Doctor Who: Resistance

The Companion Chronicles #3.9

by Steve Lyons, Anneke Wills (Narrator), John Sackville (Narrator)

February, 1944: France is occupied by the Third Reich, the French Gestapo has an iron grip and the native resistance attempts to overthrow the invaders. On one quiet winter's night, a British plane crashes to the ground, leaving a flying officer desperate to escape via the evasion lines.

Separated from the TARDIS, Ben and Jamie, the Doctor and Polly find themselves with enemies on all sides. Trapped in one of the darkest times in history, Polly discovers that humanity can be just as dangerous as any threat from outer space. She resolves to make a difference - even if it means leaving the Doctor forever...

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Historical Fiction

Audio CD

First published March 1, 2009

About the author

Steve Lyons is a science fiction writer, best known for writing television tie-ins of Doctor Who for BBC Books, and previously, Virgin. The earliest of these was Conundrum in 1994, and his most recent was 2005's The Stealers of Dreams. He has also written material for Star Trek tie-ins, as well as original work.

Reviews

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Who: Resistance is a release in Big Finish's Companion Chronicles line, and features Anneke Wills as Polly telling this purely historical Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) story. The TARDIS lands and Ben, Polly, Jaime, and the Doctor step outside, only to discover that the TARDIS has landed on railroad tracks and it's night. The TARDIS crew tries to shift the TARDIS off the tracks, to no avail. When Jaime remarks that they should just get back inside and leave, the Doctor answers - "And never know where we were? That won't do." Soldiers attack and the crew are split up, Jaime getting shot and captured. The Doctor sends Ben to find and rescue Jaime. They are to meet in the woods.
Needless to say, that doesn't work as Ben and Jaime don't show up. The Doctor and Polly run off, knowing now where they are - Nazi-occupied France, and the soldiers who were after them are the French Gestapo. The Doctor and Polly end-up in a barn near a farmhouse. Luckily for them the young woman who lives on the farm with her parents, Jacqueline, is a member of the Resistance. She's already hiding a stranded British Tommy (or "Invader") and has made arrangements to pass him through her network of contacts to get him out of France and free.
This is exactly what they do. The Pilot, Polly, and the Doctor are passed from person to person, in a sort of French Underground Railroad to escape. Jacqueline hides them in her truck, and takes them to town, passing the free to a local tailor who is heavily involved in the Resistance. There, the Doctor wins favor by forging identity cards for everyone who needs them, so they can travel a bit more freely. Three other invaders are already waiting in the hidden room under the tailor shop. To Polly's amazement, the Pilot that Jacqueline was hiding on her parent's farm is Randolph Wright, Polly's Uncle, whom she knows died in a German POW camp during the War.
The day before everyone is to leave to take a train to the Southern border of France, Jacqueline shows up again. The tailor, Claude, gives her a tongue-lashing for putting everyone in danger by showing up at the shop. But Jacqueline has terrible news - the French Gestapo were waiting at her farm and have arrested her parents. She only escaped because she was warned by a friend. Claude's upset at the risk helping Jacqueline poses. The Doctor creates an identity card for her, which greatly reduces the risk. He takes the entire group to the train station.
There, the Doctor tells Polly they shouldn't actually get on the train as it will take them even further away from the TARDIS, not to mention Ben and Jaime. There are a few scuffles at the station, and the Doctor is left behind (he does provide distractions so other resistors can escape) and Polly ends-up on the train. In a compartment on the train, she and the Pilot start to talk and gossip about their families. Polly realises that the Pilot isn't her Uncle Randolph Wright as he claims - but a French Gestapo spy, responsible for their losses so far. He attacks her, she screams, Jacqueline shows up and shoots him. Thanks to a conveniently loud steam train, no one hears the shot, and the Invaders, Jacqueline, and Polly are able to hide the body. The train arrives at their stop and they leave, and meet the last link in the chain, Paul Bernard, who will show them through the mountains and over the border to freedom in Spain. However, in the mountains, they meet the Doctor again, who now has Jaime and Ben with him. Polly explains to Jacqueline she must leave with her friends, but assures Jacqueline she will be alright, since she's almost home free so to speak. Jacqueline agrees, then tells Polly that Jacqueline is only her code name and her real name is Michelle. The Doctor, Jaime, Ben, and Polly return to the TARDIS and leave France.
The CD opens with a trailer for another Companion Chronicles story, and closes with a panel discussion about Resistance with Lisa Bowerman, Anneke Wells, and John Sackville, as well as the producer of the series.
I enjoyed this story a lot. Yes, it's basically, go here, then here, then here, etc., like most "quest"-style stories - but it's a fascinating time, if a bit dark. However, there could have been a sense of paranoia as no one really knows who to trust - and there is none of that. Even though Claude, especially, is concerned about spies in his midst, and he has reason to be concerned, it comes off as common sense, given the circumstances, and not unjust paranoia.
One tiny issue I had with this story was the pronunciation of Jacqueline's name. The Pilot, and Jacqueline herself, pronounce it as "JACK-CUE-lynn", which is correct. Polly for some completely unknown reason keeps pronouncing it as, "JACK-leen", which is just wrong. OK, I'm not sure how it would be pronounced in French - but as it happens to be my own first name, I can tell you, "JACK-CUE-lynn" is correct. I don't know if it was something done to indicate Polly's background or what. (Anneke plays both Polly and Jacqueline - so she's pronouncing the name differently depending on the character. John Sackville, as the Pilot, pronounces it correctly as, "JACK-CUE-lynn".) I also was completely lost by Jacqueline's important name-drop moment that her name is "Michelle". Was that meant to mean something?
However, given the dire circumstances, there are a few light and even funny moments in the story (for example, while hiding out in a barn the Doctor starts fiddling with a tractor and hot-wires it. They are caught. They try to escape on the tractor, and Polly, narrating, remarks, "As a get away vehicle, a slow-moving tractor was, perhaps, not the wisest choice..." and given this is audio, it just brings to mind the image of the Doctor on this huge tractor, being chased by someone catching up to him without even having to run. Or Jaime's perfectly practical suggestion at the very beginning - of why don't they just get back in the TARDIS and leave rather than even trying to push it off the tracks.
I highly recommend Doctor Who Resistance is a brilliant, truly historical Doctor Who story.

