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Black and White takes the Seventh Doctor, removes him from most of the story, throws Ace and Hex into ancient Denmark, adds Beowulf, a sarcastic alien pretending to be a legendary monster, and somehow turns all of that into a surprisingly thoughtful meditation on what makes a hero.
Because apparently Big Finish looked at Norse mythology and thought, “You know what this needs? More time travel nonsense.” And honestly? They weren’t wrong.
This is another story where Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor is technically the headline act but spends much of the runtime lurking around the edges like a mysterious old man who knows exactly what’s happening and refuses to explain anything because apparently that’s just his hobby now.
Instead, the focus is on Ace and Hex, who are joined by Lysandra Aristedes and Sally Morgan from the Forge organisation as they continue their search for the missing Doctor. Their investigation leads them to ancient Denmark, where they encounter a kingdom terrorised by a monstrous creature and a young warrior destined to become a legend.
That warrior? Beowulf. The monster? Grendel. Except, naturally, things are never quite that simple. Because this is Doctor Who. The monster isn’t actually a monster. He’s Garundel, an alien being whose existence has become tangled up with human mythology, and he’s played with wonderfully smug energy by Stuart Milligan. He’s not simply a villain waiting to be defeated, but a complicated character caught between perception and reality.
Which is where the story gets interesting. Because Black and White isn’t really about fighting monsters. It’s about how monsters are created.
History remembers heroes and villains differently from how those people actually were. Legends simplify. Stories reshape. The truth gets buried beneath centuries of retelling until a person becomes an idea rather than an individual. And that applies beautifully to Beowulf. The story asks what makes someone heroic. Is it strength? Is it sacrifice? Is it the willingness to stand against impossible odds even when nobody remembers the truth afterwards?
Big questions for a story involving a man fighting a sarcastic alien. But Doctor Who has always been good at making ridiculous things surprisingly meaningful.
The performances are excellent across the board. Ace remains one of Big Finish’s strongest companions because she carries so much history with her. She isn’t just the reckless teenager from the television series anymore. She’s someone shaped by trauma, experience and the Doctor’s influence, and those layers continue to make her fascinating. Hex works well alongside her too. Their relationship feels natural, with both characters bringing different perspectives to the search for the Doctor.
And then there is the Doctor himself. The scenes involving him and the infant TARDIS are genuinely some of the most affecting moments in the story. Watching him nurture this new sentient machine, explaining its purpose and the role it will eventually play, is surprisingly emotional. There’s a beautiful parallel between the TARDIS’s future and Beowulf’s legacy: both are shaped by what they become rather than what they start as.
It’s a lovely bit of storytelling. Is it perfect? No. Coming immediately after Protect and Survive means it suffers from an unfair comparison because that story is operating at another level entirely. Black and White is less ambitious, less devastating and less likely to leave you staring silently into space afterwards.
But that’s not really a criticism. Not every story needs to be a masterpiece. Sometimes you just need a really good Doctor Who adventure. And this is one.
Final Thoughts
A strong, memorable adventure that blends mythology, science fiction and character drama into a thoughtful exploration of heroism and legacy. It may not reach the heights of the story before it, but with excellent performances, smart themes and a wonderfully strange alien Grendel, it remains a very enjoyable trip through time.
4 out of 5 legendary warriors who probably should have asked more questions before punching the alien pretending to be a monster