Review by Cavan Gilbey

It’s been a while since we’ve had a dedicated Second Doctor Lost Stories release, I’ve been waiting for one ever since Lords of the Red Planet came out. Sure we had the Early Adventures with brand new stories for this era,  but fans knew there was still plenty of untapped potential in those unmade script. One of the most popular amongst fans was Operation Werewolf, a pseudo-historical proposed by Douglas Camfield and Robert Kitts set in the tense period before D-Day and seeing the Doctor attempting to stop a sinister Nazi experiment which could change the course of history. It’s a narrative which I am surprised the show has never really done all that much, with some exceptions. But it was down to fan-favourite writer Jonathan Morris and the recent but reliable director David O’Mahony to bring this story to life over the span of six episodes. Did they succeed? Well this story is my favourite Second Doctor release from Big Finish so I feel that must account for something.

In a change from the original format for the Lost Stories releases for the first three Doctors, we are no longer in the hybrid audiobook/audio-drama format. Now we have gone full cast for this era with Michael Troughton continuing his run in the role that was once played by his late father and co-star Frazer Hines. But Troughton, based on what I’ve heard of him in the current Second Doctor Adventures range and The Annihilators, is still the perfect recast. He’s not doing an impression of his father, but is instead capturing the spirit of the Second Doctor through his own interpretation of the clownish character. He’s a delight to hear and he’s at his most impish in this one as he truly gets to play that hidden serious streak that was present in this Doctor but he never loses the warmth and humour. It’s one of the best recasts in the audios without a doubt. Rounding of the TARDIS team cast is Fraser Hines and Wendy Padbury in their usual roles as Jamie and Zoe. Naturally they don’t show any signs of losing their touch with these roles, the pair of them are still able to embody the youth and excitement that they did all those years ago.

Our supporting cast is equally brilliant. Director O’Mahony serves as a clear highlight as Fergus, a British agent with a mysterious connection to one of our companions, it’s a performance right out of the war films of the era and perfectly suits the tone of the story. Jordan Loughran is a great addition as French resistance fighter Francois Perrier, a role played with a great sense of nobility and bravery. My other major highlight is Michael Higgs as the sinister British commander Sir Aubry, without spoiling any of the major plot threads I can tell you that this is particular strong villain performance and easily one of the most memorable in recent release history.

Operation Werewolf manages to balance two tones extremely well. The first is that of something like those Boy’s Own adventure stories or Eagle; pulpy and camp with exciting acts of daring-do and feats of heroism. Alternatively it’s tapping in to the tense drama and looming threat of films like The Great Escape or The Dam Busters, which helps make it feel more authentic to that late sixties era of the show and capture the mood and atmosphere of that period beautifully. Initially the plot feels set up to be mostly about running between two locations, which has been the death of some Doctor Who stories in the past. But Morris manages to keep this constantly moving plot easy to follow and engaging by keeping the focus on how sci-fi characters interact with a period they don’t belong and placing emphasis on the sinister nature of an all too human threat. When the sci-fi plot elements start showing themselves, Morris does a great job at maintaining the mystery behind them and never reveals too much about how the Nazi’s have manages to make the developments they have in  this story.

The Nazi’s here don’t feel like crude cartoon threats either, they have clear agendas and the story doesn’t shy away from showing how Nazi ideology can spread so effectively with the themes of brainwashing and direct comparisons to Britain’s own imperialist and fascist past. Their status as a threat never feels diminished, with focus placed on how these monsters are at their most frightening because they are humans who lust for the destruction of their fellow man. Sure we know that they lose in the end, because Nazis always do, but the terror of their existence serves as one of the greatest threats in the story.

Despite running at six parts long, this story never drags. A real highlight for a range which is already fairly consistently high quality. If you are still itching for new Second Doctor content after finishing the latest Second Doctor Adventures boxset, the make sure Operation Werewolf is your next listen.

10/10

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