One way that the audio series Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures has improved in recent years is how much it has expanded in terms of exploring the Third Doctor’s era. For a long time, the series only focused on telling stories featuring the Third Doctor and Jo Grant, set during Pertwee’s middle three seasons. But in recent years, the series has given us stories with other companions, some with Dr. Liz Shaw during Season 7, others with Sarah Jane Smith during Season 11.
“Doctor Who and the Brain Drain” is an example of the former. So far, Big Finish has done a great job of capturing Season 7’s extremely distinctive style, giving us epic-length stories that are a little darker and more paranoid than the rest of Pertwee’s era.
“Doctor Who and the Brain Drain” is no exception. Written by Richard James and Nicholas Briggs, the story takes place at a Scottish castle, focusing on a family who have seemingly discovered a cure for dementia. At the same time, the Doctor is investigating strange readings in the local area, as well as sightings of monsters and ghosts. How are they connected? And is this miracle “cure” everything that it appears to be?
Focus on family
One aspect I enjoyed about “Doctor Who and the Brain Drain” was how much it focused on one particular family, the MacLeods. The father, Peter MacLeod, dies before the story begins, ironically from what he was trying to find a cure for: dementia. His wife and son, Professor Abigail MacLeod and Linus MacLeod, are hoping to continue with his research.
Normally, I’d prefer my Season 7 stories to be a little bit bigger and more ambitious to reflect the original 7-part serials. For example, “Doctor Who and the Silurians” explored what happened when an entire civilization suddenly woke up to reclaim the Earth, while “Inferno” depicted the shocking destruction of a parallel Earth. "The Brain Drain" feels a little more low-key than that. But the writers have compensated for this via the deep exploration of the family.
The MacLeods aren’t just important to the plot. They drive the emotional core of the story, as well, particularly Abigail and Linus. “The Brain Drain” explores the mother and son’s grief at losing Peter. But it also examines the different relationships that they each had. Abigail looks back on her memories of her husband with love, while Linus is a son who never felt truly recognized by his father. This deep character exploration is what drives the story.
“The Brain Drain” also includes a few enjoyable surprises, including a twist borrowed from a classic Sherlock Holmes story that was used really well. There’s also a time travel element in the story that adds a nice little complication, too.
An interesting gap?
“Doctor Who and the Brain Drain” takes place early in Season 7. Very early, in fact – it’s set between the Third Doctor's debut story, “Spearhead from Space”, and “Doctor Who and the Silurians”. A gap like this should be great to explore, especially since the Third Doctor has only just begun his long exile on Earth.
Unfortunately, I’m not quite sure that the gap was explored quite as effectively as it could’ve been. There should be a sense of the Third Doctor still getting used to his new life, but there’s never a moment quite like that in this story.
While we do have moments where Liz is gradually learning more about the Doctor, it still feels like the Doctor, Liz, and the Brigadier are already firm friends by this point. Honestly, it feels like they should still be getting used to each other. Considering that in the next chronological story, tensions rise between the Doctor and the Brigadier because of their clashing methods in dealing with the Silurians, how the team is handled in this story is a little disappointing.
However, the placement is the only issue I have with "Doctor Who and the Brain Drain". Overall, it's a solid Third Doctor adventure, and the deep character exploration is its strongest aspect. It’s not my favorite Season 7 story from The Third Doctor Adventures, but it’s still an enjoyable listen for fans of this era.