🎧 Big Finish: Minuet in Hell
Website: https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-minuet-in-hell-644
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/2XjondAiepBzfV5WI9uf3F
148 mins in 4 parts. £2.99.
The Brigadier has been brought to the newest state of the United States, Malebolgia, to offer support in nation-building and that sort of thing. The Doctor is stranded, sans memory, in a revolutionary new institution.
Clocking in at just over 2 hours, Minuet in Hell has the scope of a novel. There is a distinct Torchwood vibe, especially with the whole “mysterious medical institution” business. Instead of Torchwood, it's the Brig who is the symbol of order and authority. I've not previously encountered stories where he's taken on such an independent, investigative role, and it's fun to see.
The story does gloss over the hallmarks of a cult and goes straight into demon summoning and psychological experiments. Many of the baddie-adjacent characters are also larger than life and written stereotypically American. Even the main baddie is almost comical, with the number of one-liners and cheesy lines. While it is a terribly effective foil to the familiar characters, it's hard to reconcile this with the down to earth Brig – particularly why he wouldn't be more cynical.
In any case, I always enjoy the Brig's appearances. Similar to Lestrade in the Sherlock Holmes stories, he is at once the exhausted leader forever catching up with the brilliant protagonist and the symbol of establishment trying to do things right. And that, my friends, is a huge mood for these times.