Doctor Who review: Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon features the former companion at her very best

Rose Tyler’s very own series is incredibly authentic to Russell T Davies’s era, and gives us a strong Doctor Who spin-off as a result.

(Image credit: Rose Tyler/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions. Image Courtesy: Big Finish Productions.)

Full of human drama and excellent character exploration, Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon is a Doctor Who spin-off that’s well worth checking out.

When I first heard about Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon, I wasn’t sure what to think. Yes, Big Finish have given us many great Doctor Who spin-offs over the years – Gallifrey, The War Master, Jago & Litefoot, to name a few. But, while Rose was a fantastic character in Series 1, I wasn’t sure whether the companion had been handled at her best in Series 4. Considering The Dimension Cannon was set shortly before it, I was a little apprehensive.

Of course, I needn’t have worried. Not only is Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon an incredibly strong series. But it also features Rose at her very best.

I had honestly forgotten how well the character can work on her own. In The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End, her main role was that of the Doctor’s love interest, with very little of the depth she’d once had. However, in Turn Left, at least, she worked absolutely brilliantly, essentially taking on the role of the Doctor in a reality where he was dead.

In some ways, The Dimension Cannon is an extension of that idea. The series explores the many realities that Rose visited in her search for the Doctor. All of them are dying, and Rose has no idea why. She only knows that the Doctor is the only one who can stop it. But what worlds does she encounter along the way?

Both Billie Piper and Camille Coduri return for Rose Tyler: The Dimension Canon. But it’s not just the cast that makes this series feel so authentic to Russell T Davies’s era.

(Image Courtesy: Big Finish Productions.)

True to Russell T Davies’s era

It’s somewhat unsurprising that the whole idea of The Dimension Cannon as a series came from Russell T Davies in the first place. Apparently, Big Finish originally wanted to create an audio series based on Rose Tyler: Earth Defence – Russell’s original idea for a Rose TV spin-off. However, after finding the idea unworkable, Russell suggested an entirely different kind of spin-off series focused around Rose’s travels in parallel universes.

It was an idea that definitely paid off. Honestly, The Dimension Cannon is probably even better for Rose as a spin-off than Earth Defence was. More than that: it’s more Russell.

You see, Russell T Davies has a knack for focusing on the human and personal element in everything. Whether he’s writing about big, epic sci-fi stories or far more ordinary situations, Davies always knows how to focus on the core human drama. (One of the very best examples of this was the series Years and Years from earlier this year. If you haven’t seen it yet, do so right now.)

While Russell hasn’t personally written any of the stories in The Dimension Cannon, it still fits his style so completely. Particularly as, unlike so many other series set in the world of Doctor Who, this doesn’t feature any aliens or monsters. Instead, it features ordinary people on dying worlds. Dying in distinctly different ways, so we’re never given the exact same story twice. But make no mistake, this is a considerably dark series with a rather bleak tone.

Mark Benton (pictured here with director Helen Goldwyn) returns as the brilliant character Clive Finch in this series.

(Image Courtesy: Big Finish Productions.)

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Familiar yet different

Due to the focus on exploring parallel worlds in this series, we see a number of familiar characters living a variety of different lives. Camille Coduri and Shaun Dingwall play numerous versions of Jackie and Pete Tyler, and they’re always fantastic to listen to. It’s especially great to hear Dingwall return as Pete again, as this is his first time playing the character since 2006. But he just slips into the role again so easily, and you don’t feel like more than a decade has passed at all.

Just as exciting as the Tylers being reunited once more is the return of Clive Finch. An absolutely brilliant character in Rose, the parallel version of Clive is just as likable as the original. It’s great that Mark Benton has returned to a role he played only once approximately fifteen years ago, and he plays with it as much enthusiasm and depth as he originally did.

Last but not least, Billie Piper is fantastic as ever in the lead role. With Rose as the main focus of this series, she carries it in a big way, and she does it brilliantly. On top of that, the four writers of this box set have handled her character perfectly, exploring the strengths and flaws of Rose in a way that we didn’t get to see in her final major appearance.

While I was admittedly skeptical of this box set initially, it really has been a joy to listen to. I honestly hope we get at least one more volume of this fantastic spin-off in the future. Rose Tyler’s very own series is incredibly authentic to Russell T Davies’s era, and gives us a strong and distinctive Doctor Who spin-off as a result.

Have you listened to Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon? Do you wish Earth Defence had been made in some shape or form? What are your feelings on the former companion? Let us know in the comments below.