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The Seventh Doctor Adventures
Doctor Who: The Last Day, Part 1
There is always injustice to fight. There is always a new danger for the universe. But what if the Doctor found a way to put things right, once and for all? Would it really be so terrible to take a stand? Would the end justify the means? And would his friends agree? The Seventh Doctor’s last day is coming…
Further story details to follow.
Further story details to follow.
- GenresDoctor WhoAudiobook
Audio CD
Published December 1, 2023
15 people want to read
About the author
Sylvester McCoy
146 books5 followersSylvester McCoy (born Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith) is a Scottish actor. In his youth, he trained for the priesthood, but gave this up and spent time working in the insurance industry. He worked in The Roundhouse box office for a time, where he was discovered by Ken Campbell.
He appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to 1989 and a brief return in a television movie in 1996. He often reprises his role as the Doctor in the form of Big Finish audioplays.
He appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to 1989 and a brief return in a television movie in 1996. He often reprises his role as the Doctor in the form of Big Finish audioplays.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 29, 2023
This was a disappointment.
The first big note is one of the authors, Matt Fitton, has been happily giving the impression a newcomer could listen to this. That is a lie. This is really a continuation of Dark Universe, as elements from that story reappear without real context. I haven’t heard that audio personally, so I have no idea what these elements really mean. There’s also a plethora of characters whose significance you will only understand if you know their past appearances. The Sixth Doctor’s big audio celebration, The Last Adventure, was very approachable and I genuinely would recommend to those who only know TV Who. This is a whole other beast and I would not make same recommendation.
The impression given by publicity is that there is a moral dilemma of the Seventh Doctor being offered a way to fix everything. This is not present. The Doctor has already made his deal with the devil before the story starts. There’s no real drama to be had with this, as the Doctor is confined to the background and has few characters to talk to, and those few all agree with him. Why is he doing what he’s doing? I have no idea, and that feels vital to a story where the Doctor goes rogue. Time Lord Victorious understood this three years ago.
So what is the story then? Well Ace pulls together a monstrously large cast to fix the universe, but six episodes in not really sure what she needs them all for yet. So really this feels like another Once and Future; cram in characters and figure out the story afterwards. The writers admit as much in the behind the scenes, with the feeling of a “cast of thousands” seemingly their priority. And again; barely any of this cast interact with the Doctor, so there’s not all that much drama to be had.
All in all; a disappointment. I may get Part 2, if only out of a sense of I’m this far through that I may as well see it through. But I’ll clearly have to buy Dark Universe first.
The first big note is one of the authors, Matt Fitton, has been happily giving the impression a newcomer could listen to this. That is a lie. This is really a continuation of Dark Universe, as elements from that story reappear without real context. I haven’t heard that audio personally, so I have no idea what these elements really mean. There’s also a plethora of characters whose significance you will only understand if you know their past appearances. The Sixth Doctor’s big audio celebration, The Last Adventure, was very approachable and I genuinely would recommend to those who only know TV Who. This is a whole other beast and I would not make same recommendation.
The impression given by publicity is that there is a moral dilemma of the Seventh Doctor being offered a way to fix everything. This is not present. The Doctor has already made his deal with the devil before the story starts. There’s no real drama to be had with this, as the Doctor is confined to the background and has few characters to talk to, and those few all agree with him. Why is he doing what he’s doing? I have no idea, and that feels vital to a story where the Doctor goes rogue. Time Lord Victorious understood this three years ago.
So what is the story then? Well Ace pulls together a monstrously large cast to fix the universe, but six episodes in not really sure what she needs them all for yet. So really this feels like another Once and Future; cram in characters and figure out the story afterwards. The writers admit as much in the behind the scenes, with the feeling of a “cast of thousands” seemingly their priority. And again; barely any of this cast interact with the Doctor, so there’s not all that much drama to be had.
All in all; a disappointment. I may get Part 2, if only out of a sense of I’m this far through that I may as well see it through. But I’ll clearly have to buy Dark Universe first.
January 1, 2024
This is very different from what I, and I’m sure many others, expected from this. It seemed to be marketed as a send-off for the Seventh Doctor prior to his regeneration, possibly in the vein of what The Last Adventure was for the Sixth Doctor. But the Seventh Doctor is barely even in this. It’s more about Ace connecting with others involved in Seventh Doctor’s life. There were certain things I was able to follow since I’d listened to The Quantum Possibility Engine and Dark Universe. And I was familiar with Hex was various audios. But it might be confusing for some who have not had as much experience with the audios.