[John Parungao · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the worst things that happened to Doctor Who in the mid 60's was the phasing out of the historical stories. The second worse thing to have happened was the introduction of Jamie. Yes Frazier Hines went on to become the best known companion of the Patrick Troughton era, but it came at the cost of losing both Annike Wells; as Polly and Michael Craze as Ben.
Resistance proves that a good writer can create a great historical story. It also gives Annike Wells a chance to shine as Polly. It may play out as a spy thriller with the World War II occupied France setting, and the twist involving Polly's family history is a nice touch and gives Annike Wells some great material to work with. This is proof that Doctor Who can be great drama without having any aliens or monsters.

[Daniel Cork · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Companion Chronicles is a range I'm fond of, a very underappreciated range which I'm sad is no longer going on anymore but I can understand why. Steve Lyons wrote a few companion chronicles for the range many of which were with Jamie and Polly. Resistance is one I've heard good things about so I've decided to finally give it a go.

February 1944, France is occupied by the Nazis and the French Gestapo has a tight grip on the country, meanwhile, the native resistance attempts to overthrow the invaders. When the Tardis Crew arrive on a railway line, they are soon separated by the enemy. Jamie and Ben are kidnapped, whilst The Doctor and Polly have to find out how to get them back. But Polly is about to find out the harsh realities of history when a mysterious Pilot walks into her life.

Steve Lyons' script is an emotional one that really makes you think just how much families suffered and grieved in WW2 when hearing about the loss of beloved family members who've been killed out on the front lines. It's a really good historical thriller that puts Polly right at the center of it, a very emotional and action-packed piece with a really bleak and hopeless atmosphere.

Overall: Not quite as good as I was hoping, but it's still a really solid story that gives Polly some much-needed character development. 8/10

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely wee story that gives some much needed character development to Polly, The Second Doctor's little used companion. Anneke Wills perfectly encapsulates the character as she recounts a heartfelt and personal story that revolves solely around her and The Doctor, with Ben and Jamie being conveniently shunted out of the narrative early on. In a nice metafictional exploration, Polly herself questions her usefulness to The Doctor and the boys as a companion before proving that she can indeed hold her own as part of the team.

There are no aliens, spaceships or different planets in this story, only a tightly-crafted and well-told narrative focusing on Polly, The Doctor and a downed fighter pilot. Not only a fantastic example of a Doctor Who story not needing any fantastical elements to succeed, but also one of the best Second Doctor stories. Lovely stuff.

[Edward Buckton]

Steve Lyons has commendable Doctor Who storytelling instincts, drawing pathos out of the immutability of history that informs the show's roughly familiar modern setting, and shining a light on characters - particularly women - who weren't awarded interiority in the original run.

This is a less effective story than The Witch Hunters, unfortunately - I found my attention drifting more often than not. Still, as far as purely historical Who goes, it's inoffensive and breezy - I just suspect I will have forgotten much of it, in a short time.

[David Layton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This addition to the Companion Chronicles is a bit different in that the companion is not telling the story to anyone in particular, but simply telling the story. Actually, telling a little more than half, since another character tells parts of his side of the story. The story is set in Vichy France as the tide of the war is turning against the Nazis. Doctor 2, Polly, Ben, and Jamie get separated, and Polly and the Doctor get caught up in the resistance, while trying to reunite with the lost companions. Steve Lyons does his usual excellent job of portraying characters with conflicted loyalties. It's an entertaining story. I think a full dramatization would have better served it.

[Isiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Resourceful, brave, beautiful and compassionate.

Polly is amazing and you should all go listen to Big Finish’s ‘Resistance’. It really gets into her character’s psychology in a way the episodes never really got to.

[Pietro Rossi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in France during World War Two, with Ben, Jamie and mostly Polly who encounters her past.

If you like WW2 stories, you will probably like this. But not to my taste. The twists and turns are good and for this reason, 4/10

Scoring: 0 bad; 1-3 poor; 4-6 average; 7-9 good; 10 excellent

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing much to say about this. I will not be making a review. Didn't enjoy that much. Only to anyone who wants to read everything from the first three doctors....

[Charles Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

good stuff

[Billy Martel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff, but does share a very similar hook to a another big finish audio involving the same TARDIS team: The Forsaken.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of just fine.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This feels like an early prototype second Doctor story. Sadly this suffers from just a lot of wandering.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Second Doctor story told from the perspective of Polly.

You wait for two-and-a-half seasons, and then two come along at once - this is the second straight historical in a row for the Companion Chronicles, and arguably a straighter one than the previous entry. Anyone who is only looking for spaceships and monsters can certainly give this one a miss, although the fact that Polly has travelled into her own past is certainly relevant to the plot.

As should be apparent from the title, the story is set in Occupied France during World War II. Much of the story concerns Polly and the Doctor simply trying to escape from the Germans and their collaborators, and get back to the TARDIS - a common enough sort of plot for '60s Who , although perhaps more so for Hartnell than Troughton. I found it enjoyable and atmospheric, about the right length for what happens, and successfully brought to life by Anneke Wills.

It wouldn't make one of the great war movies of our time, but it's a nice solid adventure, and does a good job of exploring Polly's background and family history, and how she reacts to it.

[Nicholas Whyte]

"Anneke Wills had already returned to the role of Polly (as well as playing Charley Pollard's mother, Lady Elspeth, in a number of Eighth Doctor Stories). In Resistance, she tells the story of landing with the Second Doctor, Jamie and Ben in France in early 1944, where to her mixed delight and dismay she meets the airman uncle who she never knew. It's a very good Polly story - she is practically the first companion along the lines of Rose / Martha / Donna, coming from and rooted in contemporary England (poor Dodo doesn' really count) and Resistance gives her a bit of New Who treatment, exploring her family background and her relationship with the Doctor. I can forgive a couple of plot holes."

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

At a certain point in this story, you think you know how it's going to go - it invokes a well-used time-travel plot device. Then it gives it a bit of a twist at the end. This story is suspenseful and wonderfully performed by Anneke Wills, but even her performance and the twist at the end weren't quite enough to lift it out of "good solid story" territory into something really special. Still, it's a good solid story.

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this audios and I always loved big finish take on world war 2, especially set elsewhere other than England or Germany.

Just when you think you know where this is going, the twist at the end drags you under. Very good acting and makes you feel helpless especially when you have the knowledge of the war going on and especially when it concerns family members.

4/5

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting WWII episode involving spies.

[Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A purely historical story set in Europe during WWII. Polly, Jamie and Two get separated and mixed up in events, as usual.

[Luiz Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5