Doctor Who: The Dark Husband

Big Finish: Monthly Range #106

by David Quantick, Sylvester McCoy (Narrator), Sophie Aldred (Narrator)

"This whole wedding is like making a nuclear bomb with half the instructions missing!"

A week-long respite from a prolonged and bloody war, the Festival of the Twin Moons of Tuin makes Glastonbury look like a church fete... or so the brochure says. The Doctor and Ace are looking for rest and recreation. Hex is looking for the beer tent. But eternal enemies the ginger-haired Ri and the coot-bald Ir are plotting to turn their Festival truce to their own advantage. Only the Dark Husband might stop the celebrations turning to horror... but who is the Dark Husband? And what terror awaits him on his wedding night?

If anyone knows any just cause or impediment... speak now. The lives of billions depend on it.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Time Travel

Audio CD

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Frank Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Dark Husband' is a very silly idea but a very fun story.
'Cuddlesome' is even sillier but also pretty creepy and I was just a little late because this would have made a nice halloween themed listen.

First read in 2021 and re-read in 2022, which is a bit odd for several reasons. Mainly because I have tended to avoid re-reading stuff in the past, but also because it didn't rate particularly highly the first time through. I'm currently running through Big Finish's Doctor Who stories from #100 onwards, as a temporary way to keep reading while I wait for a new phone to be delivered. However, I had intended to skip #106 which I'd previously read as part of a run through the Seventh Doctor adventures, last year... until I realised that I'd skipped the bonus Fifth Doctor story, titled - 'Cuddlesome'.

After the first listen, I gave it a 3-star bump and left it at that without comment. After the second listen through, I'm bumping up with a 4-star rating because the stories are both fun and, especially in the main story, the voice acting is sensational.

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thomas Hex Schofield is actually pretty hilarious companion and underrated.

Why does nobody talk about Hex anymore.

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Speaking purely for myself, sometimes the Seventh Doctor audio stories get a little too cerebral and hard to follow. Too much “cunning chessmaster” Doctor for my taste. That being said, this story was surprisingly a lot of fun! The Seventh Doctor is still pretty manipulative, but it’s either more toned down here, or other elements of the story balance it out. There’s certainly a lot more humor and playfulness. And that’s not just the Doctor - Ace and Hex both get some really great moments too.

I especially liked the idea that these two peoples are simply two halves of a greater whole - that when they stop fighting each other and realize that their complementary differences are vital to both sides’ survival, they can go on to be a great civilization. And, yes, Hex finally gets to visit the beer tent 😁

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here we have a decent story with a dark and compelling setting, which feels inspired by the Christmas Armistice, which I like, but is unfortunately let down by illogical and overly convenient plot points.

So, the Doctor and his companions are about to die then are conveniently saved by the Ir... So they can kill the TARDIS trio themselves. Right. But it's okay as the Doctor perfectly timed the crew's arrival on the planet to coincide with the exact hour before the peace time which occurs once every five hundred years... Wow, if only the TARDIS was always THAT accurate.

The Doctor is about to be burned alive! It's a sacrifice! Except... Nope, nevermind, it's all a trick - What is the point of all this?

The Doctor suddenly realises in Part 3 that the wedding will destroy the Ir and the Ri, so he conveniently revokes his offer and Hex takes his place so that the story can keep going for another hour.

The main two Ir and Ri then decide to get married in the climax to save both their species, and in case you didn't know they were the same species, 70% of the script is pretty much just them saying the opposite things to each other. Subtle.

Now, is this story as bad as most people say it is? No, I don't think so, but is it anything above an average Doctor Who story? Again, no, not really.

[David Layton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dark Husband injects some comic relief into the Ace/Hex sequence, which up to this point has been pretty bleak. We find Ace and Hex developing a Big Sis/Little Bro relationship, though Hex has some deeper feelings. Looking for a real holiday, the two companions convince The Doctor to take them to a big party. It turns out that the big party is a scheduled break in a 10,000-year war. The Doctor decides to end this war by taking on the role of a figure in the planet's mythology - The Dark Husband. Of course, he only half knows what he is getting into. There are amusing bits to this story, which becomes about as much of a sex farce as one can get with Doctor Who. Not much more than that can be said for this story.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is easily the most fun the seventh doctor has been for a while. and it’s certainly the most funny story of his run I’ve heard so far - there are so many funny exchanges and witty lines, it’s hard to keep up! you can really tell it’s been written by a comedy writer, in the best way.
honestly as much as I’ve enjoyed this run in general, I understand the complaints that it has been a little too gloomy in tone overall, and it does make you wonder why hex and ace are even travelling with the doctor, since they never seem to have any fun, only collect more trauma!

[Shaun Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable, (slightly mad) not quite romp for the 7th Doctor, Ace and Hex. Perhaps I liked it a bit more because the three have had a run of overly dark and depressing stories lately, and it felt good to kick back and not take things too seriously for a change. For a full review, visit http://travelingthevortex.com/?p=8566

[Danny Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this was an audio I was absolutely dreading with the reviews this one gets, but surprisingly I really liked this one, a truly underrated audio with a lot of good humour and an okayish plot. Hex was defintely the best character in this, perhaps a little out of character in places but that just made him absolutely hailarious for me! 8/10

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 2 out of 5]

42 WORD REVIEW:

Whereas humour in Doctor Who has always worked best in moderation, Quantick can’t seem to help himself: the jokes never relent, meaning that the Doctor, Ace and Hex are constantly, frivolously undercutting the drama. Thus a potentially intriguing SF tale is stillborn.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've seen some people call this the worst Big Finish Doctor Who story. I wouldn't rate it just one star if only for some of the humor here and there. But it does get too silly. The idea of Seven and Ace needing to get married to settle a dispute feels too fanfic-y to me.

[Tabitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning was a bit difficult to get through, but then it settled in. The ending was good, and I'm hoping they go somewhere with that.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a comedy episode, and, to a large extent, whether or not it appeals will depend on what you think of the comedy, which tends towards the slapstick. To my mind, there are some undeniably funny bits, but the humour tends to flag in the second half as the plot, about ending a millennium long war between two alien races, begins to take over.

Which would be fine, if it was a better plot, but there's little that's terribly interesting in it. Large chunks of the story, for instance, are taken up either by exposition or by characters complaining that they haven't had enough exposition yet. While dialogue is generally a good thing in an audio play, some listeners may well find that this all starts to drag a bit.

It's not actively bad, but it might well have been better had it been shorter.

[Caz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pleased to discover that I still had a story featuring Ace and Hex on my mp3 player that I hadnb't listened to, and it started out promisingly. David Quantick is a well-known comedy writer in TV, and he can definitely bring the funny - there is some great banter in this one.

The story itself sadly doesn't live up to its early promise, turning out to be rather pedestrian; sentient planet, warring factions, peril for the Doctor, Ace and Hex... oh, and Ace and Hex have to get married...

On the whole, a pleasant way to pass a couple of hours over the ironing and washing, but not the best BF has to offer.

[Nicholas Whyte]

The Dark Husband was written by David Quantick who apparently is a famous comedy writer. On the basis of this, he should probably stick to that genre; The Dark Husband is pointless rather than funny. OK, the plot just about makes sense, and poor Danny Webb survives playing all three of the main guest characters, and there is just a hint of romantic spark between Ace and Hex, but it's just not very exciting.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. There were some quite funny moments. But the alien races were too silly to be taken seriously. I liked the idea of Ace complaining they were always getting into trouble and wanting a holiday. The combination of the planet of dead, religious war, and godlike being with the kind of humour when people make in-jokes quoting other things didn't work all that well.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor, Ace and Hex goto a planet to stop a war. This happens through a wedding unfortunately the planet doesn't want to be at peace. Can the doctor succeed at his task and save his companions from death.

[Anne Barwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different, would be a good way to describe this story. Still enjoyable but full of huh, seriously? moments.