January 10, 2024
✅79% = Good!
-----
Here it is, the first part of Big Finish's epic final adventure for the Seventh Doctor!
>> PART ONE:
Told from Ace and Mel's perspective, which feels like a return to The Power of the Doctor or The Giggle.
Big, universe-shattering stakes, where a broken universe needs to be saved—and the Doctor is nowhere to be found.
The adventure brings together friends, allies, and villains from across the Seventh Doctor's lifespan, so it has that celebratory feel to it (think The End of Time for the Tenth Doctor).
I love the way Part 1 ends, with Ace saving the Master so that they can save the universe together.
I love the music; it stands out unusually well.
The beginning struggles a bit to pull you in, as it focuses on pulling the group together and introducing all the characters and plotlines.
>> PART TWO:
This one turns the comedy up a notch as Ace and the very dry Kane (returning from Dragonfire) meet up with Graundel the Frog, another example of a fairly colourful Bgi Finihs character (with great acting work from Stuart Milligan). Other than that, it continues Ace's lengthy run of recruiting people from the Doctor's past for her cause, and the narrative doesn't proceed much.
I love all the performances and how every scene is allowed to breathe, so this doesn't feel overstuffed. Geoffrey Beevers is perfect (while The Master is underused), and Edward Peel is perfectly cynical.
This one reveals some of the dangers the universe is facing, which keeps up the tension. The story also gathers strength from the fun character interactions, which work surprisingly well in the absence of more exciting and dangerous moments.
>> PART THREE:
The Doctor finally appears properly, and we start to get some answers, such as the Doctor having a universe of his own, where he is ruler, and into which he has moved the Earth away from the constant dangers of our universe, risking the existence of everything in the process. This is also a bit slower and not entirely clear as to what it is trying to achieve. Ironically, the weakest parts of this audio are those focusing on the Doctor.
>> PART FOUR:
We shift back to the Doctor's friends, with Mel (another sorely underused character) and Bernice Summerfield looking for a very powerful artefact deep below the surface of Gallifrey. Lisa Bowerman is as wonderful as ever as Bennie.
Keep in mind that there are references to other Seventh Doctor adventures, so if you're someone like me who hasn't listened to them all, you might not get every reference or connection. But I didn't find that detrimental to the enjoyment of this story.
>> PART FIVE:
The focus shifts again, this time back to Hex and how Ace tries to get his memories back. This shows the main weakness of the story: there are so many characters that need their space in the story that the overall narrative suffers as a consequence, and very little of note happens here. There are long breaks in between characters appearing because they are scattered across time and space.
There's a surprise appearance from the Sontarans here as well. They have no real role to play here, but Dan Starkey seems to have fun at least.
>> PART SIX:
The final part doesn't change things up at all but rather takes the story to a place where the narrative can properly begin in the next set. The story ends without truly achieving anything, so despite featuring some fun scenes and character interactions, as well as tapping into the strengths of this particular incarnation of the Doctor, this one is slightly disappointing.
-----
Here it is, the first part of Big Finish's epic final adventure for the Seventh Doctor!
>> PART ONE:
Told from Ace and Mel's perspective, which feels like a return to The Power of the Doctor or The Giggle.
Big, universe-shattering stakes, where a broken universe needs to be saved—and the Doctor is nowhere to be found.
The adventure brings together friends, allies, and villains from across the Seventh Doctor's lifespan, so it has that celebratory feel to it (think The End of Time for the Tenth Doctor).
I love the way Part 1 ends, with Ace saving the Master so that they can save the universe together.
I love the music; it stands out unusually well.
The beginning struggles a bit to pull you in, as it focuses on pulling the group together and introducing all the characters and plotlines.
>> PART TWO:
This one turns the comedy up a notch as Ace and the very dry Kane (returning from Dragonfire) meet up with Graundel the Frog, another example of a fairly colourful Bgi Finihs character (with great acting work from Stuart Milligan). Other than that, it continues Ace's lengthy run of recruiting people from the Doctor's past for her cause, and the narrative doesn't proceed much.
I love all the performances and how every scene is allowed to breathe, so this doesn't feel overstuffed. Geoffrey Beevers is perfect (while The Master is underused), and Edward Peel is perfectly cynical.
This one reveals some of the dangers the universe is facing, which keeps up the tension. The story also gathers strength from the fun character interactions, which work surprisingly well in the absence of more exciting and dangerous moments.
>> PART THREE:
The Doctor finally appears properly, and we start to get some answers, such as the Doctor having a universe of his own, where he is ruler, and into which he has moved the Earth away from the constant dangers of our universe, risking the existence of everything in the process. This is also a bit slower and not entirely clear as to what it is trying to achieve. Ironically, the weakest parts of this audio are those focusing on the Doctor.
>> PART FOUR:
We shift back to the Doctor's friends, with Mel (another sorely underused character) and Bernice Summerfield looking for a very powerful artefact deep below the surface of Gallifrey. Lisa Bowerman is as wonderful as ever as Bennie.
Keep in mind that there are references to other Seventh Doctor adventures, so if you're someone like me who hasn't listened to them all, you might not get every reference or connection. But I didn't find that detrimental to the enjoyment of this story.
>> PART FIVE:
The focus shifts again, this time back to Hex and how Ace tries to get his memories back. This shows the main weakness of the story: there are so many characters that need their space in the story that the overall narrative suffers as a consequence, and very little of note happens here. There are long breaks in between characters appearing because they are scattered across time and space.
There's a surprise appearance from the Sontarans here as well. They have no real role to play here, but Dan Starkey seems to have fun at least.
>> PART SIX:
The final part doesn't change things up at all but rather takes the story to a place where the narrative can properly begin in the next set. The story ends without truly achieving anything, so despite featuring some fun scenes and character interactions, as well as tapping into the strengths of this particular incarnation of the Doctor, this one is slightly disappointing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2024
Six episodes and what is going on?
This is the first half of a 12-part miniseries that is slotted as the very last adventure for Doctor #7, which I guess means it'll end right at the moment the movie with the 8th Doctor begins.
But it's built on the framework of memberberries. "Hey, it's Hex! Remember him!? And Sally and Lysandra! Remember their brief appearances?! Oh, and Mel, of course. And Ace. And Benny. And Garundel!? Garundel? Why did we need the frog? And . . . wait, am I supposed to know who this Kane fellow is? Or Hob? Ah, it's The Crispy Master. And Mother Finley or whoever who was in that one 3rd Doctor audio. Right. And Vienna? Okay, sure, except I didn't even recognize her voice at first because either Chase Masterson had a cold or . . . gasp . . . aging. Please don't let it be aging. Chase must remain ageless! Oh, now she's dead. So is Lysandra. Well, . . . anyway, oh! It's the Dark Citizens. Uh, . . . wait, that was from that one episode with The Eleven. Oh, and the thingy, the thingy, the . . . Quantum Possibility Engine! That was from that episode with . . . oh, . . . now it's gone. Who else is in this? Why are there two Aces? What in the name of the Eye of Harmony is going on? Why do I need to wait until July for the last six episodes? Will I even care by July? I barely care now!"
This is not a release for people unfamiliar with the Seventh Doctor audio series. This is a release for people who have been following the Seventh Doctor audio series for the last 20+ years. And even then, prepare to be VERY confused.
This is the first half of a 12-part miniseries that is slotted as the very last adventure for Doctor #7, which I guess means it'll end right at the moment the movie with the 8th Doctor begins.
But it's built on the framework of memberberries. "Hey, it's Hex! Remember him!? And Sally and Lysandra! Remember their brief appearances?! Oh, and Mel, of course. And Ace. And Benny. And Garundel!? Garundel? Why did we need the frog? And . . . wait, am I supposed to know who this Kane fellow is? Or Hob? Ah, it's The Crispy Master. And Mother Finley or whoever who was in that one 3rd Doctor audio. Right. And Vienna? Okay, sure, except I didn't even recognize her voice at first because either Chase Masterson had a cold or . . . gasp . . . aging. Please don't let it be aging. Chase must remain ageless! Oh, now she's dead. So is Lysandra. Well, . . . anyway, oh! It's the Dark Citizens. Uh, . . . wait, that was from that one episode with The Eleven. Oh, and the thingy, the thingy, the . . . Quantum Possibility Engine! That was from that episode with . . . oh, . . . now it's gone. Who else is in this? Why are there two Aces? What in the name of the Eye of Harmony is going on? Why do I need to wait until July for the last six episodes? Will I even care by July? I barely care now!"
This is not a release for people unfamiliar with the Seventh Doctor audio series. This is a release for people who have been following the Seventh Doctor audio series for the last 20+ years. And even then, prepare to be VERY confused.
January 1, 2024
I was pretty worried after seeing how many different characters would be in this, how random some of those choices were, and I was concerned if it would live up to the heights of big finish other regeneration story, the last adventure. However, I was pleasantly surprised with how well it was able to handle all these characters and how interesting the premise was. It has some pretty great and unique character interactions and I like how it throws you straight into the story. I was hoping for a better cliffhanger but I'm still excited for part 2.
April 21, 2025
A disappointing, disjointed mess. A story which is supposed to serve as the Seventh Doctor's final, and he's barely even in half of the bloody thing. This was a terrible set-up and it put too much pressure on the second part to tidy everything up. Some of the acting is a bit questionable as well. Our main performers deliver a strong job as ever, of course, but some of the others? Not so much.
The cliff-hangers were okay, but if I hadn't pre-ordered both parts of this stories as a bundle, I doubt I would've cared enough to carry on with it.
The cliff-hangers were okay, but if I hadn't pre-ordered both parts of this stories as a bundle, I doubt I would've cared enough to carry on with it.
January 1, 2024
I got the story because the Beevers Master. Sadly he had a very small part in this story. But It was a great story nonetheless. Looking forward to see what happens in the next part. (And hopefully the Master has a bigger rule in the over all story)
February 1, 2025
It's a narrative mess (one that will hopefully start to assemble something making sense in Part 2) but what a glorious one. I'm a massive Seventh Doctor fan and this is a celebration of his entire era.
January 9, 2024
Needed more Benny. But I love the amount of Hex, like, Oh My God, Hex!
February 9, 2024
Kind of disjointed and a bit confusing at times, but that's mainly because it's just a part of a whole story. Guess we'll see how this plays out.
November 28, 2025
The first of a two-part release. My review is at the second part.
September 13, 2025
Big Finish doing a story on the 7th Doctor's final adventure before the TV Movie seems so obvious to do, that it's a surprise it took so long. But I never thought it would be something on this scale, you can tell from the cover alone this is going to be a big story and with it being a grand epic spread across two boxsets, holy crap now that is exciting!
The Doctor is tired of saving the universe and tying up loose ends, but maybe he can solve that age-old dilemma once and for all. The universe is in chaos, time is in flux, and history is being altered on a daily. It's up to Ace to bring friends and foes together across the universe to stop the Timelord from devastating the cosmos beyond repair. This time, The Doctor is the threat to the universe and only his oldest friends and enemies can stop him.
Matt Fitton and Guy Adams have pieced together an incredible first half to a story that quite rightfully shouldn't work, but they've managed to pull it off with impeccable skill. The 7th Doctor is at his most terrifying and loneliest here, it's sad to see how a man who only wants to protect the universe from the evil that lurks in it, beginning to succumb to it himself. Ace is a terrific lead for this story, bringing favorite companions and enemies together for a common cause. It's a very bleak first half that is incredibly intense, shocking, and at times very funny. I genuinely don't think we've had a Doctor Who story quite like on this scale before, the closest we've got to this is The Daleks Masterplan, but this audio is something else.
Overall: An outstanding first half to such an epic story. Unfortunately, I'm now incredibly excited for the second half, despite the fact the next set won't be out for a few months. 9/10
The Doctor is tired of saving the universe and tying up loose ends, but maybe he can solve that age-old dilemma once and for all. The universe is in chaos, time is in flux, and history is being altered on a daily. It's up to Ace to bring friends and foes together across the universe to stop the Timelord from devastating the cosmos beyond repair. This time, The Doctor is the threat to the universe and only his oldest friends and enemies can stop him.
Matt Fitton and Guy Adams have pieced together an incredible first half to a story that quite rightfully shouldn't work, but they've managed to pull it off with impeccable skill. The 7th Doctor is at his most terrifying and loneliest here, it's sad to see how a man who only wants to protect the universe from the evil that lurks in it, beginning to succumb to it himself. Ace is a terrific lead for this story, bringing favorite companions and enemies together for a common cause. It's a very bleak first half that is incredibly intense, shocking, and at times very funny. I genuinely don't think we've had a Doctor Who story quite like on this scale before, the closest we've got to this is The Daleks Masterplan, but this audio is something else.
Overall: An outstanding first half to such an epic story. Unfortunately, I'm now incredibly excited for the second half, despite the fact the next set won't be out for a few months. 9/10
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews