Review by Jacob Licklider

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The Sontarans vs. Rutans miniseries is the first of many releases from Big Finish Productions this year that was clearly meant to be released as a box set and shifted to a single release structure, see also the Dark Gallifrey releases being three-hour long stories released in single hour installments.  Unlike Dark Gallifrey, however, Sontarans vs. Rutans is a series where the actual arc is largely in the background for each of the releases so they can be enjoyed as individual stories.  In Name Only is the concluding installment and the one closest to relying on the three previous installments for its resolution: it’s a story where the actual explanation as to why the previous three releases occurred becomes integral.  John Dorney is responsible for writing the conclusion, and as a Big Finish veteran it’s far from the only conclusion to a miniseries he has written, but In Name Only works because Dorney knows how to strike the balance between making the three previous releases be that integral piece to the puzzle and new listener friendly.  This does lead to an issue where there is perhaps too much exposition for the single hour of the story due to a tendency from Dorney as a writer to over explain the connections instead of just letting the listeners pick up on them by paying attention.  This does mean that this becomes a script where Jonathan Carley has to do a lot of expositing about the past three adventures.

Carley as the War Doctor has always been an excellent interpretation of the late great John Hurt’s performance, something that works because of foundations in The War Doctor Begins laid down by director Louise Jameson in addition to the obvious talent from Carley.  This release is directed again by a Big Finish veteran, Ken Bentley, who as always brings his own almost action oriented touch to the script and performances.  In Name Only is a script that requires Carley to embody Steven Moffat’s view of the character as really just the Doctor stuck fighting a war and emotionally putting himself through the ringer.  Carley plays the role here truly as the Doctor, the one trying to find peace in a conflict that is partially of his own making.  Dorney is also reflecting on the idea from the revival that the Sontarans were not allowed to participate in the Time War by giving the Sontarans and Rutans this conflict.  It’s also just nice to see the Sontarans and Rutans actually at conflict, something the entire series had been on the whole a treat to see.  Christopher Ryan and Dan Starkey play the Sontaran characters here and both get a chance to show off the range of how Sontarans are characterized, at least more than their more recent television appearances which like to play the species more for comedy.  There’s also something wonderful in the final twist with the Rutans.  Debbie Korley and John Banks round out the cast, with Korley’s Blaxill being a particular highlight.  Dorney employs quite a few effective twists to subvert expectations of the Time Lords, Rutans, and Sontarans, though not so much to bring down the tone into the darker area of some of the other Time War set stories.

In Name Only excels at being both a conclusion and a properly interesting hour of audio drama in its own right.  The entire miniseries has had some of the best Sontaran content in recent memory and by actually using the Rutans it means that they can be explored more.  Carley is the particular highlight that really ties everything together even if the War Doctor as a character isn’t entirely necessary for the story.  8/10.

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