This Sporting Life

The TARDIS arrives in London in 1966 but the streets have been cordoned off and people have been ordered to clear the area. The World Cup has been stolen at the height of the season; this would not normally be something the Doctor would be interested in but when a piece of the missing item comes into their possession, the Doctor, Steven and Dodo suspect that there is something more going on than simple theft or a sports prank.

This Sporting Life is one of the Short Trips range from Big Finish and made for a fun listen through the headphones via the Big Finish app on my phone as I wandered around the streets of my native Toronto last week. Given that the tale is told in under 40 minutes it has a structure something akin to that of a TV script, with the pace moving quicker than the usual Big Finish fare where they are able to take their time over several episodes.

The mystery of the deserted streets of London evokes the feel of later episodes of the show where alien invasions have forced people inside or to flee entirely, and due to the one man cast (Peter Purves narrating as well as providing the dramatized lines for Steven Taylor, the Doctor and the heavily accented Goldsmith) there is not exactly a feel of a busy full city going apeshit over a sporting event (I share Steven's cynicism about the hype surrounding the World Cup although I wouldn't go so far as to call the fans "idiot people").

This Sporting Life does not have the same grim edge that Bunker Soldiers wanted to have so by contrast it is a lighter story punctuated by some chuckle moments when the Doctor puts on his best indignant act and had to be led away by his companions while still going off. In fact the title of the episode itself is a reference to a film William Hartnell himself was in, which itself is not exactly a comedy by any stretch.

Regardless of its tone the short trip here is a nice bit of expansion on the time the Doctor spends with Steven and Dodo, even if Jackie Lane has so far been unconvinced to return to the role even for one episode (if Janet Fielding could be convinced to reprise Tegan, anything is possible). But their days as a team are drawing to a close...

NEXT EPISODE: THE SAVAGES