In 2019, Big Finish released “Doctor Who: The Comic Strip Adaptations Volume 1”. The box set included full-cast audio adaptations of two popular Fourth Doctor comic stories: “Doctor Who and the Iron Legion” and “Doctor Who and the Star Beast”.
The latter story you’re more than likely familiar with, even if you’ve never read a comic before. The TV series adapted “The Star Beast” as the first of three specials starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate to celebrate Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary. Unsurprisingly, the story diverged in several key ways and yet was still surprisingly faithful in others.
This was due to two key reasons. The first was the change of Doctor and companion, as the Fourth Doctor and Sharon are replaced by the newly regenerated Fourteenth Doctor and Donna. Naturally, the TV version had to explore and catch up with these characters, instantly requiring the story to make significant changes. But the other reason was the original comic’s length.
Expanding the story
You see, while “Doctor Who and the Star Beast” was originally told in 8 installments in Doctor Who Weekly, most of those installments were only four pages long (five in the case of parts 1 and 5). So at just 34 pages, you can read through the story very quickly, even if you’re taking a leisurely pace. So the 60-minute TV adaptation had to include new elements to justify the length.
The audio adaptation however takes a different approach. Big Finish has often aimed to capture the feel of a Doctor’s original TV era, and this is true even of the comic strip adaptations, with the story adapted as a four-part serial. So while the TV adaptation was only an hour long, the audio adaptation is closer to two hours. How successfully does scriptwriter Alan Barnes adapt this story to fit such a lengthy running time?
Surprisingly well, as it turns out. Alan Barnes does a great job of not only adapting the story extremely faithfully, but somehow extending its length without making it feel stretched out. And it’s genuinely difficult to see what’s “new”, which is impressive. Especially as it’s more noticeable in “The Iron Legion”, the other story included in the box set. For that story, two brand-new characters are included in the audio adaptation, and it’s easy to notice if you’re already a fan of the comic story.
But with “The Star Beast”, the story's expansion feels more subtle. It's achieved by spending a little more time with characters such as Sharon, Fudge, and of course the Meep. It shows how well Barnes has adapted this story, as its genuinely tricky to identify what's "new". To be honest, the only time I noticed a key difference was how the story ended, mainly because the audio adaptation takes it from another comic story altogether! However, it’s a new ending that works and provides a good excuse for Sharon to become the Doctor’s new companion, at least.
Faithful adaptation
So is it worth listening to Big Finish’s adaptation? Especially if you’ve already watched the TV episode and read the original comic? Admittedly, because the audio adaptation is so faithful, it doesn’t have many surprises. But on the whole, I’d still recommend it.
For one thing, it has Tom Baker, which is always an instant bonus. Tom Baker does a fantastic job of bringing this story to life in a new medium. And the rest of the cast clearly have a lot of fun with this story too. Bethan Dixon Bate is especially great as the Meep, providing exactly the right amount of sweetness and malice with her performance. And of course, while Dave Gibbon’s excellent artwork is missed, Alistair Lock’s sound design still helps to provide the audience with clear visuals in audio form. Like the TV episode, this audio version does a great job of adapting the story.
“Doctor Who and the Star Beast” is available as part of “Doctor Who: The Comic Strip Adaptations Volume 01”. You can purchase this on download from Big Finish’s website, which comes with a great bonus interview with the comic’s original writer Pat Mills. Definitely worth a listen for fans of British comics.