel Thomas Brewster. Was it everything I’d hoped for? No, not really. But this was fine. Again, this one is all rather typical Doctor Who faire, not too surprising or memorable.
April 19, 2025
Technology rises up in Victorian England and, being the chancer he is, Brewster is on hand to take full advantage of the situation.
It's every bit as good as the two releases which precede it and it's a nice way to round out Brewster's arc. It drags a little towards the end, but it's still strong.
This is also Maggie Stables' last story as Evelyn since the actress would pass away a year later, which is the one thing which really hurts when listening to this story. Evelyn as a character had been given an ending earlier in the range, but since it's Doctor Who, things don't exactly stay chronological in this range.
It's every bit as good as the two releases which precede it and it's a nice way to round out Brewster's arc. It drags a little towards the end, but it's still strong.
This is also Maggie Stables' last story as Evelyn since the actress would pass away a year later, which is the one thing which really hurts when listening to this story. Evelyn as a character had been given an ending earlier in the range, but since it's Doctor Who, things don't exactly stay chronological in this range.
December 6, 2022
Thomas Brewster was a lot better in this one. Bit sad that this story is his and Evelyn’s last as it was okay. It wasn’t that exciting, out of the trilogy of 6, Evelyn and Brewster it was the better one with an interesting premise that fell a bit flat near the end.
March 1, 2019
I again actually really enjoyed it
January 1, 2023
Really struggled to hear the voices on this one as the sound effects constantly drowned out everything
April 29, 2023
Of course it'd be the Sixth Doctor in another story with "trial" in the title. Felt like a noisy mess. Thomas Brewster character got tired honestly.
March 11, 2016
Another lovely audio with Evelyn. I liked this because Brewster was in it as well they didn't have to split the Doctor and Companion as much so Evelyn and the Doctor had a lot of scenes together which was really nice. The two have such a delightful relationship.
The story was a nice spin on the industrial north with trouble at mill, and aliens who weren't necessarily bad, like the mill owners weren't really trying to hurt their workers. It had good twists and turns and ended up a bit steampunk which made a nice change for Doctor Who. Brewster didn't quite get the ending I expected but he seems to have done alright for himself anyway.
I'm sad there will be no more adventures with Evelyn but I am glad she was brought back for these.
The story was a nice spin on the industrial north with trouble at mill, and aliens who weren't necessarily bad, like the mill owners weren't really trying to hurt their workers. It had good twists and turns and ended up a bit steampunk which made a nice change for Doctor Who. Brewster didn't quite get the ending I expected but he seems to have done alright for himself anyway.
I'm sad there will be no more adventures with Evelyn but I am glad she was brought back for these.
July 14, 2012
Listened to this quite a while back and forgot to review it. It sort of takes the idea of aliens living undercover on Earth from Robson's stories set in contemporary Manchester and pushes that back in time to the industrial revolution. I think I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm never going to fully warm to Thomas Brewster as a companion, but he's not bad in this one.
February 13, 2015
Interesting to see Thomas Brewster back in his own time, but good that it has changed him or at least in the way he views the world. Some creepy moments in this with the goings on in the mill, and loved one of the side characters. A good ending, and apt for Brewster - hoping Big Finish do some stories with those two together.
January 21, 2016
The Doctor and Evelyn leave Thomas on earth before the industrial revolution but are about to leave when the factory is under a lot of workers accidents. Or is the factory metal trying to make itself human bodies. Can Thomas, Evelyn and the Doctor stop them?
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews