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Big Finish: Monthly Range #209
Doctor Who: Aquitaine
Today should be much like every other day for Hargreaves, the computer consciousness that co-ordinates daily life aboard the spaceship Aquitaine, stationed on the outer fringes of a black hole. Water the plants, run the diagnostics, cook the Captain’s breakfast; then tidy the plates away, rotate the ship, clean the windows of the observation deck. When at last the day’s work is done, Hargreaves will dim the lights in the sleeping quarters. But no-one will sleep aboard the Aquitaine tonight. Because the Aquitaine’s crew is missing.
But today will be different. Today, a space/time ship called the TARDIS will materialise in the botanical section, bringing the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan aboard the Aquitaine. Together, they’ll seek to discover the truth of what happened to Hargreaves’ crew…
But today will be different. Today, a space/time ship called the TARDIS will materialise in the botanical section, bringing the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan aboard the Aquitaine. Together, they’ll seek to discover the truth of what happened to Hargreaves’ crew…
2 pages, Audio CD
First published February 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 5, 2025
The fifth doctor, Tegan and Nyssa arrive on a spaceship whose crew seems to have mysteriously vanished. Hargreaves, the AI who controls the robots and maintains the ship, tries to reassure them and put them at ease as much as possible. Even when they hear screaming, Hargreaves says he’s investigated the matter and didn’t find anything. He has concluded that the screams must come from ghosts, so the doctor and his companions can just ignore the screams. The doctor however doesn’t believe in ghosts.
I really like the concept of this one. You have some contrast with Hargreaves on one hand trying to put you and the characters at ease, bringing a rather cozy feel to the story. He vacuums, cooks breakfast, offers the doctor tea, … And on the other hand, you have the mystery of the screams or the ghosts. The plot starts quite slowly, but it gets more complicated and intense as the story progresses.
It starts out as a rather cozy mystery and then turns into quite an intense science fiction thriller. The pace does slow down a bit somewhere in the middle, but this is a strong and entertaining story from start to finish. This would be an interesting story to turn into a television episode.
I really like the concept of this one. You have some contrast with Hargreaves on one hand trying to put you and the characters at ease, bringing a rather cozy feel to the story. He vacuums, cooks breakfast, offers the doctor tea, … And on the other hand, you have the mystery of the screams or the ghosts. The plot starts quite slowly, but it gets more complicated and intense as the story progresses.
It starts out as a rather cozy mystery and then turns into quite an intense science fiction thriller. The pace does slow down a bit somewhere in the middle, but this is a strong and entertaining story from start to finish. This would be an interesting story to turn into a television episode.
July 12, 2016
LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this episode! If you're a Doctor Who fan, it's a must-listen!
I know nada about this Doctor #5. I know even less about his companions. Haven't watched any of their TV programs. Okay. Well, I did see a part of one, once. But just a bit.
Aquitaine is a space ship. A research vessel. And a GHOST SHIP! Woo-hoo! One of my favorites types of stories and one very hard to pull off well. It's maybe once or twice every couple of decades a great Ghost Ship story appears. And we get one here. Not going to say anything more. Other than even if you're Doctor Who virgin-ish I think you'll love this story.
It's one of the best pieces yet I've come across from Big Finish. Nearly perfect.
Except for that poor Australian woman. She's not given much to do other than gripe and it does grate a bit after a while. But that's a very minor complaint.
I know nada about this Doctor #5. I know even less about his companions. Haven't watched any of their TV programs. Okay. Well, I did see a part of one, once. But just a bit.
Aquitaine is a space ship. A research vessel. And a GHOST SHIP! Woo-hoo! One of my favorites types of stories and one very hard to pull off well. It's maybe once or twice every couple of decades a great Ghost Ship story appears. And we get one here. Not going to say anything more. Other than even if you're Doctor Who virgin-ish I think you'll love this story.
It's one of the best pieces yet I've come across from Big Finish. Nearly perfect.
Except for that poor Australian woman. She's not given much to do other than gripe and it does grate a bit after a while. But that's a very minor complaint.
December 22, 2022
I just love this one and keep coming back to it.
It is atmospheric, it is creepy, it is clever, there is humor, it has timey- whimeyness to it...
It is very well performed.
What more could you possibly want from a Doctor Who audio play?
It is atmospheric, it is creepy, it is clever, there is humor, it has timey- whimeyness to it...
It is very well performed.
What more could you possibly want from a Doctor Who audio play?
July 13, 2019
The Doctor and companions find themselves on a spaceship mysteriously overgrown with vegetation and apparently haunted by the spirits of its missing crew. The first part of the story is quite creepy, as the mystery unfolds, but even once it becomes clear what's going on it remains very engaging. Explaining why would give away too much of the plot, but suffice it to say that there's plenty going on, and it's one of those stories that rewards close listening, due to its complexity.
The key guest character is the ship's computer, Hargreaves, programmed to act and sound like a stereotypical English butler - he is written brilliantly, and is one of the highlights of the story. Aside from the depth of the story, another strength is that Aquitaine manages to avoid many of the cliches that one might expect. Even the episode endings are more story beats that advance the plot than the traditional cliffhangers - and they don't overdo the reprises, which is something that often bugs me on audio.
This is one the best Big Finish stories in the main series for quite some time, an intelligent tale with strong guest characters, good writing of the regulars (Nyssa is perhaps more of the focus than Tegan, but the interplay between all of them is great), and going in some interesting directions that are unusual for the series, but perfectly fitting for it. Technically, it's part of a trilogy of releases, but it's entirely standalone, and recommended for any Who fan.
The key guest character is the ship's computer, Hargreaves, programmed to act and sound like a stereotypical English butler - he is written brilliantly, and is one of the highlights of the story. Aside from the depth of the story, another strength is that Aquitaine manages to avoid many of the cliches that one might expect. Even the episode endings are more story beats that advance the plot than the traditional cliffhangers - and they don't overdo the reprises, which is something that often bugs me on audio.
This is one the best Big Finish stories in the main series for quite some time, an intelligent tale with strong guest characters, good writing of the regulars (Nyssa is perhaps more of the focus than Tegan, but the interplay between all of them is great), and going in some interesting directions that are unusual for the series, but perfectly fitting for it. Technically, it's part of a trilogy of releases, but it's entirely standalone, and recommended for any Who fan.
June 19, 2016
Very time wimey. Loved Hargreaves.
March 9, 2025
Peter Davison.
Full cast audio book⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Full cast audio book⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
July 22, 2025
“‘World Enough and Time’ but not quite as good” sounds like faint praise (and is potentially unfair given that this story predates WEaT by a year), but as someone who holds up WEaT as one of the greatest stories in the Doctor Who franchise, it’s meant as a incredible compliment and is, frankly, so much my exact reaction to this story that I can find little else to say. Worth a listen.
February 23, 2016
I found this release to be an incredibly enjoyable, well written and well thought through story.
It goes to show that a small cast in such a contained environment can produce excellent drama.
It goes to show that a small cast in such a contained environment can produce excellent drama.
February 13, 2017
The Doctor, Nyssa and tegan end up on a ship close to a blackhole but not all in the same time frame.
April 19, 2019
Charming. Fun. Curious. Mysterious. Fascinating. Scary. Creepy. Frightening. Lovely. :)
January 10, 2022
Very fun story about a time storm and a homage to the TV story the Seeds of Doom. Tegan is great, Nyssa is great, 5 is great, and Hargreaves is the best butler boy.
December 12, 2025
This is a good beginner Big Finish story. Also if you thought the 2nd Doctor story "Black Hole" was too complicated this is a more digestable.
April 20, 2016
Excellent Doctor Who story set inside a black hole.
November 19, 2017
This was brilliant, absolutely brilliant!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews