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Big Finish: Monthly Range #227
Doctor Who: The High Price of Parking
The planet Dashrah is a world of exceptional beauty. Historical ruins; colourful skies; swirling sunsets…
Unsurprisingly, it’s a major tourist trap. So if you want to visit Dashrah, first you’ll have to visit Parking, the artificial planetoid that Galactic Heritage built next door. Parking, as its name implies, is a spaceship park. A huge spaceship park. A huge, enormous spaceship park.
When the TARDIS materialises in Parking’s Northern Hemisphere, the Doctor, Ace and Mel envisage a quick teleport trip to the surface of Dashrah. But they’ve reckoned without the superzealous Wardens, and their robotic servitors… the sect of the Free Parkers, who wage war against the Wardens… the spontaneously combusting spaceships… and the terrifying secret that lies at the lowest of Parking’s lower levels.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a major tourist trap. So if you want to visit Dashrah, first you’ll have to visit Parking, the artificial planetoid that Galactic Heritage built next door. Parking, as its name implies, is a spaceship park. A huge spaceship park. A huge, enormous spaceship park.
When the TARDIS materialises in Parking’s Northern Hemisphere, the Doctor, Ace and Mel envisage a quick teleport trip to the surface of Dashrah. But they’ve reckoned without the superzealous Wardens, and their robotic servitors… the sect of the Free Parkers, who wage war against the Wardens… the spontaneously combusting spaceships… and the terrifying secret that lies at the lowest of Parking’s lower levels.
Audio CD
First published July 11, 2017
About the author
John Dorney
173 books26 followersJohn Dorney is a British writer and actor best known for stage roles including the National Theatre, the BBC Radio 4 sitcom My First Planet; and his scripts for the Big Finish Doctor Who range. His script 'Solitaire' was rated the most popular Doctor Who Companion Chronicle of 2010 on the Timescales website and was the runner up in Unreality Sci-fi net's poll for Story of the Year 2010-11.
As well as Doctor Who, he has written for Big Finish's Sapphire and Steel series and on radio co-wrote three series of BBC Radio 4's Recorded for Training Purposes. He won the BBC Show Me the Funny 'Sketch Factor' competition, was a finalist in the BBC 'Laughing Stock' competition, and has performed in Mark Watson's Edinburgh Comedy Award winning long shows as 'The Balladeer'. On stage, he has written plays for the Royal Court Theatre, Hampstead and Soho Theatres.
He trained at LAMDA.
As well as Doctor Who, he has written for Big Finish's Sapphire and Steel series and on radio co-wrote three series of BBC Radio 4's Recorded for Training Purposes. He won the BBC Show Me the Funny 'Sketch Factor' competition, was a finalist in the BBC 'Laughing Stock' competition, and has performed in Mark Watson's Edinburgh Comedy Award winning long shows as 'The Balladeer'. On stage, he has written plays for the Royal Court Theatre, Hampstead and Soho Theatres.
He trained at LAMDA.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 1, 2023
The seventh doctor, Ace and Mel park the Tardis on the artificial planet Parking. It is located next to a popular tourist destination and serves as an enormous parking lot for the tourists. The Tardis crew quickly gets arrested, suspected of being Free Parkers. It seems the stage is set for a revolution to take the whole planet Parking by storm. The Free Parkers demand, as their name suggests, free parking. And they’re standing up to the Wardens who control the planet.
It’s clear the writer treated the revolution part rather seriously up to a degree and then decided to just have fun with it. The tribes living on Parking being descendents of people who simply couldn’t find their spaceship anymore being a good example of this. Because forgetting where you parked is definitely something that anyone can relate to, but it’s also a bit silly and funny.
Honestly, the concept itself is solid but it isn’t anything special. The execution is really well done though, which compensates for the initial lacking concept. The cast does a pretty good job of making this audio adventure come to life. And Mel finally gets a chance to show off her computer skills. There’s also quite a bit of action and excitement. It’s a fun story that may not be one you should go out of your way for. But should you pick it up without expecting too much from it, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
It’s clear the writer treated the revolution part rather seriously up to a degree and then decided to just have fun with it. The tribes living on Parking being descendents of people who simply couldn’t find their spaceship anymore being a good example of this. Because forgetting where you parked is definitely something that anyone can relate to, but it’s also a bit silly and funny.
Honestly, the concept itself is solid but it isn’t anything special. The execution is really well done though, which compensates for the initial lacking concept. The cast does a pretty good job of making this audio adventure come to life. And Mel finally gets a chance to show off her computer skills. There’s also quite a bit of action and excitement. It’s a fun story that may not be one you should go out of your way for. But should you pick it up without expecting too much from it, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
March 7, 2018
MEL: “Well, if it’s likely to involve awakening an ancient evil from the dawn of time, I might just stay here and have a coffee.”
ACE: “You’re no fun anymore.”
John Dorney is one of the largely unappreciated talents at Big Finish. He has surprisingly little name recognition among their listeners, despite writing or starring in many of their all-time best stories. You might not realize Dorney stories are on your “all-time” best list, whether as actor (he made Farewell, Great Macedon) or author (Solitaire, The Rocket Men, The Two Masters, Iterations of I, The Red Lady, etc., etc., etc.).
Given that, it’s not a surprise The High Price of Parking is the Main Range’s gem of 2017. It’s an excellent continuation of the best idea from last year’s round of Main Range stories, the stories which brought Mel back and made her a permanent resident of the TARDIS alongside Ace.
The High Price of Parking
The Jonathan Nathan-Turner era is known more for its failings than its successes. It’s more known for overly-lit, pooly-conceived stories with questionable character development than closing the fourth Doctor’s era with outright horror, and closing the series on a notable series of triumphs. These successes, rightly or wrongly, are often laid at the feet of other people involved.
Andrew Cartmel was the script-editor the final three years of the series, and de facto showrunner for the final two. Most seventh Doctor stories emerge from the season 25-26 concept of How Things Are Done.
The High Price of Parking takes all of its inspiration from season 24, often considered one of the noticeably weak seasons (at best; even charitably, it’s Paradise Towers and Dragonfire keeping the season’s head above water).
But if season 24 is weak, and The High Price of Parking is not an outright comedy story (like Bang Bang A Boom), what does it do? How does it do it? How is it good?
Bonnie Langford, Sylvester McCoy, & Sophie Aldred
Given stereotypes, it might seem odd to begin a positive review with a quote from Lawrence Miles. Perception aside, this is invaluable for understanding what Dorney accomplishes in this story.
While perhaps an uncharitable view of Nathan-Turner (I think he was competent, but caught in a maelstrom of BBC politics and often-less-than-competent-staffs), understanding this is essential to understand just what The High Price of Parking accomplishes.
The High Price of Parking belongs to the same JN-T-era that produced Time and the Rani, Paradise Towers, Delta and the Bannermen, and Dragonfire, the season-long, slow change-over to Cartmel’s ideas of Doctor Who (which finally arrived, in full, in Remembrance of the Daleks).
However, it is inspired by Paradise Towers in particular: some ordinary element of British life made monstrous. Paradise Towers did it for apartment buildings. The High Price of Parking does it for parking lots.
But it’s also amazing how well it follows Miles’ breakdown of that JN-T wished to do on the program:
Laughs [check]
Frolics [check]
Guest stars [check]
Big impressive sets [check – even in audio, a planet-sized lot is impressive]
At the end of it, we’re only out a stray musical number.
But what sets it apart is that The High Price of Parking also lives up to the latter part of Miles’ criticism: to be successful, it requires competent, contemporary “light entertainment” and competent, contemporary “adventure.”
In both of these, Dorney succeeds admirably.
McCoy, Langford, and Aldred have admirable chemistry, with each other in twos as well as a whole unit. It’s impossible listen to scenes with the three of them together without a smile. Their ability for playing off one another is simply delightful. Whether it’s teasing the Doctor about trying to play Sherlock Holmes again (a delightful callback to All-Consuming Fire), or losing the TARDIS in a car park, it’s “light entertainment” at its finest.
John Dorney doesn’t need his ability to write “adventure” questioned. The Rocket Men alone has enough adventure, giving Ian even more “man of action” set-pieces than the show ever gave him (and the show loved to give them). He continues that here nicely, even if one gets the sense that he’s confining his scenes to a single “set,” to enhance the Season 24-similiarties.
The most remarkable thing about The High Price of Parking is that it replicates season 24 perfectly, but so emphasizes what it did best that even people who despise the entire Langford era will enjoy it.
The Villain
I was disappointed at the villain's final fate. Like Gloria (from Life of Crime), she’s such a compelling villain, with such an interesting POV and set of abilities, that killing her feels like a distinct waste. Not that Doctor Who villains don’t have a habit of coming back. Not that this villain in particular would be as much of a challenge to bring back as others. But it still feels like potential has been squandered. This could be the next great Big Finish villain.
Ace’s Characterization
I appreciate Dorney’s end goal, but not necessarily the route he took there. The end goal to Ace’s characterization is to continue the Ace is becoming more like the Doctor arc. I question Ace—even a mature Ace who’s at least in her mid-20s—insisting that her life got better when she started talking through her problems. It’s not factually incorrect, but it’s impossible to imagine her wording it so, or even being aware of this at all. Guy Adams handled this better in Fiesta of the Damned, where Ace is willing to fight an entire village on behalf of others, but helps with an alternate, peaceful solution instead.
On the plus side, mid-20s Ace gets to let-loose with her Nitro-9 for the first time in forever. Aldred probably has even more fun than her character.
Mel’s Characterization
Mel is served well by the script, continuing the characterization she received from Matt Fitton and Guy Adams last year. Though we’re not asking “Is Mel a good person?” or “Has Mel changed?” her computer expertise is put to particularly good use. It’s amusing to see her reacting to groups based on what she learned while with Glitz.
Overall
The High Price of Parking is the gem of 2017’s Main Range.
It revives, and improves, the best parts of the pre-Cartmel era, and is simply enjoyable.
Jamie Robertson’s soundtrack is particularly impressive.
ACE: “You’re no fun anymore.”
John Dorney is one of the largely unappreciated talents at Big Finish. He has surprisingly little name recognition among their listeners, despite writing or starring in many of their all-time best stories. You might not realize Dorney stories are on your “all-time” best list, whether as actor (he made Farewell, Great Macedon) or author (Solitaire, The Rocket Men, The Two Masters, Iterations of I, The Red Lady, etc., etc., etc.).
Given that, it’s not a surprise The High Price of Parking is the Main Range’s gem of 2017. It’s an excellent continuation of the best idea from last year’s round of Main Range stories, the stories which brought Mel back and made her a permanent resident of the TARDIS alongside Ace.
The High Price of Parking
The Jonathan Nathan-Turner era is known more for its failings than its successes. It’s more known for overly-lit, pooly-conceived stories with questionable character development than closing the fourth Doctor’s era with outright horror, and closing the series on a notable series of triumphs. These successes, rightly or wrongly, are often laid at the feet of other people involved.
Andrew Cartmel was the script-editor the final three years of the series, and de facto showrunner for the final two. Most seventh Doctor stories emerge from the season 25-26 concept of How Things Are Done.
The High Price of Parking takes all of its inspiration from season 24, often considered one of the noticeably weak seasons (at best; even charitably, it’s Paradise Towers and Dragonfire keeping the season’s head above water).
But if season 24 is weak, and The High Price of Parking is not an outright comedy story (like Bang Bang A Boom), what does it do? How does it do it? How is it good?
Bonnie Langford, Sylvester McCoy, & Sophie Aldred
Given stereotypes, it might seem odd to begin a positive review with a quote from Lawrence Miles. Perception aside, this is invaluable for understanding what Dorney accomplishes in this story.
