The end of the world is nigh. That’s what everybody is seeing in their nightmares. That’s why they are congregating in Liverpool for the party to end all parties, hosted by Rufus Stone, a celebrity turned doomsday prophet. He claims he’s the only one who can save them when the day of judgement comes. Because he’s on the side of the angels. The Doctor, Ace and Hector arrive to find the city in the grip of apocalypse fever. There are lights in the sky, earthquakes and power cuts. The Doctor is determined to investigate, while Ace is more concerned about finding a way of restoring Hector’s lost memories. Meanwhile, in the river Mersey, hideous, slug-like creatures are stirring…
I really love the character of Hex. He’s a fascinating, entertaining character, and Philip Olivier does an exceptional job playing him. I was very sad when he was killed off a few stories back, but I got over it and moved on with my life. Then came the story “Afterlife”. I liked it, and I liked the take on Hex as Hector, but I didn’t really want the story, you know? I was pleased, from a story point of view, with Hex dying to save everyone. But “Afterlife” was good, so I kind of went with it.
Now we reach the end of a Seven/Ace/Hector trilogy, and in this case I think we have an actual, final conclusion to the storyline of Hex/Hector, and I sincerely hope we never see the character again. Not because I dislike him, but because I like him quite a bit, and the conclusion he gets in this story is…well, I don’t want to get all spoilery.
The story features the TARDIS crew arriving in Liverpool a few years hence. 2020’s Earth is a crapsack world in the Big Finish timeline. I kind of roll my eyes at that, and at things like the UK basically selling the military, but whatever. Turns out that there’s this prophet going around talking about the End Times. Soon we meet him, visit Hector’s grandmother’s house, find Sally Morgan, and hear the Doctor drinking tea served by polite alien captors.
There was a great deal to enjoy here. The acting was excellent, as always, particularly from Olivier and Aldred. The writing was also very good, even if I do find this particular version of 2020’s earth to be unlikely in the extreme. And it was particularly splendid to have an end (almost certainly a complete end), to the character of Hex and his story arc. It was a satisfying conclusion and under no circumstances do I want Big Finish to go back to the character.
I also feel that I cannot, in any way, recommend this story to someone who is new to the series. You really do need to have quite a lot of background information. But for those of you who have stuck with the Hex/Hector saga, I think you’ll come away very pleased. It really is a great conclusion to a great series.
Written By: Matt Fitton
Directed By: Ken Bentley
Cast: Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Philip Olivier (Hex), Jessica Martin (Reverend Janet Green), Warren Brown (Rufus Stone/To’Koth), Jemma Churchill (Praska), Rory Keenan (Captain Gormley)
Signs and Wonders is available now from BigFinish.com and via the Amazon link below.
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