Donna Noble: Kidnapped

Are You Bothering Her? 

The first thing I thought when this was announced was that it was a terrible idea. I love Donna, I thought, but she's inherently a side character. Removing her from the Doctor, although okay, would not be a good side idea to sustain a spinoff, especially since she is a comedic character. 

Oh, come off it, past me, it's Big Finish.

 Donna Noble Kidnapped is not the best release they have ever done, but in the grand tradition of The Auntie Matter, Sync, and The Bekdel Test, it is one of the most fun and enjoyable audios to listen to, and regardless of theme, and drama, four hours of fun adventures with Donna is everything that this universe needs. What this spinoff does is give Donna agency beyond the Doctor, and although heavily pay off the comedic elements, also focus on the softness beneath Donna's hard exterior that is why the audience grew so attached to her. 

Also, I swear Catherine Tate is involved in the writing process, because the thing is bloody hilarious, and definitely has her own flair, while being delibrately Who. 

If anything, it's failing is that it doesn't feel like a spinoff, it feels like one of new who's doctor-light episodes. and that's equally a bonus to it, as the episodes featuring Donna were some of the best. 

Out Of This World By Jacqueline Rayner

This is a very good little mystery with some excellent characterization for Donna, taking place in the gap after Silence In The Library (remind me to gush about that one sometime) which is one of those traumatic stories that’s emotional effects are never really mentioned much again, kind of like Torchwood’s Cyberwoman or The Girl Who Waited, or Whatever bullcrap Peri went through every week. All the same, I’m a big fan of exploring such gaps. 

Out of This World takes the character of Donna and inserts her into a fun narrative involving speed dating, and seems mainly concerned with being absolutely hilarious. 

All I'm saying, is you couldn't do much better. 

Catherine Tate is at the top of her game, her comedic timing as well as her emotional strength are at their highs, and if that's not enough for you, I don't know what is? One too many spinoffs? Hardly, this is off to a great start: 9/10

Spinvasion by John Dorney

I am positive that Douglas Adams wrote this script from beyond the grave. Some of the best satire we've gotten from Big Finish, while still telling an elegant story with excellent ideas, and y'know, it's just generally fantastic. Niky Wardley and Catherine Tate are a perfect duo, and there couldn't have been a better cast as Nat (even if we've had Niky Wardley play 1 or 2 recurring characters for Big Finish before) and as usual, Donna is a delight. With her playing Doctor, it feels like a new dynamic, and the concepts of Social Media and PR takeover of a society haven't really been explored before, so it's not just handcrafted for Donna, it feels incredibly fresh. Exceedingly fun: 9/10

The Sorceror of Albion by James Goss

A Weaker outing, but still with a stunning character dynamic that develops Nat exceedingly well, and helps us see her as a person outside of Donna's (frankly enormous) shadow. Not to mention that Donna as well as the Doctor role in these stories is thoroughly dissected. Donna doesn't know what she's doing. And there are some pretty great character scenes concerning that near the end.

In the meantime, we have a holographic version of Nat's rather frayed Husband, Garrison, and a bunch of fun medieval characters. It's not my favorite Donna Kidnapped story, but what do I know, my mom loved it: 8/10

The Chiswick Cuckoos by Matt Fitton

David Tennant shows up in this one, but to be honest, he's not what I like most about it. Not that it ties up the story arc with Marge, or that it cameos in UNIT's Josh Carter. I like what it does with Sylvia Noble, Donna's mother, who has always been a problem for her in life, and deals with that character arc by making Sylvia, for this story at least, Donna's ultimate Nemesis. That's some solid writing, and the few scenes with the Clone Sylvia, Marge and Donna are extremely good, but maybe the story is a little too packed? Although everyone is at least relatively well served, and the story did bring back Marge, Garrison and The Doctor (In a more expanded capacity than I would have thought)

but I think this one maybe needed another rewrite, instead of hammering in the idea for the potential next set, Donna Noble UNIT Agent. (Although Please Do That Set Big Finish) All in all, regardless of the rating, Donna Noble Kidnapped as a whole, is a damn fine achievement for being incredibly fun, so give it a listen, and laugh like crazy, because regardless of the stories differing quality, they're all pretty much equally funny. If busy: 7.5/10