Review: Most Wanted

 

     Five years ago (yes, it's really been that long) Jo Martin made her debut as the Doctor in Fugitive of the Judoon, a forgotten life sometime before the first incarnation that we all know and love, and regardless of mixed opinion on such a big change to series lore it'd be an understatement to say the Fugitive Doctor was well received. In the years since fans have been teased with brief reprisals on screen and cried out for a spinoff led by the Fugitive Doctor. In 2025, Big Finish has made this dream to many come true with the first of two releases: The Fugitive Doctor - Most Wanted. Containing three adventures and depicting the earliest days of this Doctor's time on the run, there's some very high expectations to live up to.

The cover artwork for the release, by Simon Holub.

 

Fast Times

    Paranoid that the Doctor knows secrets that could compromise them, Division elect to betray the Doctor and try to bring her in. Suddenly branded a fugitive, the Doctor finds herself taken prisoner pn Punishment - a hulk ship - and roped into a prison break.

    Robert Valentine kicks off the series with this story and out the gate it presents a vulnerability we never saw in this incarnation of the Doctor on screen. For the first 10 minutes, gone is the confidence and suffer-no-fools attitude she's usually depicted with. It feels like a bit of an unusual choice. Though as characterisation goes, the Doctor here is much less keen to get involved and connect with Fade - a character who is essentially the companion for this story - but begrudgingly finds her compassion get the better of her, even when in a turbulent situation herself.

    Fade is not a lot to write home about as a character but she does introduce the Doctor to the villains of the piece. Yes, it's the Daleks. Having the Daleks in the Fugitive Doctor's very first story feels like a questionable decision when, ideally, this series should be presenting something fresh. This does however come with the acknowledgement that this perspective may be skewed by an overall feeling of being burnt out on the pepperpots with their prevelancy, and they don't particularly outlive their welcome in this episode.

    The Daleks also give Fade a bit of backstory as a resistence fighter, and make for a quick and easy setup for the Doctor to be tempted to join a resistance, a very classic setup for the character in their earliest incarnations and a strong way to bring her sense of morality out.

    There are breadcrumbs throughout pointing to a mystery of why Division turned itself against the Doctor, with the Doctor herself not having any idea what she's supposed to know that could be considered so dangerous to them. The presence of the Daleks adds to her confusion - although the audience is in on the secret this time - as their grudge against her is as strong as ever while she finds herself on the back foot with no idea who they are. Another potential breadcrumb is a possible disconnect between events depicted in the TV series' Once, Upon Time, and what's depicted at the beginning of this story, though it can be taken in good faith that the events of Atropos are something the series may yet circle back to.

    There's plenty of action and variety in the story, from the prison break to a crashing spaceship and a trip through history while facing off against the Daleks. Even if not the strongest of openers,  Fast Times certainly won't leave you bored and provides some solid set-up for the Fugitive Doctor's adventures on the run.

The Legend of Baba Yaga

     Seeking a means to stay hidden from the Time Lords, the Doctor arrives in 17th century Russia, to meet Baba Yaga, a terrifying witch from Slavic folklore. Before she knows it, the Doctor is wrapped up in the story of Vasilisa the Beautiful, sent by her wicked stepmother to retrieve a flame from Baba Yaga.

    Rochana Patel knocks it out of the park with this one, it's always nice when a light is shone on cultures that Doctor Who rarely visits and the story of Baba Yaga is a great example, a folktale completely unknown to me at the time of listening, but this adaption of it has opened up an interest in the folklore behind it. The mythology is really given air here, with the story leaning much further into fantasy than conventional sci-fi and it is executed incredibly well. While handled a little directly with the Doctor plainly describing things early on, such evokative imagery is captured and the story is able to effectively hold on to its atmosphere from there, aided in no small part by Howard Carter's score. To this reviewer's less cultured mind, the chicken-legged hut called to mind Howl's Moving Castle, and the story did have an atmosphere not too dissimilar to what you might get from a Studio Ghibli classic, be that intentional or totally coincidental.

    In ways we get a very different characterisation of the Doctor compared to the previous story, rather than being reluctant to get involved she's excited about being a part of this legend and meeting the figures from it. She's also a bit worse at the time travel thing, dropping way too many future references in front of Vasilisa, reflecting her placement in the timeline being before the Doctor was a seasoned traveller and more accustomed to Earth. There is also a darker side referenced through the latter half of the story by Baba Yaga, reaching into the Doctor's mind.

    Jacqueline King (who listeners may know better as Sylvia Noble) is the standout guest actress and is great in portraying Baba Yaga, it is a very hammed-up performance but not to the extent where it feels out of place, she makes the character a delightful antagonist throughout and leaves you wanting more of her after every scene.

    Through this story the Doctor is reflected through both Vasilis and Baba Yaga, in the case of the former it's through her harsh relationship with the people back home and desire to save them regardless (a course of action we'll see and hear the Doctor take many a time through her future lives) and in the latter it's the harsh exterior and the terrible decisions made to survive, yet with a track record of helping those in need regardless. This ties the central cast together in a satisfying way and makes their interactions all the more interesting.

    The breadcrumbs laid out by the previous story continue with the Doctor making reference to memories stolen from her, and seeing where this goes will doubtlessly be interesting, perhaps it's simply the history of the Timeless Child as explored on-screen, or perhaps it's something more.

    Patel is relatively new blood at Big Finish - with her first stories for them being in 2022 - and if The Legend of Baba Yaga is anything to go by this will be a name to look out for.

The Dimension of Lost Things

    Trying to get Cosmo off her tail, the Doctor makes a dangerous move with her TARDIS and ends up in the titular Dimension of Lost Things, a place where the things you lose from keys to yourself go. To find her way out, she has the help of explorer Sandy Irvine, space pilot Athelia, a squirrel-like alien and most importantly of all: herself.

    Lisa McMullin closes out the Fugitive Doctor’s first box-set, a writer I’ve admittedly found to be quite hit and miss with her work on the Ninth Doctor Adventures range, but here she brings a story set in an abstract but well-crafted world with plenty of intrigue.

    Jo Martin is doing double duty in this story, playing both the Fugitive Doctor and another version of herself who’s already been in this dimension for a whole year, there are a couple of small moments where it feels a little unclear which is speaking, but on the whole this works well and their interactions are both engaging and raise the story’s tension, as questions are raised about the Doctor’s lost memories and finding the answers.

    It is hard to discuss in much detail without going into spoiler territory, but there are brief scenes depicting fragments of past events in the Fugitive Doctor’s life. One of these is particularly tense due to a mix of both Jo Martin’s delivery and the incredibly evocative sound design. Additionally, with later revelations of the story in mind, it raises more questions for the audience about just how many layers to the Fugitive Doctor’s situation there are.

    The Dimension of Lost Things itself has some interesting locales, with lost souls roaming that seem to drag others down with them, and winds that blow away your memories and this is a story that leaves you wanting more of its world, as unlikely as a return visit may be. 

    Sandy Irvine feels a little wasted in this story as a historical figure, not being a particular focus of the story and spending much of it simply following the Doctors and reacting. While not an inherent fault, it would have been nice if he had gotten more to do. Though the story does have two important moments for the character which were enjoyed.

    Cosmo - having debuted back in Fast Times - finally gets her chance to shine here. While in execution it doesn’t feel wholly satisfying, with the story starting with them sounding so familiar to one another whereas from a listener perspective they haven’t interacted since their first meeting, she’s a very enjoyable character who will hopefully be further explored in future episodes. The way she favours working alone is an interesting mirror to the Doctor at this stage and the interactions she does get with the Doctor are very enjoyable, where this dynamic evolves will be interesting to see.

    If you’re looking to explore a strange new world and venture into the mysteries of the Fugitive Doctor, complete with cleverly executed revelations that don’t give away too much but leave you hungry for more, The Dimension of Lost Things may just be the story for you.

Final Thoughts

    The Fugitive Doctor Adventures is no doubt off to a strong start, effectively reintroducing Jo Martin's Doctor, introducing a long-term rival in Cosmo and building up mysteries to explore. All three stories are winners individually, though as a whole there are a few issues. There seems to be a lack of cohesion with the Fugitive Doctor herself, her characterisation doesn’t quite feel consistent between each story (something that perhaps they’re still feeling out). Going from the first story to the third there’s also a sense of having missed something, with the Doctor now not seeming to know that what Division wants her for is secrets held in her memory or even what Division is, even though Fast Times opened with her on a Division mission. The fan brain does present a possible theory that would explain the inconsistency, running with an idea from the third story, though it doesn’t feel like something the series will explore. 

    As well as this her relationship with Cosmo isn’t allowed to build organically, briefly meeting her at the beginning of the set, her being absent in the second story, only for the third to treat them as though they’ve known each other a while as touched on in the story’s review. With their dynamic likely to be a key part of the ongoing series as a whole this is a bit of a disappointment. Only time will tell how things are handled from here.

    Another thing that runs through the box-set is the repeated visits to Earth, a brief history of New Mexico in Fast Times, 1600s Russia in The Legend of Baba Yaga and 1920s Mount Everest in The Dimension of Lost Things, while trips through history are appreciated (and a Fugitive Doctor pure historical has to be on the wish list) it would be nice for some future episodes to keep away from the Earth entirely, especially when the series’ main conceit is that the Doctor is a fugitive trying to stay a step ahead of her pursuer.

   As often gets brought up in reviews on this blog, Most Wanted does not come with any music suites, this is a shame with the latter two stories having such good soundscapes. Also conspicuous by its absence this go around is the lack of a reverse cover, usually Big Finish releases come with an alternate edit of the cover art to match the branding of the era it's based on, but in this case the 2018 logo is nowhere to be found. The Fugitive Doctor lacks her own arrangement of the title theme as well, which may be disappointing to some after John Hurt's War Doctor received his own though this is far from a deal breaker.

    Back to some positivity, all three stories were still enjoyable on their own merits with The Legend of Baba Yaga being the standout. If you're a fan of the Fugitive Doctor and on the fence, know that in terms of story quality you won't be disappointed, if you're looking for answers to the big mysteries you won't find them here though Most Wanted builds up many of its own that will ideally be explored more deeply in future (and one particular mystery raised by the TV show is flirted with here, albeit it not definitively answered, which many fans will enjoy).

If this review has sparked your interest, The Fugitive Doctor - Most Wanted is available at https://www.bigfinish.com/