The Chimes Of Midnight AKA The Culmination Of Human Evolution

You’ve probably guessed from the title I love this one. Prepare for the soppiest review to hit this website.
The Chimes Of Midnight by Robert Shearman

This is the Mona Lisa Of Doctor Who. For me, nothing will ever match it, for all eternity. There’s a thing about Rob Shearman, which sort of dictates he cannot write badly in any scenario whatsoever. You need proof? Look at his Big Finish catalog! 
I went into Chimes Of Midnight being told that it was fantastic, and that’s all I knew about it. I wasn’t expecting a surrealist mashup of Horror, surrealism, mystery, and hilarity. Say what you want about The One Doctor (It’s fabulous) but Chimes has you rolling over in a nervous laughter of uncomfortable worry and enjoyment. It can freak you out and have you laugh at the same time. It’s completely perfect.
Bring Me Knitting: This is the Eighth Doctor’s finest hour, and he nails every single line he’s given, from the messages in the dust, to the strawberry jam jar, to his flabbergasted reactions to every single character in the story. 
He’s been given a role, and he wants to figure out what’s going on. It makes you want a Paul McGann Detective show. 
Charlie Pollard, Edwardian Adventuress: 
This is Charlie’s story, and she nails it completely. No companion short of Donna Noble or Evelyn could carry this material, and she does it with aplomb. The house follows her suggestions about everything, when she wants to be an Ameteur Detective instead of a police offficer, simply because she likes Agatha Christie. Her upper class mindset kicks in soon when she’s among all of the housekeepers and servants, and finally the series gives weight to her actions all the way back in Storm Warning. The final scenes with her, The Doctor and Edith, are the most uplifting in any Doctor Who story. Ever.
The Monsters: The Housekeepers, and Edward Grove are astonishingly memorable. 
I’ll just give in and put up a few of their quotes, but if you haven’t seen the story, scroll down to Overall. 
“You are nothing, you are a nobody.”
“He’s got shifty eyes…”
“Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without my plum pudding. It’s your favorite, eat it all up dear, it simply just wouldn’t be Christmas.” 
“Edith was so simple minded that she didn’t realise she couldn’t drown herself in the sink and so she did!”
“It’s quite clear that Frederick brought the car into the house, ran himself over with it and put it back outside before he finally expired!’
The entire cast in this story is the most perfect of all of Big Finish, and they sell the heck out of the script.
Overall: This story alone justifies the Charlie era of Eighth Doctor Big Finish. Appreciate it. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without this story here. And it’s free. 
The only time I’ll ever give this score: 11/10 

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