Doctor Who: The Blue Tooth

The Companion Chronicles #1.3

by Nigel Fairs, Caroline John (Narrator), Nicholas Briggs (Narrator)

"I suppose that was one of the Doctor's most endearing qualities: the ability to make the bizarre and the terrifying seem utterly normal."

When Liz Shaw's friend Jean goes missing, the Doctor and U.N.I.T. are drawn to the scene to investigate. Soon Liz discovers a potential alien invasion that will have far-reaching effects on her life… and the Doctor is unexpectedly reunited with an old enemy…

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction

Audio CD

First published January 31, 2007

About the author

Nigel Fairs is a voice actor, director and writer for Big Finish Productions. Although a contributor to the main Doctor Who and Bernice Summerfield lines, he is perhaps most associated with The Companion Chronicles. He was also involved with several BBV Productions audio stories.

In the 1980's he was heavily involved in the fan-produced stories made by Audio Visuals, where he starred as the Doctor's companion Truman Crouch and also wrote several episodes. He was later involved in writing and producing a series of audio plays collectively entitled Pisces, which were promoted as being like "Doctor Who with teeth."

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was nice to see more of Liz but she didn't really explicitly explain why she left UNIT like she said she would in the beginning. I guess it was implied that it was such a traumatic experience she had to leave but I still want a proper goodbye. That being said, it was still an ok (if somewhat anti-climatic) Cyberman story.

[Jamieson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Blue Tooth is a Companion Chronicle that features the Third Doctor and Liz Shaw. It seems to exist to do two things: give the Third Doctor a Cyberman story (which he never got on TV) and give a reason for Liz to leave in between Seasons 7 and 8. And... it does okay. As a Cyberman story, it acts as a loose sequel to the Season 6 story The Invasion. A scout ship that was part of the invasion crashed and was discovered by a lonely dentist who is converted. It's creepy and an intriguing mystery. Liz's departure (which had previously been covered in the novel Doctor Who: The Scales of Injustice) isn't actually shown. However, it seems that story (which sees the conversion and death of a friend of Liz's from university) is one that sets the ball rolling. The Companion Chronicles are not a series that I've delved into deeply. They tend to be a hybrid between single-reader audiobook and full-cast audio drama with a single companion actor and a guest actor (in this case, the late Caroline John as Liz Shaw and the ever-present Nicholas Briggs as the Cybermen). In a period when these were really the only way to get new Third Doctor stories, it's quite good. It fits the more adult tone of Season 7 and is just a generally good Doctor Who story. Well worth a listen.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caroline John reads this audiobook by Big Finish, The Blue Tooth, part of the Companion Chronicles line. I thought the storyline would have something to do with alien control of Bluetooth™ technology, however, it doesn't -- though the Cybermen are involved eventually. Dr. Liz Shaw looks back on her time at UNIT, and considers when she decided to quit. She had gone to Cambridge to visit one of her university friends, only to find her friend missing and the friend's cat brutally slain.
Before long, the Brigadier and Captain Mike Yates arrive, investigating not only Jean's disappearance, but the disappearance of several scientists and even support personnel from Cambridge. The investigation leads to a mysterious blue living metal, a really bad dentist, Cybermats, and a crashed Cyberman scout ship. It's an intriguing story.
My only qualm about this one was that I found it a bit gross. I know it seems weird to describe a story in audio format as gross - but it is. This story is a bloodbath, in more ways than one. I also found the title a tad too literal.
Anyway, This is still my favorite Doctor Who range, and this story is enjoyable. Recommended, but it's not for younger listeners.

[Nicholas Whyte]

I started off loving this purely on the grounds of Cambridge nostalgia, as Liz Shaw returns to her alma mater to sort out certain strange goings on (promising, in the framing narrative, to explain why she left UNIT). Certainly the portrayal of the University Dental Service on Trumpington Street as a place of horror, pain and fear was still perfectly accurate from my time there, twenty years after Liz Shaw. I also liked the continuity of the Cybermen being a legacy of the failed Invasion. But I went off it in the end: Liz, one of the really brainy Doctor Who companions, ends up being all fainting and unconscious and having to be rescued, and Caroline John does not really succeed in doing the voices of the Third Doctor and the Brigadier especially well. This was in the end my least favourite of the first four, though perhaps a non-Cantabrian listener will have fewer dashed expectations than I did.

[TheTimeScales · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the 4 of 5 great Caroline John narrated stories. Another little treasure. Recommended with Shadow of the Past in particular.

PASTING MY OLD RAW REVIEW NOTES (NOT) VIA BLUETOOTH.

mysterious, feels late 60s in atmosphere as conveyed by Liz and an early introduction to cybermen, particular “blue cyberman.” successful and 3rd doctor era or cyber-fans (like myself as i have always been over the daleks) will certainly want this. excellent. it is a major tragedy that Caroline John couldn’t do more of these, her narration exceeds containing acting and perfection in storytelling as well as mirroring Liz, past, present and almost future. A favorite in Big Finish, and now in the entirety of Doctor Who. Brilliant work and this story included. Good production writing, verbiage and fx as well.
This was 5/5.

Director: Mark J Thompson
Writer: Nigel Fairs

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just wished this one was better. The Cybermen are barely used and Liz Shaw is great but the mystery isn't that interesting and this was early for the format so it really drags.

[Xander Toner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't hear very much praise coming out of these early Companion Chronicles releases, and I agree that the first two, Frostfire and Fear of the Daleks was just standard, if a little below average fare for Doctor Who stories, but I really enjoyed this one. With only four on screen adventures, I always find it nice to have new stories surrounding Liz Shaw, and especially ones that really well emulate the feeling of Season Seven, which this does perfectly, in my eyes. I really liked Caroline John's narration for the most part, her imitations of the Third Doctor and the Brigadier weren't incredible by any means but enough to get the story across, and I especially enjoyed Nicholas Briggs' performance as the Cybermen. On audio in particular, you can lose a lot of the menace of the Daleks and the Cybermen, it becomes a lot clearer its just a man with a ring modulator of whatever, but here you can really feel the soul of the characters, something quite similar to World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls. Whilst I did enjoy the ending, I even didn't mind Liz blacking out and having the Doctor explain what happened afterwards as it didn't feel to egregious, I didn't like the final beats with the Brigadier and rest of the UNIT crew destroying the Cyberman spaceship underground. It feels a little too reminiscent of the conclusion to The Silurians, but the Cybermen are a much more immediate threat then the Silurians, and there's much more reason to wanting to destroy what's left of them. After a surprisingly emotional conclusion, it didn't work for me as a final beat.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Nigel Fairs' writing on this one, it lifts the rather dead hand of the Companion Chronicles' mostly single voice format. I was also helped by my fondness for UNIT (although I could have done without the mangling of the Brigadier's voice here, especially as the rest were well done). This isn't a story for those with a serious dentist phobia (mostly in the UK now we have a serious 'my dentist has stopped doing NHS work' phobia - too many cybermen making the decisions about primary health care for too long I fear)

[Kelly McCubbin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a charming enough diversion, though the first year of Jon Pertwee's run as The Doctor with Caroline John's Liz Shaw is arguably one of the most sprawling and challenging of the show's run and this story seems to fit hardly at all within it.

[Charles Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cybermen yeah. Liz Shaw boo

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

And people wonder why British people don't go to the dentist

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well done Cyberman story making good use of Liz Shaw. I could imagine the visuals pretty well.

[Cynik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doctor Who stories told by campanions (audio book.) They have been OK but Doctor Who seems to mainly be best on the screen.

[Billy Martel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus…

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liz Shaw was a companion with a short tenure, and this story takes on the task of exploring a bit of her backstory and giving her a bit of a personal life, as well as explaining some of the reasons for her off-screen departure at some point between the end of series 7 and the beginning of series 8.

However, aside from this welcome character development for Liz, I felt like the story lacked some punch. Possibly one reason is that at the climax of the story, our narrator, Liz, is actually unconscious - she, and we, get filled in on the resolution later. I can sort of see why the author chose this approach, but it does blunt the impact of the story.

Interestingly, in this audio, Caroline John doesn't attempt to do impressions of her co-stars to nearly the extent she did in her reading of Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters. Her reading still works well (probably better for some listeners than it would have been with the impressions). I also have to mention the music, which I thought had a very nice period feel to it.

Not among the best of the Companion Chronicle's range, but certainly good enough to make me look forward to Liz Shaw's return in the upcoming Shadow of the Past.

[Jon Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m pretty sure the title came before the story, the author looking round for inspiration and seeing a potential title from his mobile phone functions. As with the previous releases in the range Big Finish have recreated the ambience of their chosen era beautifully, helped by Caroline John retaining much of Liz’s sardonic playfulness for the reading. Her version of Pertwee feels right (helped by some excellent Pertwee-esque lines), even if her Brigadier often sounds something of a caricature.

The story’s pleasantly small scale and inventive in its use of old Doctor Who monsters, choosing not to rely on the fannish thrill of their appearance but trying to logically expand their capabilities. Balancing that though, the story itself is flawed – Liz’s friend being attacked by an alien menace on the exact day Liz is due to meet her stretches coincidence, and Liz being knocked out of the action at key points rather than serving as the dramatic fulcrum. Maximum points though for exploiting the fear of dentists, something Who hadn’t done before. The range’s solid start continues.

[William Vaudin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like most people, I was dying for a Third Doctor Cyberman story. And if you really wanted to see it, then just listen to Tyrants of Logic.
This really didn’t feel like a Third Doctor story, it felt more like a 10th Doctor story from the New Series Novel Range. There was some nice character building for Liz Shaw with it being about her friend. But everything else around it was just nothing. The Cybermen themselves just weren’t utilised very well and all the things they did just didn’t really feel like a Third Doctor story. As for the ending, it just stops, Liz passes out and the wakes up, and it’s all over. On climax, the resolution, the Cybermen are just not there anymore.
Also, I didn’t really get the whole dentist thing, again it really belongs more in New Who. The Third Doctor just doesn’t do well with David Cronenburh style body horror.
Overall, this was just a dud from the Companion Chronicles range. Which is a shame because I really wanted to see a Third Doctor Cyberman story and I still don’t have The Third Doctor Adventures: Volume Four.

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished listening to the Blue Tooth with Caroline John tonight and 10/10.

This is my first Liz Shaw audio and I have to say, this has been amazing listen. Carolin John performance is out standing and her impressions of the Brigadier and the Third Doctor are brilliant. I also loved how you saw a bit of her personal life and how she felt when she saw Jean as a Cyberman and you could really feel her devastation for her friend Jean.

Both Caroline John and Nick Briggs gave an exceptional performance in this audio and I could really imagine the whole audio playing out in my head.

In all retrospect, the Cybermen have always terrified me more than the Daleks have. The fact they were once humans and have become emotionless, cold metal monsters and the harrowing: “You will become like us. You will BE like us.” really does send a shiver down your spine.
Especially on audio.

Would really recommend this audio for anyone interested in Liz Shaw.

[Shaun Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first companion chronicle from Big Finish is a bit of a mixed bad. Loved the basic story, was less thrilled with how they went about telling that story. I feel it took away from the Liz Shaw character, the guys disagreed with me. Our full review is available in episode 303 over at http://travelingthevortex.com/?p=7644 Warning, spoilers ahead...

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not the biggest fan of the Companion Chronicles, and I'm not as familiar with the characters involved in this one (Tom Baker is my Doctor), but this was an interesting take on the Cybermen. Not bad, all things considered.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cybermen are invading with a substance that changes humans. This is told by Liz, and is quite interesting told from her perspective. It does seem like an odd thing for the cybermen to do, but go with the story as its a decent listen.

[Debra Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liz Shaw talks about one of her last adventures with The Doctor and UNIT. Liz's friends start disappearing and the Doctor discovers Cyberman trying to create more Cyberman.

[M.]

A sometimes heart-wrenching, sometimes humorous character piece for Liz.

[Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The late Caroline John reads this tale as Third Doctor Companion Liz Shaw. Good Cyberman adventure.