It’s the end of March, which means it’s time for a highly anticipated release from Big Finish: the new start of the Eleventh Doctor Adventures. A three story set, it follows the adventures of The Doctor (Miles Taylor) and new companion Eleanor Fong (Jasmine Bayes).

Starting the boxset, their first instalment together sees them in 90s Hong Kong, where people have caught a nasty case of static.

Hong Kong 1990. The Doctor answers a call for help from Eleanor Fong, CEO of Fong Enterprises. Only he’s eleven years too late. And in those intervening years she’s been busy – helping people to forget…

Big Finish Synopsis

Given the universal praise the Eleventh Doctor Chronicles received, it was always going to be a difficult act to follow. However, the first story in the Eleventh Doctor Adventures, The Final Cut, is a damn worthy successor.

With this opening instalment, McMullin and Kashevsky present a simple yet effective story. Set in 90s Hong Kong, it follows The Doctor as he investigates Fong Enterprises and their CEO, Eleanor Fong, as her futuristic Re-memory machines seem to be attracting strange creatures made of static white noise. It follows a tried-and-true formula for the start of the series, which is light on mystery, action-centric, and gives the characters enough time to start developing. While saying it’s formulaic seems like a critique, in the case of an opening adventure, it can only be seen as a positive. The familiar story beats allow for a pacier runtime and easy engagement in the subject.

What makes this a worthy successor, then, comes from its character introductions and well-written script. The new series companion, Eleanor Fong, is a particular standout during this adventure. While, at first, she may seem like your typical archetypal companion, there is one thing that sets her apart from the others from the word go. Unlike the usual setup of having a companion just beginning into the world of adulthood, Fong is already a highly successful career woman and CEO. Coming in with more life experience, she’s less in awe at the amazingness that is The Doctor. She’s analytical and inquisitive and will not be shaken by any of the Doctor’s bluff or bravado, setting an interesting dynamic that doesn’t come round often in the TV series. Moreover, Fong being a highly successful CEO brings a whole set of new dynamics between Doctor and Companion. More likely to be on opposing sides than friends, there are elements of these conflicting ideals spread throughout the story, especially in the beginning, as one of Fong’s first actions upon meeting The Doctor is to put him in a cell. As the adventure progresses, however, the two become friendlier, and we learn that Fong is a more altruistic CEO (if there could even be such a thing).

The Doctor also gets some good moments spread throughout the episode. What strikes most, though, is how in tune both McMullin and Kashevsky are with the 11^th incarnation’s character. From the outset, they are immediately able to hone in on this Doctor’s mannerisms, such as his insatiable need to ramble, and weave it colourfully within the story’s script. Furthermore, I was shocked to hear that this is Miles Taylor’s first proper outing as the 11^th Doctor. He does a wonderful portrayal, and if you don’t look at the cast list, there are moments where it genuinely feels like Matt Smith is playing the character again.