Audio Review: Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles - The Glorious Revolution

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Doctor Who: The Glorious Revolution by Jonathan Morris


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It's really a bit surprising that it took this long for someone to do a Doctor Who story in which Jamie, the companion who fought to return the Stuart monarchs to the throne, goes back to the moment at which James II/VII lost the throne to William of Orange.

So Jamie McCrimmon does what you'd expect, and persuades James II/VII to stay in London and fight rather than flee. Not only does this thoroughly muck up the time lines, but Jamie quickly discovers that the Stuart monarch isn't the hero Jamie always thought he was. The second half of the story has our heroes scrambling to put history back on track, starting by dressing up as washerwomen and kidnapping the King.

If there's a fault in the story, it's that the personal impact of all these events is somewhat glossed over in the rush to put history back on track. Jamie's disillusionment with James II/VII must hit him particularly hard - he's essentially finding out that everything he fought for as a young man was a lie. To top it off, he's put himself at odds with the Doctor in changing history. Jamie gets one bitter speech to James II/VII about how pathetic he is, but it doesn't really seem to capture the emotional weight of the situation.

Still, it's a good story, performed beautifully by Frazer Hines (who really does do an uncanny Patrick Troughton impersonation).

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