Doctor Who review: Home Again, Home Again is a great look at the original team

Home Again, Home Again is a great little Doctor Who audio that presents a unique and focused look at the show’s original TARDIS team.

As a subscriber of Big Finish’s monthly Doctor Who audios, one thing that’s been rather easy for me to overlook has been the series of Short Trips exclusively available to subscribers. Considering its free Doctor Who stories to listen to, even purely narrated and just half an hour long, it almost feels ungrateful to ignore it. Especially since the Big Finish app has made bonus content easier to download over the past year.

So I decided to give the bonus Short Trip Home Again, Home Again a listen. Written by Felicia Barker and narrated by Stephen Critchlow, the story focuses on the original TARDIS team of the First Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Susan. They’re used to arriving on strange alien worlds or even in the distant history of Earth. But they’re shocked at where they’ve landed this time: Coal Hill School in London, 1963.

This is a fascinating little story. Considering how desperate Ian and Barbara clearly were to get back home in the original TV stories, (bear in mind, the Doctor really couldn’t control the ship back then,) a short story where they do make it home is a bold one to tell. But Felicia Barker gives Home Again, Home Again a neat little twist – one that not only makes the story work, but explores the characters in different ways.

The First Doctor and his friends have explored ancient times and distant worlds. But where they visit this time is far closer to home…

(Photo by Moore/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

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Character focus

There’s a considerable amount of focus on Ian and Barbara in this story, particularly at how much they’ve changed since traveling with the Doctor. While they’ve still got a long way to go before truly reaching home, the story does highlight how much they’ve been through already. This is especially true of Barbara, as there’s one particularly satisfying moment that highlights her confidence and her strong sense of morality.

Susan is also explored a great deal. A key part of Susan’s character in the original TV episodes was her need to belong somewhere. A place that she could call “home”. Naturally, that need for a home is a key part of Home Again, Home Again.

As for the Doctor? He’s definitely given some interesting character development. Felicia Barker not only gives us a First Doctor that’s irritable and impulsive – exactly how he was in the TV series. But she also makes sure to explore the more vulnerable and sympathetic side to his character, too. Especially when he feels compelled to make a decision – one that foreshadows a very similar choice he’ll make in another lifetime.

Home Again, Home Again is an extremely enjoyable Short Trip, especially for First Doctor fans. It’s a nice glimpse at exploring what “home” means to each of the four travelers, and as such, presents us with a lovely little character piece. If you’re currently a subscriber to Big Finish’s monthly audios, this is definitely a neat little bonus story that’s worth listening to. You can find it as part of the bonus content for last month’s release The Lovecraft Invasion (which is also definitely worth a listen).

Are you a subscriber to Big Finish’s monthly Doctor Who audios? Do you listen to the subscriber exclusives? If you’ve listened to Home Again, Home Again already, do you think it was a good short story for the first TARDIS team? Let us know in the comments below.