EDA 2.2: Max Warp

[Anthony Williams]

And so we move onto Big Finish's Top Gear parody story of the Eighth Doctor range. Is this story seriously uncool, or subzero? We at Planet Skaro want to know your opinions!

[Junkyard]

I can't make up my mind about this one. It's obviously a comedy from the start and some of it works well. But I'd worked out who the villain was (correctly) by half way through. Then it was simply a matter of waiting for the Doctor to catch up. The McGann/Smith double act has some good dialogue but....there still seems to be something missing. I'm going to give it another listen and see if I can figure out what that 'something' is. Or maybe I'm just having a slow day?

[Anthony Williams]

Like Junkyard, I'm not quite sure where I sit on this one. I love Top Gear. It's a show that I always enjoy, whether they're just reviewing the latest Skoda or trekking across the American South.

So, what of this rather cheap knock-off of the whole Top Gear thing, updated for the space age? Well, of course it's meant to be obvious. The parallels are ridiculous. And the Clarkson-style character turns out to be the bad guy, as certain media outlets do often make the real Jeremy Clarkson out to be a bad person. Hmmmm...

Well, obviously this is satire. And there are parts that are endearing, and others that are cringeworthy. The blatant sexism on the part of the Max Warp team when Lucie "Vauxhall Nova" joins the team is just embarassing. Or having "The Ferret" as a reference to Richard "The Hamster" Hammond. Ouch. And having his ship crash and him die? Well, that's just bad taste, after Hammond's own near-miss back in 2007.

But, onto the endearing. Well, I love the Doctor in this. He's the spaceship geek that we've always suspected him to be. You can just imagine him as a young child playing with toy spaceships, and obsessing over them as a teenager as human teenage boys obsess over fast cars. I love that! Likewise, Johnny Morris has Lucie spot on. He seems to have realised that the most appealing part of her personality - that with which she ingratiates herself with others - is her sense of humour. And it's her sense of humour that really makes me fancy her (there! I said it! I fancy Lucie Miller!).

This by no means one of the best in the Eighth Doctor range, but it isn't really terrible. There have been, and will be, far worse plays in the range. It's inoffensive, good fun - even if it is a little cringeworthy at times. I'd probably give this another listen whenever I want a laugh.