The Suffering (#4.07)

  Big Finish, Companion Chronicles


Never has there been a more appropriate title for a Big Finish story! This story has a female alien who received brutal treatment by the men on her planet and is looking for revenge on all men. This story starts with Vicki and Steven “meeting” this alien then unraveling what is happening from there. Vicki has a separate adventure from the Doctor and Steven for awhile then meets up with them in London, when things really hit the fan! And this story is framed by Steven and Vicki recording the story for future people to hear, in case something similar happens in the future, which makes it particularly menacing at the end.

I really enjoyed this story and it really fits in the time it’s set. Though I do wonder why Steven, Vicki, and the Doctor don’t protest the treatment of women more. Vicki doesn’t really get treated badly by anyone but the policeman who tries to arrest her. Plus there’s a whole overtone of women’s suffrage, which fits into the era but feels a bit preachy at times. A reminder of how bad it could be for women then! Amazing how women were treated like second class citizens when they’re the majority of the population. Still are, in some countries. Good story!


Peter Purves (Steven Taylor) and Maureen O’Brien (Vicki)

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner 

Director: Lisa Bowerman

Release: February 2010 

© Laura Vilensky 2019