Before we try to see things through the drab, let’s-pretend-that-liking-spaceships-and-aliens-make-us-“imaginative” viewpoint of the average sci-fi fan, let’s ask ourselves one question. What, fundamentally, did John Nathan-Turner think he was doing? Because in 1987, the year of “Time and the Rani”, “Delta and the Bannermen”, and two others which are almost as bad but not quite, the producer simply didn’t see himself as making a sci-fi show in any sense. Lost in showbiz and obsessed with TV as an entity in itself, Nathan-Turner saw Doctor Who as – to sum it up in a single phrase – The Morecambe and Wise Show with monsters. The idea of it being a “cult” programme, in the ’90s sense of the word, was of no interest to him at all. He saw it as part of a long tradition of BBC variety, with laughs, frolics, guest stars, big impressive sets, and even the odd musical number if possible. Let’s keep that thought in our minds for a while: The Morecambe and Wise Show with monsters. If you’re a sci-fi fan, then such a thing is an abomination. Even if you like Doctor Who but feel ambivalent-at-best towards programmes about office-like starships and people with prosthetic foreheads, then it sounds like a kind of heresy….
So, the problem with the later Nathan-Turner epoch isn’t that there was anything wrong with his mission statement. Nor is it that Doctor Who “shouldn’t be like that”, since it’s been so many things in its time that a few more mutations couldn’t have hurt. The problem is that he wasn’t competent enough to get away with it. If we refine the Morecambe-and-Wise-Show-with-monsters idea, and interpret it as a hybrid of light entertainment and gonzo adventure, then… in order to be successful, the resultant programme would need to involve a genuinely contemporary sense of what “light entertainment” means and a genuinely contemporary sense of what “adventure” means.
While perhaps an uncharitable view of Nathan-Turner (I think he was competent, but caught in a maelstrom of BBC politics and often-less-than-competent-staffs), understanding this is essential to understand just what The High Price of Parking accomplishes.
The High Price of Parking belongs to the same JN-T-era that produced Time and the Rani, Paradise Towers, Delta and the Bannermen, and Dragonfire, the season-long, slow change-over to Cartmel’s ideas of Doctor Who (which finally arrived, in full, in Remembrance of the Daleks).
However, it is inspired by Paradise Towers in particular: some ordinary element of British life made monstrous. Paradise Towers did it for apartment buildings. The High Price of Parking does it for parking lots.
But it’s also amazing how well it follows Miles’ breakdown of that JN-T wished to do on the program:
Laughs [check]
Frolics [check]
Guest stars [check]
Big impressive sets [check – even in audio, a planet-sized lot is impressive]
At the end of it, we’re only out a stray musical number.
But what sets it apart is that The High Price of Parking also lives up to the latter part of Miles’ criticism: to be successful, it requires competent, contemporary “light entertainment” and competent, contemporary “adventure.”
In both of these, Dorney succeeds admirably.
McCoy, Langford, and Aldred have admirable chemistry, with each other in twos as well as a whole unit. It’s impossible listen to scenes with the three of them together without a smile. Their ability for playing off one another is simply delightful. Whether it’s teasing the Doctor about trying to play Sherlock Holmes again (a delightful callback to All-Consuming Fire), or losing the TARDIS in a car park, it’s “light entertainment” at its finest.
John Dorney doesn’t need his ability to write “adventure” questioned. The Rocket Men alone has enough adventure, giving Ian even more “man of action” set-pieces than the show ever gave him (and the show loved to give them). He continues that here nicely, even if one gets the sense that he’s confining his scenes to a single “set,” to enhance the Season 24-similiarties.
The most remarkable thing about The High Price of Parking is that it replicates season 24 perfectly, but so emphasizes what it did best that even people who despise the entire Langford era will enjoy it.
The Villain
I was disappointed at the villain's final fate. Like Gloria (from Life of Crime), she’s such a compelling villain, with such an interesting POV and set of abilities, that killing her feels like a distinct waste. Not that Doctor Who villains don’t have a habit of coming back. Not that this villain in particular would be as much of a challenge to bring back as others. But it still feels like potential has been squandered. This could be the next great Big Finish villain.
Ace’s Characterization
I appreciate Dorney’s end goal, but not necessarily the route he took there. The end goal to Ace’s characterization is to continue the Ace is becoming more like the Doctor arc. I question Ace—even a mature Ace who’s at least in her mid-20s—insisting that her life got better when she started talking through her problems. It’s not factually incorrect, but it’s impossible to imagine her wording it so, or even being aware of this at all. Guy Adams handled this better in Fiesta of the Damned, where Ace is willing to fight an entire village on behalf of others, but helps with an alternate, peaceful solution instead.
On the plus side, mid-20s Ace gets to let-loose with her Nitro-9 for the first time in forever. Aldred probably has even more fun than her character.
Mel’s Characterization
Mel is served well by the script, continuing the characterization she received from Matt Fitton and Guy Adams last year. Though we’re not asking “Is Mel a good person?” or “Has Mel changed?” her computer expertise is put to particularly good use. It’s amusing to see her reacting to groups based on what she learned while with Glitz.
Overall
The High Price of Parking is the gem of 2017’s Main Range.
It revives, and improves, the best parts of the pre-Cartmel era, and is simply enjoyable.
Jamie Robertson’s soundtrack is particularly impressive.
November 1, 2024
John Dorney is pretty much the quality kite-mark of Big Finish's audio drama. In his hands, a 7th Doctor tale with Ace and Mel, set on a world entirely made of multistory car parks, somehow avoids being a one-joke concept and instead becomes an adventure that works on... uh... many levels.
Sorry. (Not sorry)
Doctor Who is always best when it sits just a few degrees shy of reality and pulls faces at our own world, and The High Price of Parking does exactly that. Great stuff.
Sorry. (Not sorry)
Doctor Who is always best when it sits just a few degrees shy of reality and pulls faces at our own world, and The High Price of Parking does exactly that. Great stuff.
June 20, 2020
Here, the TARDIS crew land on an artificial planetoid that's used entirely as a landing facility for private spacecraft. The result has a lot in common with Paradise Towers, albeit primarily in terms of the setting rather than the plot. A key similarity, for instance, is that the primary inhabitants of the planet are divided between a tribe of post-apocalyptic looking scavengers and the Wardens - a divide that's reminiscent of the Kangs and the Caretakers, although we've moved from a tower block to a multistory car park.
There's quite a lot of running around, as well as a mystery about the identity of terrorists blowing up some of the spaceships. The latter is more complicated than it first appears, and eventually leads the plot in an unexpected direction - although there is a weakness in that some of the revelations are overly drawn out. (There seemed to be a recurring theme of a villain saying "but isn't it obvious?" to which my reply was consistently "yes, so I don't know why the Doctor hasn't worked it out yet.")
Good points include a story that plays to Mel's strengths and that allows her to save the day on more than one occasion. Less effective are the tribe of the Lost, where both of the speaking characters have a distractingly flat delivery - given that it's both of them, I'm more inclined to suspect the director's hand in this than the actors'. On the other hand, the villains are well portrayed (and, ironically, they're played by the same actors, doubling up on the roles via the magic of audio) and are given backstories that do a good job of explaining their motivations.
It's not one of the greats, but it manages to do what it's trying to do rather better than Paradise Towers did, so that's a plus, too. In fact, if you're a particular fan of season 24 of the original TV series, you'll probably like this more than I did.
There's quite a lot of running around, as well as a mystery about the identity of terrorists blowing up some of the spaceships. The latter is more complicated than it first appears, and eventually leads the plot in an unexpected direction - although there is a weakness in that some of the revelations are overly drawn out. (There seemed to be a recurring theme of a villain saying "but isn't it obvious?" to which my reply was consistently "yes, so I don't know why the Doctor hasn't worked it out yet.")
Good points include a story that plays to Mel's strengths and that allows her to save the day on more than one occasion. Less effective are the tribe of the Lost, where both of the speaking characters have a distractingly flat delivery - given that it's both of them, I'm more inclined to suspect the director's hand in this than the actors'. On the other hand, the villains are well portrayed (and, ironically, they're played by the same actors, doubling up on the roles via the magic of audio) and are given backstories that do a good job of explaining their motivations.
It's not one of the greats, but it manages to do what it's trying to do rather better than Paradise Towers did, so that's a plus, too. In fact, if you're a particular fan of season 24 of the original TV series, you'll probably like this more than I did.
February 2, 2024
🙏🏼59% = Average!
YES, PARKING'S A PLANET!
This story sees Seven, Mel, and Ace visit a tourist planet and its neighbouring planet used as a parking space for spaceships (it's aptly named Parking) because the Doctor wants to solve a mystery (as he is prone to doing). Before long, they get thrown into jail for the supposed crimes they've committed. This unfolds into a small mystery, where the Doctor and his companions have to remain on the run from hostile aliens chasing after them constantly.
Later on, we learn more about the mythology of Parking while our heroes constantly escape killer robots and people raging war with each other. The story remains pretty fast-paced but rarely offers exciting plot developments.
I love the chemistry between Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, and Sophie Aldred here. The guest cast is really good as well. I love Hywel Morgan's loyal but hysterical Kempton and the booming and menacing presence of Kate Duchêne as Seraphim (who reminds me of Padmasambhava in The Abominable Snowmen).
YES, PARKING'S A PLANET!
This story sees Seven, Mel, and Ace visit a tourist planet and its neighbouring planet used as a parking space for spaceships (it's aptly named Parking) because the Doctor wants to solve a mystery (as he is prone to doing). Before long, they get thrown into jail for the supposed crimes they've committed. This unfolds into a small mystery, where the Doctor and his companions have to remain on the run from hostile aliens chasing after them constantly.
Later on, we learn more about the mythology of Parking while our heroes constantly escape killer robots and people raging war with each other. The story remains pretty fast-paced but rarely offers exciting plot developments.
I love the chemistry between Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, and Sophie Aldred here. The guest cast is really good as well. I love Hywel Morgan's loyal but hysterical Kempton and the booming and menacing presence of Kate Duchêne as Seraphim (who reminds me of Padmasambhava in The Abominable Snowmen).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2017
I was really looking forward to this one, but it didn't quite end up gelling for me in the end. A bit of a disappointment.
The idea about the planet called Parking was fun, but I hoped I'd find the actual story as it progressed, more engrossing, or amusing - or, ideally, both.
I did like that Mel got to show her IT chops in this though. I will always be a huge Ace fan, but I also like Mel quite a bit - despite the fact that her character was woefully under-developed on the actual TV series. So this was my favourite thing about this story.
Fave quote? "One bad childhood shouldn't lead to genocide."
Ain't that true.
The idea about the planet called Parking was fun, but I hoped I'd find the actual story as it progressed, more engrossing, or amusing - or, ideally, both.
I did like that Mel got to show her IT chops in this though. I will always be a huge Ace fan, but I also like Mel quite a bit - despite the fact that her character was woefully under-developed on the actual TV series. So this was my favourite thing about this story.
Fave quote? "One bad childhood shouldn't lead to genocide."
Ain't that true.
April 12, 2025
I love the part where I said out loud "this is just the plot of the last one" and it was very similar but the whole spaceship's revolution against the flesh kind was really fun, it's a shame it took 3 LONG episodes to get there.
Also, this feels like it has a Free Palestine message but the analogy is really convoluted and almost seems like it's on the side of Israel at some points???
Also, this feels like it has a Free Palestine message but the analogy is really convoluted and almost seems like it's on the side of Israel at some points???
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2020
A good fun story with a Season 24 feel. I like Season 24. How much you like this story may well depend on how much you like stories like Paradise Towers and Delta & The Bannermen.
January 6, 2024
Very fun and engaging. Even had a bit of comedy.
October 9, 2024
What a great fun story. I can can easily visualise Ace running through the dirty underground levels, such a good story for the Seventh Doctor to be in.
August 7, 2024
The Doctor, Ace and Mel get arrested on the planet Parking and get sucked into a war they try to stop.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews