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The Early Adventures #5.4
Doctor Who: The Crash of the UK-201
You can’t change the past, every time traveller knows that. What’s done is done and cannot be unwritten. But what if it isn’t the past any more? What if it’s now the present?
The spaceship called the UK-201 was intended to fly to the Earth colony of Astra. But it never made it. Crashing on the planet Dido, a tragic chain of events was set in motion leading to the death of almost all of its crew and a massacre of the indigenous population.
The only survivor of these events was a young girl called Vicki. Rescued by the time traveller known as the Doctor, she’s been travelling in his ship for some time.
So when she suddenly wakes up in her cabin on the UK-201 again, without her friends, a few days before the accident, she’s faced with a stark choice... Can she stop the crash from happening? And if she can, should she?
The spaceship called the UK-201 was intended to fly to the Earth colony of Astra. But it never made it. Crashing on the planet Dido, a tragic chain of events was set in motion leading to the death of almost all of its crew and a massacre of the indigenous population.
The only survivor of these events was a young girl called Vicki. Rescued by the time traveller known as the Doctor, she’s been travelling in his ship for some time.
So when she suddenly wakes up in her cabin on the UK-201 again, without her friends, a few days before the accident, she’s faced with a stark choice... Can she stop the crash from happening? And if she can, should she?
- GenresDoctor Who
Audiobook
First published December 12, 2018
28 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Morris
215 books70 followersJonathan Morris is one of the most prolific and popular writers of Doctor Who books, including the highly-regarded novels 'Festival of Death' and 'Touched by an Angel' and the recent guide to monsters, 'The Monster Vault'. He has also written numerous comic strips, most of which were collected in 'The Child of Time', and audios for BBC Audio and Big Finish, including the highly-regarded comedies 'Max Warp' and 'The Auntie Matter', as well as the adaptation of Russell T Davies’ 'Damaged Goods'.
Recently he has started his own audio production company, Average Romp. Releases include a full-cast adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Chimes', an original play, 'When Michael Met Benny', and three episodes of a SF sitcom, 'Dick Dixon in the 21st Century'.
For details visit www.averageromp.com
He also originated his own series, Vienna and script-edited the Nigel Planer series 'Jeremiah Bourne in Time'. He’s also written documentaries and for TV sketch shows.
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Recently he has started his own audio production company, Average Romp. Releases include a full-cast adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Chimes', an original play, 'When Michael Met Benny', and three episodes of a SF sitcom, 'Dick Dixon in the 21st Century'.
For details visit www.averageromp.com
He also originated his own series, Vienna and script-edited the Nigel Planer series 'Jeremiah Bourne in Time'. He’s also written documentaries and for TV sketch shows.
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 14, 2020
Hello... William Hartnell is on holiday again.. 😂 The absence of the Doctor again gives us more time to focus on the companions and this one is really all about Vicki. It follows similar Groundhog day/Butterfly effect themes explored already but it does allow Maureen O Brien a great chance to give us an exeptonal emotional performance that we wouldn't have seen on TV. The baddies are a bit new series Doctor Who and would have been realised very differently in 1965. All in all a good story and probably worth quite a few repeated listens.
July 31, 2024
An interesting look at what Vicki’s life would have been like had she not met and traveled with the Doctor. I’m simplifying the narrative, but essentially that is what is going on here. This is definitely akin to those early (First) Doctor episodes during which William Hartnell was sick and needed some time off as the Doctor’s presence is all but absent. What starts as a kind of fun romp through an alternate timeline, turns into a bit of a nightmare of lost possibilities as things progress. It is an entertaining tale, all a bit timey whimey but still fun for long-time fans of the classic series (First) Doctor’s companions.
April 23, 2024
Excellent Vicky-centric story.
July 9, 2021
Jonathan Morris is an author who has written for Big Finish and the expanded media of the show in general for a very long time and whilst his first story 'The Festival of Death' was an instant hit with fans of the '90s, his skill and expertise have improved over the past couple of decades and it feels like this passion and skill has grown up to the very point that this writer would excel in my opinion his greatest script he has ever written and that's this The Crash of The UK-201.
After an odd turbulence in The Tardis, Vicki finds herself back aboard The UK-201 on the very day it crashed and her father still alive which has left her with the choice of whether or not to prevent the catastrophe and see how her life would have ended up without The Doctor will she do it and if she does what will be the consequences?
This was an incredible story that is occasionally extremely dark, very creepy but most of all a heartbreaking listen that will leave you in tears by the time it's over. The cast are all fantastic in this bringing it their all into the production but the highlight of this is Maureen O'Brien who not gets only so much to do but great emotional material that really shows the strength of this incredible actress and she should be applauded for arguably her best performance!
The music and sound design in this are incredible as well and Toby Hrycek-Robinson continues to show off why he's one of the greatest sound designers the company will he ever have and the directing from Lisa Bowerman as always is fantastic!
Overall: Not just Jonathan Morris' greatest story but it's by far the best story in The Early Adventures which is incredibly impressive considering Series 5 of this range as a whole is by far one of the most accomplished series of adventures Big Finish has ever made! 10/10
After an odd turbulence in The Tardis, Vicki finds herself back aboard The UK-201 on the very day it crashed and her father still alive which has left her with the choice of whether or not to prevent the catastrophe and see how her life would have ended up without The Doctor will she do it and if she does what will be the consequences?
This was an incredible story that is occasionally extremely dark, very creepy but most of all a heartbreaking listen that will leave you in tears by the time it's over. The cast are all fantastic in this bringing it their all into the production but the highlight of this is Maureen O'Brien who not gets only so much to do but great emotional material that really shows the strength of this incredible actress and she should be applauded for arguably her best performance!
The music and sound design in this are incredible as well and Toby Hrycek-Robinson continues to show off why he's one of the greatest sound designers the company will he ever have and the directing from Lisa Bowerman as always is fantastic!
Overall: Not just Jonathan Morris' greatest story but it's by far the best story in The Early Adventures which is incredibly impressive considering Series 5 of this range as a whole is by far one of the most accomplished series of adventures Big Finish has ever made! 10/10
September 11, 2021
I have to be honest; of all the TV stories from the First Doctor's era I could think of doing a sequel to, The Rescue would not have been top of my list. Not that it's one of the weaker stories, mind you; it just doesn't seem suited to such a thing. Yet that's exactly what we have here - and it's very good.
After something goes wrong on the TARDIS, Vicki wakes to find herself back on the UK-201 just hours before it crashed and set up the events of the TV story. The first 30 minutes deal with the immediate ramifications of that and of having the chance to prevent her father's death. From there on, however, things get increasingly timey-wimey. There are at least some parallels to Father's Day, not to mention , but the focus is on exploring the effects on Vicki and, in particular, how her life might have turned out had things been different.
It's not a simple story, especially towards the end, where the exact sequence of events matters. O'Brien is the lynchpin of it and does a fantastic job voicing different versions of Vicki throughout her life, helping to bring things to life without the prosthetics that a TV show would have to use. Obviously, it's not the sort of thing that the show would have done in the '60s (The Space Museum has some similar themes, perhaps, but not to the extent used here) and it isn't one for those who dislike the "timey-wimey" trope. Furthermore, it's worth mentioning that the Doctor is barely in it, leaving this more like one of the Companion Chronicles where the focus is on Vicki and, to a lesser extent, Steven.
But if, like me, you don't mind those issues it's a great story with strong acting and an intelligent and emotional plot.
After something goes wrong on the TARDIS, Vicki wakes to find herself back on the UK-201 just hours before it crashed and set up the events of the TV story. The first 30 minutes deal with the immediate ramifications of that and of having the chance to prevent her father's death. From there on, however, things get increasingly timey-wimey. There are at least some parallels to Father's Day, not to mention , but the focus is on exploring the effects on Vicki and, in particular, how her life might have turned out had things been different.
It's not a simple story, especially towards the end, where the exact sequence of events matters. O'Brien is the lynchpin of it and does a fantastic job voicing different versions of Vicki throughout her life, helping to bring things to life without the prosthetics that a TV show would have to use. Obviously, it's not the sort of thing that the show would have done in the '60s (The Space Museum has some similar themes, perhaps, but not to the extent used here) and it isn't one for those who dislike the "timey-wimey" trope. Furthermore, it's worth mentioning that the Doctor is barely in it, leaving this more like one of the Companion Chronicles where the focus is on Vicki and, to a lesser extent, Steven.
But if, like me, you don't mind those issues it's a great story with strong acting and an intelligent and emotional plot.
December 25, 2018
Love me this trope.
March 22, 2019
Vicki goes back to the ship she crashed on but she changes things to make her life different. Causing breaches in time. Can she fix things so she gets back to the doctor.
April 30, 2019
My gosh. :) This one gets scary, fast! Fun.
November 24, 2022
Turn Left, Father’s Day, The Butterfly Effect, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Back in the Red, and The Visitor all rolled into one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2023
This was an interesting little one about Vicki's origins and a timeloop.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2023
This story takes big swings with Vicki and really delves into some what ifs.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews